Camera-Critters

I have missed this fun meme for the past couple of weeks, it's been so crazy around here, by the time I remembered, it was too late. I hope I got it done in time this week, if not, you can at least enjoy the pictures. :) To see more cool critter shots head on over to the Camera-Critters blog and click away.

This week I chose a few pictures of my Miniature Dachshund rescues. Both girls came from a horrible and I do mean horrible situation. Tink, the little Chocolate girl on the right, had birthed 6 litters of puppies before she was 5 years old! She was terrified of being outside and didn't know what to do about the grass being under her feet! Apparently she had only been out of her filthy little crate long enough to be bred and whelp puppies. Dumplin' came from the same lady, but I got her when she was very young so she didn't have to go through all that horror. Thank doG. They are the sweetest little dogs (when they want to be), and I have enjoyed their companionship for nearly 10 years now.

Dachshunds are listed in the Hound Group with the AKC, and don't let their small size fool you, they are true hounds and tough little cookies! They are noisy, they are loud, they are master diggers, they are fearless, they are bossy, they are cuddlers, loving, and make great ratters. If you think you might want to learn more about Miniature Dachshunds, please check out the National Miniature Dachshund Club website and learn more about these wonderful little dogs.

These shots were taken at the dog show in Chattanooga last year. When we go to dog shows, all of our dogs go, not just the ones that are being shown, and the Dachshunds always take it upon themselves to stand guard over their domain. (The Chinese Crested that managed to sneak into a few of the pictures is Racy, she was entered in the shows that weekend)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the pictures and again, be sure to check out all the other Camera-Critters blogs.

Good Grief Charlie Brown!

This week has been as long and stressful as last week. I took the day off tomorrow so I could wind down and hopefully get caught up on things around this house. I can't remember the last time I was this far behind in everything!
I heard someone say one time~
"The hurried-er I go, the behind-er I get!" that's me in a nutshell lately!

In the past 2 weeks, I and/or my dear Hubby have:

~Rescued and began fostering another Bull Terrier that has OCD issues
~Met with the ADT guy to get an alarm and security system on the new house
~Met with the man that is laying the tile in the new house
~Worked on/installed a new heat pump in the new house
~Worked VERY long days in both businesses
~Put a chain up across the driveway to keep the nut that used to own our new house from coming and going as she pleases
~Met with the same nut to have her remove her husband's ashes from our property
~Met with the Sheriff's Dept to keep the whole "Us vs. Nut" scenario calm
~Dealt with forty-eleven phone calls from same nut
~Handled forty-eleven and one phone calls from stupid telemarketers
~Had Lizzy the foster at the vet because she chewed the end of her tail off

I could go on, but I'll stop before I throw myself into some dark cave somewhere and never come out. I have lots of material for blog posts coming up, that's for sure!

Until then, enjoy a picture or two of my sweet Bullie boy with his birthday pressie, he turned 1 year old yesterday and has been carrying that toy everywhere with him. :)

Until tomorrow (I hope)

Just a Quick Post

I realize it has been a week since I last posted and wanted to give everyone an update. Chico, the little foster Bullie we had here went to what we hope will be his forever home this past Friday. So far, the reports I am getting from his new owner are all positive, he just loves him! I knew he would, Chico is an awesome boy. :)
Meanwhile, practically as soon as Chico left here, I got an email about another Bull Terrier needing rescue in Knoxville. So, Sat afternoon, hubby and I headed out to pick her up. What a sad little girl she is. Her name is Izzy and she has some issues. She is very sweet, but she is a "spinner" She is going to take a little more time to work with and evaluate than Chico did, but I do believe she is worth the effort. She needs some structure and stabilty to start with, then we can go from there. She has been in 6 different places, counting ours, in the last 2.5 months! No wonder the poor baby has issues! You can see where she has chewed the end of her tail from the stress she has been under.
Keep us in your thoughts as we try to help her get back to a normal life and hopefully find her own forever home.

Fun Pictures

JoJo had become very good at using his feet to do all kind of things. We gave him a couple of those waffle balls with bells inside that you get from the cat toy section, he loves them. He holds them in his little foot and shakes them like maracas while muttering all kinds of things under his breath, not sure if he is singing or just jabbering, but it's cute.

My friend, Kara sent me this cute picture of Miss Winnie all snuggled in her chair. I don't know what it is about these rotten Bull Terriers, but they do love being all snuggie under blankets. All of mine do it and as you can see, Winnie is no different.
Those of you that live in the south know what Goody Powders are. Kiwi, our little Green Cheek Conure seems to have a headache in this picture. All I had with me was my camera phone so it's not the best picture in the world, but at least I managed to get one. He had the best time with that empty packet AND he was quiet, so I let him keep it.

