Award Appreciations!

It’s feast or famine here in Daisyville – we were honored with four awards recently!

Thank you so much to trifles for these two awards:

To Marty Manx at Musings by Marty Manx for this award:

And to Karel at Peace With My Life for the latest Leibster award:

Karel came up with several thought-provoking questions for her nominees….let’s see what we can do with these:

1. Where was your favorite place to live, and why?
   My favorite place to live is a place I’ve only visited – but quite frequently. It’s a small town in the mountains of PA, an old town that has the perfect combination of quaintness, community, charm, and trendiness. It’s not easy to strike the perfect balance between retaining and respecting quaint old-world charm while moving forward with modern-day trends like contemporary cafes and restaurants as well as shops in a small town like this, but they’ve done it. And the residents are so friendly and community-minded, which is what I love most. I’d find myself a little cottage by a stream where I could plant wildflowers and move there in a heartbeat if I could.
2. What books you are currently reading?
   That’s a full question because I’m an avid reader of nonfiction. Right now I’m reading “Lady Almina and The Real Downton Abbey” (which leads to the answer about my favorite TV show!), and I have at least a dozen more books waiting in the wings.
3. Do you think it is better to be honest or kind?
   Both. My first choice is always honesty….unless there’s nothing the other person can gain from it and kindness is just, well, kinder.
4. If you had one day in your life to live over again, would you rather live a day in which you want to change the outcome (like to avoid a mistake) or live a day that was so terrific that you’d like to do it again?
   There’s one day in particular that I’d like to relive with the strength and knowledge I now have that I didn’t have then. My reaction to a situation would have been 180 degrees different, which would have changed and improved SO many things for the rest of my life. I often think of how I wish I could relive that moment in time.
5. If you watch television, what is your favorite series? Yep, Downton Abbey. Hands-down favorite.
6. What is your favorite song of all times?
   Tough question because I love so many diverse types of music. But I’d have to say that it’s equal parts “Rhapsody in Blue”, almost anything Baroque (especially if there’s a harpsichord featured), and many songs by the Rolling Stones heading the long list. See? I told you my tastes are very diverse!

I consulted Daisy about nominations, and she is in agreement that all of our blogging buddies deserve these awards, so if you’re kind enough to take the time to read this, please help yourself to any or all of the awards if you’d like them. We cherish you all!

Thursday Barks and Bytes: Warm Winter Havachon

We were shocked to discover that Daisy outgrew her winter coat! Naturally, we only found this out during the first snowstorm, so we needed a new one right away. DD and I couldn’t run out that day, so DH went on the errand.

You know what happens when you send a man out to get a girly coat? You tell him to look for something pink and cute, and he comes home with rugged red. “At least it’s not blue….red is closer to pink than blue is” – that’s DH’s male logic (sorry Will!)

I look like a log in this thing!

But I have to say, this puffy red coat is really nice, and it’s rated for temps as low as five degrees….who knew we’d be at -15 this year?! It’s got a cool little pocket on the back that snaps closed, and the hood, which is nice and tight to the head, can also be snapped back off the head onto the coat to keep it off the dog’s head. And there’s a drawstring at the tail end of the coat for those blustery days too.

Ack! This hood is inescapable!

He also got some nice boots that go all the way up the legs, which we really needed, but unfortunately he got mediums and we needed smalls. So we made due with last year’s little booties for the time being.

….I really hate boots….

I refuse to put my bad leg down with these things on! (This is not a happy Havachon moment!)

The Bulldog Stance – waiting to be de-booted.

Daisy may not appreciate being dressed in a coat and boots, but we did notice that she stays outside longer now that she’s toasty warm in her new coat and her feet are protected from the snow. And that’s a good thing!

We’re happy to be part of the new Thursday Barks and Bytes, hosted by our friends 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog!

Dog Not Eating? It Could Be Acid Stomach!

We spent part of the holidays out of state visiting family that live 1200 miles away, and, of course, we took Daisy with us. She was quite happy spending two days each way in the car relaxing on Big Blue in the back seat snuggled up next to DD, and she only asked for water/potty breaks every 3-4 hours, so she was a good little passenger.

