Monday, June 12th

[Colliemom]

Good Morning. Chilly 49°and damp this morning. Few rain drops but stopped now. I don’t know how much rain we actually got, but Fire Danger is Low to Moderate depending on who got rain and who didn’t. Doesn’t like we will see much if any today or tomorrow. Rest of week looking nice, with upper 60’s, low 70’s for temps.

BJ, Collies have two coats. A dense under oat and then hair over that. They generally shed their undercoat a couple tines a year. Usually in spring and again in fall. Those are the times when they need to be really brushed out. Otherwise, once a week is fine or a few minutes everyday with a slicker brush. When I take them to the groomer, she does trim them as well and I also do some in between groomer appts. I used to bathe them and do some trimming myself, but after moving to this house, I don’t have any way to bathe them. And of course once winter comes they need the groomer cause it’s too cold for them to be wet and the groomers have big hair dryers. Molly in particulate has a very heavy coat. Piper being crossed between a smooth and rough collies, doesn’t have quite as heavy an undercoat.

Housecleaning on agenda this morning and then back to woodcraft projects. Bought a piece of plywood yesterday for the girls 4th of July outfit. Will trace that out later. Trash dsy today as well. Really exciting stuff going on today Hearing aid dryer needs replacing, so will order a new one today. It’s a lifesaver for those things. Especially in hot humid weather. Lay them in it, turn it on and it takes out moisture, sanitizes etc. I use it every night. You can leave the batteries in too.

Have a nice day everyone.

[OregonLuvr]

Good morning, been out with the dog, watered the flowers, and now inside for my second cup of coffee. It is going to be 87 here today so wont be doing much outside, thought of putting the second coat of stain on my deck but nah, not in the heat. We will be 77 on Wednesday so that is the day I choose LOL So think I will just putter around the house today. Thinking about washing my windows inside then when I hose down the deck can do the outside.
Had a super good visit with Laura on Saturday. She was here for a couple of hours on her way to her Mom's and we went to lunch had a really good salad bar. Nice to have company (I like)

My garden is doing very well, love all the blooms and blossoms on everything, ver promising LOL I havent had good luck since I moved here but this year it looks good. Laura even spotted a small tomato on one of my plants....yippee Going to wash my car today as I got my microfiber type brush to reach the top LOL Might go for a drive this week, just to get out of the house. The dog loves car rides so will see which direction suits me. I will be heading to Medford to visit with my friend down there and have a Rheumatology appt on the 22 so will head down a couple days before. Have my hearing aid appt Thursday, we shall see if that makes a difference LOL
Sue, Emma is also double coated and blows her coat a couple times a year. She sheds all year long but not like the twice a year coat blow. I take her to get groomed about every 7 weeks because I dont have anywhere to bathe her either. I brush her several times a week (which is one of her favorite things) and now not getting much hair. Henry does a great job keeping the hair in check LOL I vacuumed my furniture the other day and didnt get much. She doesnt really get on the furniture much except my recliner, she likes to lie beside me until she gets hot. I vacuum my bedspread too LOL as she does sleep with me.

well time for some breakfast and will take a shower later after my outside chores.

[Cudedog]

Interesting discussion about dogs and their coats!

My Big Joe (Staffordshire Bull Terrier) doesn't have much "coat" to speak of. He does not have an undercoat, and his actual "hair coat" is maybe 1/4 inch long. People who see him sometimes remark that it must be nice to have a dog that doesn't shed - but this isn't true.

Joe sheds his coat twice a year - in Spring (as soon as it begins to get warm) and also in Autumn (as soon as it begins to get cold - that is, as cold as it gets here). And, surprisingly, he does shed quite a bit! I can get a large hand full of hair off of him every day for a couple of weeks, both spring and fall! He also sheds some during the year, but not too much.

I groom him myself (he has never been to the groomer) bathing him and clipping his nails. I have found over time (I know this might sound weird) that grooming him with a plastic flea comb combs the hair and dirt right out - and leaves his coat with a very nice shine.

LOL - back in the days I was showing dogs, I used to sit at ringside using the flea comb, because I knew this would give his coat a final sparkle before we went into the ring to be judged. My competitors, seeing the flea comb, would give me a VERY wide berth - both outside and inside the ring! I sometimes thought this gave me an advantage during judging, not being crowded by my competitors in the ring - since my dog would be somewhat alone, the judge could more easily notice them!!

I just bathe Joe in my bathtub (yes, even being short-coated, he does get dirty, because he likes to roll in the dirt!). Luckily, he likes baths, particularly on hot days, so he will generally jump right into the tub. I have a showerhead that detaches from the wall on a long hose, this works well for bathing him. To dry him - even in cold weather - a good shake (he does the shake!) followed by a good toweling still leaves him a bit damp, but in twenty minutes or so he is dry.

