Thumper AKA fuzzy butt!

[PaGal]

Chris...I'm still cussing him out to myself mostly because I did not get a good nights sleep. It took a while to warm up and those dang flashing red and blue lights are very bright at that distance. Finally fell asleep only to wake up to the sound of a very loud chain saw. fell back to sleep when they finished with that and then woke up again at 3am to hubby shutting down the generator. fell back to sleep and then got up at the usual weekend time.

I do love our electric company. It's a co-op so it serves rural locations. They had the power back on at 3am which is quick considering all of the work they had to do and during the hurricane when we lost power we had it back in five days. Our neighbors in the front of us who have a different company were out for 7 days.

Next person to hit the pole will not be so lucky, being new this one will not break.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Losing sleep at night is not good. I find that if I get woken up a few times, it takes me so long to get back to sleep, I feel as though I haven´t slept at all.

That is good service to get it back on that quick, you are lucky.

I am praying that no one else goes into your pole, I would be afraid of what you are capable of doing to them lol.

 

[PaGal]

I haven't been around much lately. We have satellite internet and I think we were close to our monthly limit of data with the new Kindles because everything just all of a sudden slowed down. It was frustrating to come on the 'puter so I stopped.

Laverne and Shirley are fine although hormonal and driving me nuts. Someone has peed on the 2nd floor of their cage a few times. I told them yesterday while cleaning it that if I find pee up their again I will be blocking them off from the 2nd floor until they get back their good litter habits.

Thumper is still poop marking where their cage used to be but he only drops about ten at the most so I'm just waiting it out.

I have some pics but my 'puter still moves slow here on RO so I'll wait.

We separated the cats as Cloud the male kitty is getting interested in breeding. He is on one side of the garage with Momma. Momma is spayed but she's not much company since she doesn't like other cats. But at least he's not completely alone and we give him lots of attention. He does this funny thing where he tries to lay on my feet but he's too big. When they were tiny kittens and I would take them in the yard they would get scared by noises or the grass or whatever and then they would climb onto my lap if I was sitting down but if I was squatting they would sit on my feet. I guess for him being on my feet is still a comfort thing.

We have an appointment On Wednesday for him to be neutered so soon he will be able to be back with his mom Isabelle and sister.

Hubby said that Pepper is a monkey. She gets up into the rafters of the garage. Their is no ceiling in the garage just open rafters and a roof above that. She walks all around on the rafters and over some things that are stored up their. Hubby watched her go into a box up there and pick up one packing peanut from in a box, make her way down to the floor and took it to her mom. Dropped it at Isabelles' feet and then pounced on her.

People missed out on adopting those two kittens. They are so funny and entertaining and love people.

I got to see two bald eagles in our oak trees the other day and even got to hear them talking to each other.

 

[PaGal]

Well now that we have started a new month of internet service everything is moving faster except for here. My 'puter is very slow here on RO so I haven't been able to read as much or post for that matter. It's driving me crazy because a lot of my internet time is usually spent here reading all of the posts but it is too frustrating now.

Cloud has been neutered. The vets called a few hours back to say he's done and doing fine and wide awake. Hubby is going to bring him home after work. I set up our smaller cage in the garage for him. It's really cold out and I'm concerned about him with the surgery and all so I basically built a box to fit part of the cage but shorter in size to help hold in his body heat. He has cushions on the bottom then two folded up sheets and then a folded up flannel sheet.

He has a folded up sheet on top of the box in the cage and a folded up sheet over the front top and sides of the cage. I have the cage up on bricks and placed packing paper balled up under the cage. When I do laundry or when hubby is out in the garage there will be some heat. I'm not sure how long we will keep him caged. I mostly just worry about him playing with his sister.

So we got some snow and it is really cold. It has been down to 9. I didn't get to go grocery shopping yet. Hubby called from work to let me know there is still a lot of ice on the roads I would take. I have cabin fever so bad. I'm so done with the cold already. The kids had Monday off for the holiday and due to mid-terms the rest of the week was supposed to be half days but school has been cancelled for the whole week. They are wound up and drivin' me nuts. No school and too cold to have them go run around outside.

I watch a medical helicopter land right next to the one neighbors today. He's just down the road from us and not one of our close neighbors. I call him the grumpy neighbor. He's the one that brought his riding mower over to have hubby do some work on it for him and then was a jerk about it all when he brought it when hubby wasn't ready for it and didn't have the time which the guy was told.