I’m a happy pup as long as I’m with my family…and on Big Blue!

She was able to find several comfortable positions for her leg, even though she was restricted to some degree by the car harness and seat belt.

Yep, this is a good snoozing position.

No one could understand how I was comfortable using the seat belt as a headrest, but I liked it!

And she created her own little adventures, like when she took a ride on the luggage cart with DD:

Hey, this thing is pretty cool! What do you mean it’s not made for doggies??

We were gone for 8 days, and for the first four days, she was fine. But by the fifth day, she was refusing to eat her normal dog food and she was throwing up a small amount of bile once a day.

We thought maybe it was the stress of travel that she wasn’t used to or maybe something strange she licked, but when we got back home, this continued. It was weird because she would go straight to her food and looked like she was interested in eating, but when she smelled it, she seemed to be repulsed by it – like she and it were opposite magnetic poles. She would sniff it two or three times as if trying to convince herself to eat, but each time, she’d pull her head back, stare at her food almost longingly, and then back away from it.

We had an appointment with the vet just a few days after returning home for another re-evaluation of her leg, so we told him what was happening with her eating.

We were shocked when he said it was most likely acid stomach that was brought on from travel! We know dogs like their routines and prefer to be in familiar surroundings, but we didn’t know that going without those two primary things for a week could cause a physical problem.

The solution was simple: one Pepcid AC tablet once a day, at the same time each day. We decided to give it to Daisy in the hour before her dinner (she was, as always, thrilled to get anything wrapped in cream cheese!). He was definitely right – she couldn’t eat her breakfast, but after the evening Pepcid, she had no trouble eating dinner. We did this for three days, and all was once again right in Daisyville. No more acid stomach.

So if your dog has been exposed to some major difference in their little world and you notice some type of gastrointestinal problem, acid stomach may be the answer. Always check with your vet first to be sure.

Timewarp Tuesday: Daisy the Havachon, Then and Now

We’re joining a fun new timewarp blog hop hosted by Easy and Mollie and Alfie – what a fun idea! Okay, so let’s let pictures speak louder than words – on with the “Then and Now Show”!

Daisy, 2.6 mos old, 2.6 pounds. We took this photo the first time we saw her and immediately fell in love with her. She was a scared little puppy.

No longer scared and now quite confident, Daisy at 3 (14 pounds) can turn on the diva in her from time to time. 😉

Daisy still was more hair than body at 3 months of age. You’d never believe there was a skinny puppy underneath all that!

Now we keep her hair manageably shorter, and she’s become a Havachon full of curls.

Daisy, 3 months old. Her mischievous side hadn’t emerged yet….

Now, at 3 years of age, her mischievous side is in full bloom!

Grab the button, visit our hosts’ sites, and join in the timewarp fun!

“I Don’t Like Snow!”

Hi everyone! We’re finally getting back to normal around here. The holidays were crazy hectic, and not always in a good way. DD started things off with a bad head cold, followed by me getting the flu while traveling (I’m still down and out a bit), DH is now coming down with “something”, and Daisy’s tummy has been doing some nasty things for the past two weeks.

Today we’re in the grip of those frigid temps that are plaguing much of the country. Our actual temperature this morning is 3 degrees, but the wind chill makes it feel like -17! YIKES! I guess if I have to be stuck inside anyway, this is a good time for it happen. 🙂

Meanwhile, we got about 8 inches of snow the other day, and Daisy didn’t want any part of it. We had her trained so well to be an indoor/outdoor dog – she’d do her “thing” outside when we took her out on normal days, but she knew to “take care of business” on the wee-wee pad inside when the weather was really bad.

Well, not anymore. This trip seems to have completely destroyed her cross-training. Now she only wants to go outside, and if she refuses to go because of the weather, she leaves us “presents” anywhere except on the wee-wee pad. We’re trying to retrain her for indoors again, but it’s not working.

Anyway, here’s what happened after the snowfall the other day. One valiant attempt that lasted all of half a minute, and it was all over. It took longer to suit her up!

I don’t want to go in the snow!

Oh okay, I’ll give it a try.

Nope, that’s it! I refuse! Take me back in where it’s warm and dry!