Of course, a disadvantage of having a dog with such a short coat is that they can't be left outside in either cold or hot weather. But since all of my dogs have always been "inside house dogs" this really isn't a problem for me.

Thanks for the interesting stories, everyone!

Anne

[SoCalGalcas]

Good Morning, I, too, loved your pictures Sandi. I wish I were better at posting so I could share some flowers from my area. The Jacarandas are blooming now. It’s quite a sight. But, they shed horribly.
Although Hazel has very short hair, she loves ro be brushed. I had her bathed the other day, I love the smell of her fur after she has had a bath.
I finally repotted my X-mas cactus. So far it is doing well. I do not have a green thumb!
My leg has healed and I don’t have to dress it anymore. I’ve been wanting to get back to the swim pool, but, there hasn’t been any sunshine for such a long time. It is cool/cold and I don’t do cold!
I had a quiet weekend. Lyn

[BarbaraRose]

Good morning gals!

The wind didn't let up until late in the night. Sounded like a hurricane out there! Now it is just breezy. It was cloudy all day yesterday and the day before but the sun is out today. Temps will be heading up now and be over 100* in several days. I have some insulating tape to put around my windows to keep any hot air blowing in around the edges. Will also put up the window insulation plastic on them soon (in the bedroom only, for now).

Found more cat hair on the floor in the living room this morning. Not as much as yesterday but still concerning. Need to call the vet today. Otherwise, she seems to be feeling very good. Her incision has healed nicely, she is very playful, especially with Romeow, which I love to see for both of them.

Romeow had a stinky mess on his butt this morning so I had to cut the fur off from around there to clean him up. That long fur gets in the way sometimes!

There is a fire in Joshua Tree National Park now. It started Saturday. With the extremely high winds we had, that didn't help any! Hopefully, today they can get it more under control. I haven't seen any smoke from it so it must be blowing the other way. It was almost 1200 acres as of yesterday and it is the largest fire so far this season in CA, which is much better than this time last year.

I need to wash my hair this morning and wash dishes today. Also see if the temp service has anything available yet. Also need to call my health insurance people. I got a bill for one of my appointments from last month which should have been fully covered by my insurance. Need to find out what happened there.

Lyn, glad your injury has healed up now. Hopefully, it will warm up there so you can get back in the pool.

Have a good day!

[chalet05]

Good morning for a few more minutes!

Lyn, glad your wound has healed! No doubt warmer weather will come. The pool here has been getting used by the kids. I haven't been over yet. Karen, how nice Laura could stop by!

Not noon yet and I have already run my errands with the Sling! Post office to suggest they check all the mailboxes here for my missing mail. Wouldn't care if it were junk mail but it's car tabs! Home Depot for a couple of things and looked at plants. I now see what you are all talking about! I don't part with money that easily for plants so they all stayed there. Will really need Monica to go with me - maybe next week when she's done with school. I have 2 planters arriving soon and overdid it when I ordered potting soil. She and I did our morning text and shortly after she texted her hubby had to call ambulance for his brother-in-law. Haven't heard what's wrong. My brother had echocardiogram and was told his new valve is leaking so waiting to see what the doctor says. Sister-in-law waiting for results of CAT scan last week.

[Bethers]

Martha, my previous RV always had generator problems from the day I purchased it. I've been very good at exercising this generator and making sure I use it under a load. So far, so good.

Sheila, I need to be near Des Moines the end of July and will stay through early to mid October. It would be wonderful if we could gtg. And, yes, you need a break.

I'm at the place in NM that I've wanted to check out and now I know that my place in Arizona is better for me. So instead of staying here 2 nights, I'll head to my casita in the morning. For different people, this would be a great place. And I'm not going to take advantage of their hospitality for the second night when I've already made up my mind. I called to make sure my site at my park would be available a day early (I had given them Wed as my arrival date) and it is. It's been so long since I've been there I have a feeling I'll barely finish cleaning everything when I leave again. Lol. This will be a good test of how well the casita stays cool in the summer months.

Lynn, great news about your wound healing! Anita, I hope they find your mail. I rarely mail anything these days, but sent a couple keys to a friend and they've never been received. They aren't important like what you're needing, though. Karen, great that you got to see Laura and that lots of your outside plants are doing so well already. Sue, I was thinking your dogs would not be comfortable with plywood outfits. Lol

[snowball]