Not sure if there might have been a bad accident right there or if it was for him or his wife.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Hope Cloud recovers quickly. Internet speed is the bane of my life. I hate it when it´s slow and won´t do what I want it to do and then think about changing but worry if I´ll have the same problems so stick with what I know.

Miss seeing pics of Thumper, Laverne and Shirley. Will have to send the internet fairy to work some magic for you lol.

 

[PaGal]

It hasn't been a good day and now it has gotten much worse. Bad news of sorts at the end of the day is not what I needed.

Hubby brought home Cloud. He's fine. I'm upset because it cost $150.00. Now when I called the vets before I asked about spay/neuter. I do remember for sure that a spay would cost $139.00 including the rabies. I wanted the least amount done for now. I figured first get everyone rabies and spay/neuter then get the rest of the vaccinations so it would not be too much financially at once.

Neuter should be less than a spay. I already got and payed for the rabies. They listed $60 for the neuter, $3 for hazardous waste, $72.00 for anesthesia and $15.00 for rimadyl injection which I haven't looked up but thought maybe for pain.

Why in the world would they quote less???? All I can figure is they did not include any of the costs except the actual surgery and rabies. That makes no sense. If it was because they would not know the exact amount of anesthesia used or such due to not knowing the weight of the animal then they should at the very least inform you of this.

I cannot afford all of these animals. Not at this rate. I still have to get the two females spayed and rabies and my dog is due for his vaccinations next month. No wonder there are so many animals in shelters. We are not struggling for money, just circumstances has left us with so many pets we did not plan on by us trying to do the right thing. I can see how people that make less and all cannot afford to have their animals spayed/neutered. My vet is the most reasonable around due to their location or so I thought.


The male cat we brought home from the shelter that we had to have neutered cost $189.00 and they did the neuter plus all of the vaccines. I was not expecting that bill either. When did the cost for a spay/neuter get to be so high? The female we have that is spayed we had done about 5/6 years ago and it cost nowhere near that much.

I just want to cry.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Denise how I wish I had loads of money to spread around. I sometimes worry about vet bills if unexpected ones come up for my three and you have so many more. I was lucky in that it was so much cheaper for my three than one of yours. I don't see how costs can be so different and I hate it when someone quotes something and then gets it wrong...they should take the loss.

I will obviously keep you in mind should I win the lottery

 

[kmaben]

Agree with Chris! I'm sure the cabin fever and the girls aren't helping any at all. Wish I had a nice piece of chocolate to offer up. Mental hugs though!

 

[PaGal]

Thank you Chris and Kaley. The thought of chocolate is appreciated. It is one thing I always keep in the house.

I'm past being upset about it. I have been poor in the past, many years ago so I worry about money. I guess more than I should. I'm sure if I was a millionare I may not worry but I would still be frugal.

I'll keep you on my list of those to help out if I ever won the lottery as well, Chris.

Hubby was sweet though. He held me for a while and told me it was fine. It is what it is, something that is necessary and we do enjoy the company of the animals. I was hoping to quickly get Isabelle and Pepper spayed. Now though I need to first find out the real cost of it and start from there.

Although it was too cold out for man or beast today we did get the shopping done. Not fun but at least we got out of the house. I had to go to TSC for horse stall pellets for the buns and bought the girls a Dog-opoly game. Basically it is Monopoly but with a dog theme. Instead of Park Place they have a dog breed. Instead of jail you go to the kennel. You buy dog houses instead of houses. They have been playing since after we got the groceries put away and without their normal arguing. Plus the game was on sale for less than $5. You can't beat that.

Hubby has been working in the area near TSC so I called him on my way there. He called back right before I checked out and since he was in the area and it was lunch time we met up with him and his two work buddies at a diner we really like. Their burgers are good and they have the only onion rings I eat. They are delicious.

I have been cleaning, doing laundry and taking care of the critters since. Time to go cook dinner and then finish the critter work.

Breakfast for dinner...bacon, waffles and eggs.

 

[Chrisdoc]

That does sound good,I like breakfast for dinner, I love eating cereal for dinner now and again.

I really do wish I could win the lottery if only to make everyone's life easier.

 

[PaGal]

It has been a while. In total the girls missed almost two straight weeks of school due to weather so that kept me pretty busy. Hubby has been sent to Pa. for training and I came with him. The girls are at their mothers since she was owed some make up days. One of our friends is staying at the house and taking care of the critters so I can relax and not worry about them. I trust our friend and even more so since we have been gone.

