Nemo ~ the stud muffin

Our Poor Nemo has been terribly neglected of late. Both with grooming and with blogging.

He is a wonderful little Shih Tzu and we just adore him. So, this entry is dedicated to him... with his new doo and clean Cowboy appearance.

He is an Imperial Blue/Black and White Shih Tzu after all. We were starting to think he was grey and clay - red/brown! Miranda was quite surprised when she discovered he was black and white.

Big Thank - You!!! to Kathy Whorral who helped show me the ropes of grooming and helped me pick out the tools I would need to take care of my wee Shih Tzu's way back when.....

The only thing I'm missing are a table with a pair of grooming nooses and a cat muzzle for Nemo... he is quite a handful in comparison to Shi-Anne.

When I unpack all our stuff I will put up an entry with her professional photo shoot. She remains the 'top doggie' of my adult life (Shane and Snuffy tie-ing before then ~ of course!) Ok. Enough of that....

Here he is!

Nemo Shane Tuxedo

Of course there was no way I could pick my favorite... so they all had to be 'uploaded'!

Guess I'm going to have to 'doo' up Mr. Wiggles ~ he is looking quite handsome sporting his ~lengthening by the day~ 'long' Doxie coat.

And Molly can not be forgotten either. You won't believe those long legs of hers!

Don't know if I will be able to get either of those to sit still long enough to take pictures tho. Especially Wiggles ~ I'm sure he will just roll over and 'wiggle' about making himself a mess all over again. And Molly will just want to RUN!!! She can't help it being a Border Collie/Aussie cross ~ she just has to run.

Baby Doctor Visit

Update on Baby

Everything is going well.

I'm still nauseous, but what is new?

I gained 4 pounds in the last four weeks for a total of seven pounds since mid December.

We are now officially entering the second trimester. So, I'm going to start relaxing a bit more.

Dr. Tricia heard my heart murmur and felt it was a bit strong so, I went to the hospital for an Echo yesterday as well. I've always had a heart murmur, it just has been so slight that no one has raised an eyebrow at it before. Anyway, it turns out that I have two valves that are regurgitating. The tricuspid and mitral. I'm not sure what that means for now... I will find out later next week when the cardiologist returns the verdict. It may be that they are leaking so slightly that it really isn't a big deal. I'm just glad I didn't hear from Dr. Tricia yesterday evening or today. That would have meant problems.

Anyway, the websites I have read sent me into the dull drums last night, but as I just wrote... today's weather made it all 'go away'.

The most important thing is that all the baby's vitals are looking good. S/he is growing well as is my uterus (Dr. had a hard time finding the wee one as she was swimming so high... heehee).

Well, I think I have covered everything now... bye again,

Wendy

Wonderful Weather

Well, Today was one of those days that made you LOVE that you live in the Ozarks!

Absolutely gorgeous!

One can't help but be happy on a day like this!

Perfect temperature to wear a full length dress with sandals and at dusk throw a sweater over your shoulders.

Everyone was happy today. Jacob is laughing his head off... just for the heck of it and making us laugh with him.

Miranda had fun running around with the cats and Robert helped break a big round bale to kick off our first crop of the season (when he wasn't playing with his sling shot). He is out watering for Bob right now as Bob is flipping it over with the skid steer.

Today Bob spent the day first getting a couple of big rounds from a local farmer/rancher - we got some stuff that isn't sprayed - Go organic! and then he went to work at our neighbors helping them get a shed built to put in a woodworking shop. He came home with a big smile.

Nemo is here next to me right now. Ever since the ice storm he has enjoyed coming in to sleep in the mud room. I have to admit I really like having his company... as long as he doesn't decide to lift his leg (eye roll). I think I need to get him in the tub and trim up the groom job I did on him. Tea Tree and Lavender Oil can only do so much. When I get him done up (with a bow or a kerchief) I'll have to post a pic. He is such a cutie! I think I need to get the kids desks out of here and bring in the recliner so I can spend some cozy time with him.... maybe even bring in a radio and turn this into a mommy sanctuary. hmmmm??? Just need a window, some drywall, paint, and my sewing machine and all will be perfect! sigh

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The really bad weather we were expecting to come in on Sunday night has been delayed until Tues night/wed. I wish every day could have looked like today, but this is what NOAA is saying through Tuesday night for us:

Tonight: A chance of showers before 3am, then a chance of rain or drizzle after 3am. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. South wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A chance of drizzle before 9am, then a slight chance of showers after 9am. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Wind chill values as low as 49 early. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night: A chance of drizzle before midnight, then a chance of drizzle and thunderstorms after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Southeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Monday: Showers and thunderstorms. High near 63. South wind between 8 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. South wind between 8 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.

Tuesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms. Low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 80%.Wednesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 55.

All in all not that bad. That is if the rain predicted is short lived or doesn't materialize... at least not until after dusk (when we lock everyone up for the night)

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Here's to many more wonderful days like today!

Ice Storms and Tornadoes

Gotta Love the Ozarks

With it's Beautiful scenery....

Beautiful yet destructive Ice Storms

(click on the pictures to get a closer view. Take a good look at the fence in front of Smokey and also the flag... it is coated in a 1" layer of ice on each side - it was not moving, even when Robert tried hitting it.)

Smokey looking through the ice, the sapling oaks bending with the weight of the ice

Look at the grass... it was covered in ice and looked like something from a cave,

Also, the branch that Sunshine is looking through is not normally that low. It is usually way above our heads. These are the oaks at the edge of the paddock bending with the weight of the ice. We are very lucky and only lost a couple of lower branches from these beautiful trees.

A look at the paddock toward the oaks, the back fence line faired a lot better than we thought it would. Things leaned in and the tree that was dieing within the paddock due to the late frost we had a couple of years lost some of its branches. Bob got up on the roof to remove some of the ice that had built up there and got some great pictures from that vantage point. You can see the entire garden from that viewpoint. The fence line nearest the road fell down and had to have the ice removed from it in order to put it back up so the chickens could get out and play.

Here are trees across the street from us. We were very lucky. A few years back the electric company had sent out crews to cut back the trees from the immediate line. It worked great and kept the ice laden tree branches away from the lines. Less work for them meant that our power was restored a lot sooner. You can see Gods tree trimming at hand with those trees when you zoom in. We listened for many days to the trees cracking and crashing to the forest floor. It was amazing... especially in the silence of the crisp night air.

Bob also got a couple of pictures of the ice covering our power coming into the farm.

Another view to the east of the farm at trees that are bent over touching the ground. These are NOT weeping willows!

Bob got on the roof again the next day and took these pictures... this is day three. The sun came out, but the promising temps in the mid 30's never did arrive and so the next day was the start of the big melt and evaporation. With 2" of ice on the roof of the farm we were worried that the roof would warm from underneath and the ice would come sliding off the roof in big sheets. There were a few minor break offs, but for the most part it all started to evaporate instead of melting. The snow covered ice didn't seem to bother the cats though... see the footprints on the last pic?

Here is our 'sorry' TV antenna and then Miranda is has got a kite string hanging from her finger. This was a small section of Roberts 'communication system' with his fort for playing 'telephone'. Can you believe the amount of ice that has built up on that thin piece of string???
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Beautiful sunny weather...

Awesome strength and suddenness of Tornadoes

A picture of the destruction of the Gassville '08 tornado

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Well, that is my gripe today. We have some 'great' weather coming in on Sunday and you can say that I am not amused by the prediction of the forthcoming events. I really want to just move out and move into our neighbors basement home, that is quite well protected, for all of next week. I didn't take her up on her offer during the ice storm and lack of power for 5 days. Felt that we should stick it out and frankly wasn't sure if we had left ... could we have gotten back to take care of the critters? But, right now, I am feeling very weak and don't want to stay up night after night wondering: what was that noise? and when will the wind end? And trying to 'listen for the train'.

Don't get me wrong. The Ozarks are a wonderful place to live and raise a family. But the weather that comes with it leaves me weak in the knees at times.

Along with the local weather guy telling us of the upcoming weather events on Sunday (through next week), mainly warning us of the "tornadic" weather that was approaching (like I couldn't tell... the wind has picked up a lot - so, I knew something was up) The News guy reminded us that tonight was the one year anniversary of the tornado that ripped up Gassville, AR and bounced right over Bob as he was on his way home from work that night. I had called the store several times with weather updates and he left anyway even though I told him to stay put and just find somewhere safe to hunker down. Well, the wind was roaring and he caught some hail on the way home. He could tell there was a tornado up in the clouds. I was never so glad to see him when he got home even though he tried to 'boo' us while we were in the tornado shelter. I could tell he was relieved to be home as well.

Hope your weather is better than ours!