I had a productive day so unusual
but first glad you have fully healed Lyn... it seems strange to hear that it is cool enough you don't want to use the pool... hopefully it will warm up sooner...
Anita you have more self control than I do.... unless I totally know that I need a plant I try to avoid the nursery hopefully they can find your mail and for sure it wasn't certified
I took Shadow to the groomers really didn't in the 5th wheel have a place that I could bath him it was worth the money to have it all done always knew when it was time to go to the groomers he started shedding more... and he smelled so good after his grooming...
I miss that boy ...
it will be fun Sue to see what your kids are wearing for the 4th
Barbi what did the vet say?
today was a day to finish or complete some thing I finished the weaving part of the Swedish Weave that feels good the fringe won't take as long as the last one as I don't have a long of a fringe to do so think it will go pretty quickly at least hopefully it will..
been working on dish clothes for my dd have one done and finished another today
and recounted my round on the hat still was lacking the stitches needed so carefully undid the round and started over got through it and it came to 60 yea I will re count tomorrow... and see if it still comes to 60 the next 11 rounds are all the same no increasing oh and it said that the circle should be about 5 inches.... right on the money so excited at least it is with using a metal measure tape... can't find the cloth one...
and last but not least I finished planting the plants!!!! yea didn't have to search for another pot and didn't have to go get any more plants although there is one that needs one more I may have to go find one for it ... one plant was a six pack didn't see the name of it or the color of it new it was a petunia but wasn't sure where to put it cause I didn't find the needed info... finally found it it was a wave and white yea that so worked!!!
I will take pictures later and send on the Beth so she can post them but will wait a few days I got through just about 10 mins. before it started thundering I actually went out right after breakfast so was done just shortly after 1:00 we eat late.. took about 1.5 hours to do...
you all have a great day
sheila

[BarbaraRose]

Beth, is the place in NM the Escapees Co-op? I looked at it online and wasn't too impressed.

I called my Dr's office about the psychiatrist referral and it was OK'd by my insurance. The insurance company is sending me to a clinic out here that is a little iffy, to say the least. I checked it out online and it has 2 stars out of 5 for reviews. Most of the many reviews are really bad. It doesn't seem like a place that would have a psychiatrist there, it is just a low-cost clinic for urgent care and basic services. I did call to make an appointment and got an answering service so told them to tell the clinic I need an ADHD diagnosis. I haven't heard back from them yet. I am going to call my insurance company tomorrow and ask about why they are sending me there.

I got an appointment for McKenzie for next Tuesday, so I will see how things go for the next week and see if it gets better or worse. For now, she is throwing a toy mouse around the living room.

I am watching a Property Brothers show and Jay Leno is on it. I had no idea that he had gotten badly burned on his face and hands last November and then a motorcycle accident in January! He came thru it amazingly well, altho he had the best of the best surgeons, etc. A great attitude sure didn't hurt either.

Have a good night!

[snowball]

I used to watch property brother's .... reading about the motorcycle accident reminded me that I read today that Treat Williams died from a motorcycle accident yesterday always liked watching him
sheila

[chalet05]

Hadn’t heard about Treat Williams. So sad! Just started watching him in Everwood series.

[BirdbyBird]

Barbie, is there a reason that you are required to see a psychiatrist to get a diagnosis. And is there a reason you need one? Is it necessary in California to get certain medications? A good therapist is a good therapist. I am thinking of the individuals in my years of teaching that missed being diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum because they were born too soon before children were being diagnosed in early intervention and preschools. Our classroom interventions were the same regardless of the diagnoses in their folders.....

[MandysMom]

Barbara, I agree with Tina, as to diagnosis, usually it is a psychologist who tests amd diagnoses ADHD here. Barbara, look for a recommended psychologist, specializing in ADHD, who can test and diagnose, then either your Dr or a psychiatrist who deals with RX can decide what RX to try, if needed. Just to warn you, adderal is not available right now, other RX are, but may be costly even with insurance, where working with a good psychologist, possibly with group therapy, may be a better option. I do know what I'm saying, because I'm both the Mom of two diagnosed with ADHD and was diagnosed myself at age 40, so 34 years ago. I took Ritalin for a while, but learned strategies to cope and eventually changed my diet, which great improved how my strategies work. Moms in the 80's were absolutely right: sugar/carbohydrates affect how the brain works! Kids fed sugar do act out! Change your diet, cutting sugar amd ESP simple carbohydrates (vs complex carbs with more nutrients and fiber). It will help your brain vs chasing a chemical solution. In 2017, I had already dropped gluten, followed by all grains, and felt better. Then in 2017, I moved further by eliminating all but fatty sources of protein, and above ground vegetables (vs root veg such as carrots and potatoes), and the low sugar fruits (berries). It made a huge difference in how my brain felt, as the fog lifted.
Velda

[BarbaraRose]

Thank you both for your suggestions! My insurance requires me to get diagnosed by a psychiatrist and to get the meds from them. I have to go by what they want me to do in order to have it paid for.

I know I need to cut down on sugar and carbs but it is hard when I am so addicted to them, and food that is convenient and cheap to buy that includes both, makes it even harder. I am not a cook at all (no patience for it).

[snowball]

Hadn’t heard about Treat Williams. So sad! Just started watching him in Everwood series.

I used to watch it when it was a series on tv really enjoyed it
sheila