Now, I'm off to the grocery (YUK) and back to get some work done on my latest stained glass project....trophies for our upcoming dog show.

Enjoy the day,

My Grandmother's Peanut Butter Pie

(*I changed the title of this post because feedjit was showing a bunch of visitors from google searching for things I would rather not have my blog associated with. Maybe the title change will stop the perverts)
Today I have a craving for my grandmother's peanut butter pie. I am so glad I got her to sit down with me all those years ago and call her recipes off to me so I could write them down. Granny rarely wrote any of her recipes down, she always went by sight when it came to making anything. If I tried doing that, the dogs probably wouldn't even eat it and they will eat anything! She passed away in Nov. 1982 and I cherish my collection of her recipes. Here is my favorite. Be warned, if you make this, you will be asked to make it over and over again, AND it is very, and I do mean very rich.

Granny Whittaker's Peanut Butter Pie
Stir together:
2 cups peanut butter
1 8oz pkg softened cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 tbls melted butter
Add to mixture:
1 cup Cool Whip
1 tbls vanilla

Mix together well and pour into graham cracker crust (you can use Oreo crusts as well) Chill at least 6-8 hours, but overnight works even better.

ENJOY!

Back pain & Stained glass

(silly little ice cream cone suncatcher I did for practice)

I started working in stained glass over 20 years ago and I have recently gotten back into it. I had forgotten how much I love doing this. I also didn't realize how much the cost of supplies had gone up! WOW! Talk about inflation!
I have Degenerative Disc Disease. I have 2 discs that, according to the Dr, might as well just be labeled as "gone" and one that is half-way there. On top of that, I have arthritis running the entire length of my spine. Not good news for a dog groomer. 28 years of standing, lifting, pulling, tugging and fighting with big dogs, combined with the genetic factors have finally begun to take their toll on me and made me begin thinking of another way to make money. I hope to be able to open an Etsy shop soon.
As much as I hate to admit it, I am slowing down, I can't do what I used to be able to do, I am in constant pain whether I am grooming or not, grooming just makes the pain more intense. Some days are worse than others.
Anyway, I decided to begin my stained glass work again. I am currently working on trophies for my home club, The Greater Kingsport Kennel Club. We have shows each year in May and we always try to come up with something different each year for trophies. This year we decided to give stained glass pieces.
I'm pretty excited about getting started and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures as I go along.
I have done a few pieces for other things, mostly dog-related, but mainly just for fun. I'm certainly out of practice, but it's like riding a bicycle, it all comes back to you once you get on and get started.

(suncatcher I did for the Silent Auction for Rescue at the Bull Terrier Nationals)

Wish me luck, and keep your fingers crossed that all those panes of glass I ordered last night get here in one piece, not in a ton of pieces. The company will replace them if they do arrive broken, but that would mean the whole process will be running behind.

(The Rainbow Bridge Tissue Box)(Best of Variety (Colored) trophy for one of the shows)

I'm sorry some of the photos are not that great, the flash is hard to contain sometimes. The tissue box was certainly a project. I had never done one before, but I was determined to get it finished in time for the Nationals so it could be put on the Rainbow Bridge table!

Until next time,
Bullie hugs and kisses all around,

Tagged Again

I know I'm getting old and can't run as fast as I used to, but tagged TWICE in one week? Man, I need to learn some new moves to get out of the way quicker. :)

Dannielle Over at 50 Fingers & 50 Toes caught me. So here we go, the same as the other picture folder tag except this time it's folder #6, Picture #6. Rules are the same as the last one.

The dogs found this big guy hanging out around our pond last year and DH rescued him. (He wouldn't have made it very long if he hadn't) Good thing for the turtle we have Terriers who can't keep their mouths shut when they find something new & exciting to play with or should I say torment?

We put him in the bathtub for safe keeping overnight, then took him out to the lake and set him free out there.

Now, the rules say I am supposed to tag 6 people, but I'm going to follow Mrs Mari's lead, and tell you, if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. :)

Camera-Critters

It's time again for Camera-Critters! I nearly forgot about it since I have been so busy here this week! Glad I didn't. If you want to join in or want to see other folk's adorable photos, please head over to the Camera-Critters blog and check them out! You can also click on that cute badge at the top of the post to get there.