I did everything I could to make it as easy as possible on him since I don't like asking anyone for anything. I had litter boxes set up so all he had to do was take out the dirty and put in a clean one but he was asking hubby how I go about cleaning the dirty ones. He's such a good guy!

We came up on Monday and will be going home on Friday. The days are pretty boring for me since hubby is in class. I'm left on my own. It snowed almost 8 inches on Monday and then yesterday there was an ice storm. They have done a good job taking care of the roads but I stayed put even though hubby left our vehicle with me and has road to class with another guy.

Yesterday the hotel lost power but luckily for me they have books here for guests to read so that's what I did. Since then I have been taking the stairs. I'm no good at just sitting around all day so at least I get some exercise and I figure as bored as I am now it would be so much worse stuck in an elevator.

I miss all of the critters so much. Before we left Shirley was again building a nest. I got some pics of her with a haystache. We are going to have to have Isabelle spayed soon as she has gone into heat. Cloud seems to be adjusting from the neuter. Isabelle has been calling out since she's in heat and he hasn't paid any attention to it so we figure it's a sign that his hormones are going down.

Of course, it's my luck that at home it has been in the 60's when we are sent up north to snow and ice.

 

[PaGal]

We made it back home. I must say I have apparently adjusted to living in the south. As we drove home I brought up how unfriendly the people that worked at the hotel/motel (I don't get the difference) were. Hubby reminded me that when I had first moved down here I found it odd how workers in stores etc would greet you in such a friendly manner.

I must be a southerner at heart as I prefer friendlier people, men that open a door for you and of course less snow and warmer weather. Although, I will admit it did take me quite some time to learn to wait for men to open the door for me, including hubby.

The north can also keep the DC and Maryland drivers!

The only other thing to make the trip memorable was the call from the school nurse, one of the girls was at the nurses having thrown up. We arranged for the twins to be picked up once the oldest got off the bus as it is one of the twins that is ill and the oldest would already have been on the bus by the time the nurse had called.

The person had to use our other vehicle which had not been driven in a while. They needed to first put air in the one tire and then also had to jump the vehicle as the battery was low from not running. I feel bad!

I have really missed the critters but all of them seem well. I now have to go to the store tomorrow since our critter sitter did such a good job making sure the buns had plenty of hay that I am now out of hay. There is however, a ton of it in their cages. I'm dying to clean them but will leave it for now so they have plenty to munch on.

He did have some fun with Thumper. I measured out and placed each of the buns amount of pellets for each feeding in separate bags and marked them for the day to keep it simple and easy. Well at one feeding Thumper grabbed a bag of pellets out of his hand and took off with it.

I usually feed them their second meal at 8pm or around that time. Well he has been feeding them when he got here after work. I didn't have a bag for this evening out as I expected to be home well before 8 which we were but he got pellets out of the storage box to feed them. Now when I get pellets out I only open the lid a crack and reach in for some. He lifted the lid off completely so of course Thumper dove in. I'm sure he thought he was in pellet heaven! Ha

On top of the girls cage I have two large lids from their storage box litter boxes. I use these to set bags of hay, etc on so it's in reach yet they can't get to it. He had one bag too close to the edge of a lid and the girls got a hold of it and pulled part of the bag into their cage and chewed it. They seem fine and it doesn't look like they ate any of the bag just chewed it enough to get to the hay inside.

 

[lovelops]

Hey PaGal,

I never really thought of Prince George VA being that far away after all I live in Prince George County MD, but I know where you are in VA (MY family is originally from South Carolina- Darlington , Hartsville, Chesterfield area) and I know what you mean about some of the points you posted in your blog..

QUOTE: We made it back home. I must say I have apparently adjusted to living in the south. As we drove home I brought up how unfriendly the people that worked at the hotel/motel (I don't get the difference) were. Hubby reminded me that when I had first moved down here I found it odd how workers in stores etc would greet you in such a friendly manner. QUOTE

YES, but then again it has it disadvantages at time that 'friendliness'. I think some people call it talking too much. Case in point, when the bed fell on me and broke some ribs because Lady got out and was under the bed, I went to Urgent Care. They did not ask what happened. I did not want to sound stupid as hell saying, my rabbit escaped and
got under the bed and I balanced the bed frame and springs upright and they fell back on me when I was trying to get her out... blah blah.. I just said I had an accident and they moved on.