My post today is of our 24 year old Blue Front Amazon, Chico eating a Ritz cracker. :) He loves them, he also has an addiction to Bojangles' Botato Rounds, Scrambled Eggs, Spaghetti, leftover chicken leg bones and Pancakes. Birds can eat anything we eat (except chocolate, avocado and onions, those are deadly to them) and in fact, feeding them good foods makes them healthier. All of our birds share our meals. As long as you don't use alot of salt whatever you eat, they can eat. Chico, like most of the other animals in our house, is a rescue.

Now, jump on over to Misty's place and check out the other Camera-Critters this week.

Tag! I'm it!!

I wondered how long it would be before this tag reached me, well it has. I was tagged by Lisa. Check her blog out, really, what a neat lady! :)

So here are the rules:

1) Go to the 4th folder in your Picture folder on the computer.

2) Go to the 4th picture in that folder.

3) Post that picture and explain it.

That is (l-r) Pooch (the white Toy Poodle you can barely see), Cissy (the black Chihuahua) & Rascal (the Cockapoo) in the RV window. We are heading out to The National Donor Recognition Ceremony in Washington DC. July '07.

My mother passed away suddenly in Aug. '04 of a ruptured brain aneurysm. Mom was an Organ Donor and the Mountain Region Donor Services, here in NE TN handled everything needed for our family. Every other year, the Federal Government honors donors and their families with a ceremony in DC. Nationwide, each center can choose one donor or donor's family to sponsor for the trip and that year, they chose my mother! I got to go to the most wonderful ceremony. It was very emotional for me, but I feel blessed to have been able to attend and meet so many other donor families from all over the country.

I have to end this by telling you, if you have not already made the decision to donate your organs, please consider doing so. One person can save 7 lives and enrich the lives of so many others through organ and tissue donation. If you want to know any more about donations, please email me, I will help you all I can. I am a Champions for Life volunteer for Mountain Region, so I can help you with any question you may have.

Now I have to tag 4 people for this "Tag Your It" fun:

1) Erin at Two Dachshunds and a Puppy

2) Mo & the Hounds at Two Hounds and a Manx

3) Nigel at Nigel, Sola & Co.

4) The Gang at Hey, Mama Where's My...

So guys, TAG! Yer it!!

The Bullies are blogging!

Alright already!!

The Bullies finally have their own blog!

I have had numerous people ask me to let them have the keyboard once in a while and let's hear it from their point of view, so today, I let them do just that! If you are interested, you can go to

Kids in Dog Suits and see just what they have to say.

I WILL let everyone know up front, I am not responsible for how they think, they are Terriers after all, and anyone who has lived with a terrier for any length of time knows, they have minds of their own. Don't be fooled by the fact that they don't have beards, they are true terriers, through and through!

I hope you will visit their site and give them some encouragement. And I sincerely hope I haven't just enabled 3 monsters!

Lazy Lizard ain't the only Lazy here

Ok, so I've been lazy the last few days and haven't posted anything. It's been raining the last couple of days and all I want to do is be lazy. So, just so I'm not labeled as totally lazy, here's a couple of shots of the Bearded Dragon. He actually belongs to my son, but since he moved and it's been rather cold, we don't want to chance moving him in this weather and him maybe getting sick, so he is living with us until Spring. As you can see, I'm not the only lazy creature in this house! ;)

Enjoy.

Camera-Critters

I have found the perfect Meme for me, Camera-Critters! Considering Hubs and I have 15 dogs, 6 birds and a Bearded Dragon, along with a foster dog for the moment AND I'm a dog groomer, I could play this game a LONG time without running out of photos!
So, I'm excited to publish my first post, if you'd like to join in, click on that adorable badge of the puppy with the camera and GO!

(My favorite picture of her, she's begging for my ice cream & yes, it worked)

(recuperating from her spay)

My first installment is Miss Feather Louise, my 4 year old Bull Terrier. I love all my dogs, but Feather holds a special place for me. I honestly feel, if it weren't for her, I would never have made it through the grief and the total feeling of being blind-sided by my mother's passing so suddenly in 2004. She kept me grounded, she made me laugh when I thought I would never laugh again, she made me get up everyday and keep going, she is a joy to have around and I swear she can talk.

(riding shotgun in the RV)

(her favorite way to sit)

I'm soooo ready......

(the driveway coming into our new house)

To be OUT of this neighborhood and into my new house! I don't know how much longer I can put up with the people that live around me before I start picking them off one by one!! I mean really, doesn't anyone know the meaning of respect, common courtesy or thinking of others anymore? I know one thing, in this neighborhood they sure don't.

We have had problems with the kids that live around here and while I know it's not the kids' fault, it's the parents' fault for not teaching them any better, that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I think the parents just shove them out the door when they get home from school and don't even bother with checking on them or knowing what they are doing for the rest of the day. I have seen them out in the street, skateboarding at 1 am! I'm talking elementary school aged kids! Calling the Police does no good, they don't bother to answer the call until a few hours later anyway, so by then, the little hellions are somewhere else wreaking havoc.

This cold weather has been rough on our dogs since they can't go out and play for long periods, but it sure has been nice for my nerves, it also keeps the neighborhood inside their homes. The last 2 days though, it has warmed up a bit and they are all creeping back outside. In 2 days time I have........

~~Listened to a car that needs a muffler and who knows what else doing at least 50 mph up and down our street. The driver is a boy that looks to be maybe 10 years old! Where is his mother??? Well, I'll tell you, she showed up yesterday afternoon when the police called her because the boy ended up running the car off the side of the road in the ditch just next to our house! She got out of her vehicle screaming at the top of her lungs at the boys and at the police. I know they gave her a ticket, but I'm not sure for what, but within an hour, that same boy was in that same car screaming up and down the street again! Cops showed up once more and I'm not sure what happened this time, but I haven't seen or heard that car today.

~~Watched 4 boys skateboarding up and down the street doing "tricks" off the neighbor's car that is parked out on the street. Before I realized they were in the church parking lot, I let the dogs out to play a while since it had warmed up. Same 4 boys started bouncing off the fence screaming at my dogs for barking at them and teasing them through the fence! Needless to say, I stormed out there and gave orders for them to go home or I was calling the police. They told me to "Go ahead f*%&#ing cops don't come anyway!!" THAT out of the mouth of an 8 y/o! So I told them "Fine, I'll just go get my gun and shoot you in the foot" Oh yes, I did, I most certainly did say that to them. (I am not proud of it, just coming clean with what I said and what it took to get them to listen to me)

~~Heard the neighbors arguing so loud I'm sure the whole neighborhood could hear them. Apparently he's cheating on her because she cheated on him first. Lots of screaming and door slamming and finally a "peel out" up the street.

~~Watched the neighbor behind me stand on her stoop and scream at her kids at the top of her lungs to "come home now" they scream back "NO" and she threatens to "whip them" they say "so what" she goes back inside and slams the trailer door, the kids proceed to the other neighbor's house to chase the chickens pulling tail feathers out of the roosters.

~~Watched 2 boys, (same 2 of the 4 that were cussing me in the church parking lot) throwing rotten apples at our motorhome. Apparently that was pay back for me threatening to shoot them in the foot. Just dialing the phone and acting like I was talking to my husband was enough to make them stop that (for the moment anyway)

~~I've also listened to someone playing the car stereo bass so loud the windows were rattling in the house and the dogs were going off about it. Someone working on a car revving the engine up at 2 am last night, another argument on the other side of the street and car doors slamming all night long!

~~Watched a guy walk up the street carrying what looked like 2 black garbage bags and put them in his car parked in the church parking lot and leave. Found out later, he was at the house on the other side of us stealing and XboX and all the games that go with it, he put them in the black pillowcases from off the bed and carried them out the door! The police were called about the theft and didn't bother until the house owner found out I saw the guy walking up the street at the same time the theft happened and called them again, so they (police) decided they would come on out and take a report! Nice, huh? Guess he had to finish his doughnuts first.

(What I see out my back door, lovely, huh?)

This has just been the last 2 days! I can't go through another summer of this and if we don't soon get into our new house, I'm just going to go over there anyway and sleep on the floor using the back deck as a fridge for keeping my Mountain Dew cold! Look at the different views, THAT alone is worth sleeping on the floor!

(What I see out the doors of the new house, PEACE and QUIET!)

And how was YOUR week?

IHeartFaces

I found the neatest little contest that I just had to get in on over at I Heart Faces. I have looked at a few of the entries and just love them. I wanted to add mine before I go back and look at the rest of them.

Now, since my "kid" is almost 21 and lives out on his own now, I don't have many recent pictures of him, so I wanted to add one of my 4-legged "kids" to the contest. :)

Meet Darla Jean, a brindle Bull Terrier. I took this photo in a hotel room after a long day of showing at the Bull Terrier Nationals, she was one tired puppy.