I told my cousin who lives in SC that and he was like, here the doctor would have asked you over and over what happened until they got the full story. I said, Yeah and sometimes it ain't none of their business. I've gone through the Southern 3rd degree before by relatives asking me how I hurt myself.. or fell one time, I stepped in a hole in my yard..

Southern Relative: Why did you step in the hole? Didn't you know you were going to break your ankle?
Me; I didn't do it on purpose.
SR: Then why did you do it?
ME; It was an accident.
SR: But didn't you see the hole. How come you didn't know it was there.
ME: I just didn't. There was leaves there.
SR: Why didn't you rake the leaves in your yard? You ain't doing no yard work? You don't have any rakes
at your house.
ME: Of course I have rakes.
SR: Then why ain't you used them.
ME: What does this have to do with my ankle????
SR: It has everything to do with your ankle. If you would have raked the yard like you should, you would have
seen the hole and you wouldn't be sitting here with a broke ankle now wouldn't ya? You'll learn next time not to be lazy and neglect your yard won't ya?
ME: Have you had an IQ tests done lately?
SR: Don't be ugly..

And so on... real conversation from 9 years ago...

QUOTE:I must be a southerner at heart as I prefer friendlier people, men that open a door for you and of course less snow and warmer weather. Although, I will admit it did take me quite some time to learn to wait for men to open the door for me, including hubby."

I will second you on the warm weather. I get sick of the phone calls from cousins complaining about it's only 50 degrees..when I'm at 20F, or 0!

I like the friendly people also. I grew up with it.

However, Friendlier people sometimes come with talkitive itis see conversation above, but that comes from me being brought up in the South and having to put up with tons of Southern aunts and uncles giving me heck about this or that... after a while you just want a simple conversation.

But I have to honestly say, there are about 3 Southerners at my work, and one of them went to college at Uof NC Wilmington and two other are from NC
and you can tell. We do have that fine art of shooting the breeze down or BullS***ing and when we get together we do talk alot more than our coworkers that are 'Northerners".

The north can also keep the DC and Maryland drivers!

Well being born in DC and now living in Maryland... I guess that includes me! But at least I can drive in it..I know my cousin down in SC cannot..

But I liked what you wrote and I do agree with you on those points...

Vanessa

 

[PaGal]

lovelops...I know of Prince George MD but only in the sense that I must make sure to include Virginia in any searches I perform on line relating to my area. Otherwise all of the results are for Prince George MD which is of no help to me. Apparently Prince George MD is better known then my area.

From your reply to what I had posted I can see what you mean about southerners being much more talkative then northeners...LOL Forgive me as I am truly not being mean, I just could not pass that opportunity up.

I guess I have not yet had a real issue with too much talk from southerners. I have no family related to me by blood anywhere near VA. Hubby's family are very nice but we do not see them too often so I do not think they have gotten to the point of feeling they could go on with me in the same way that your family has gone on with you. I'm not one to go to the doctors unless it is for something that is either very painful and not going away quickly or something that I feel could be a serious medical issue. As I haven't dealt with either situation yet I have not yet experienced that from a doctor.

Since I am a stay at home mom and typically leave the house only to grocery shop or volunteer at the kids school and did not grow up in the area I really don't have any southern friends so...

Most of hubby's friends are motor heads (which I am not), they do converse with me on other subjects but it is limited because the conversation does not stray for long.

Although I do talk to my pets only the cats reply.

Of course, hubby was sent for training up north in the snow and ice while here at home it actually got up into the 60's. As my luck goes the temps here, now that we are back home have fallen and shall remain so...

Still...I know it will be at least ten degrees colder in PA so I am still better off.

As for the drivers...mostly it was more the congestion than anything. I forget where exactly we stopped in MD to grab something quick to eat on the road and some gas but it was in the middle of nowhere. There were no houses anywhere in the area and yet there were stores, gas stations and restaurants and plenty of backed up traffic. Although there was one particular man in an SUV that made me realize why there is such a term as road rage.

 

[kmaben]

The traffic in Katy has become more congested as it is quickly becoming a suburb of Houston. I've seen so many people driving with their knees and texting I dont even want to be on the road any more. It's extremely frighting to me. I just pretend I'm still in Dubai and drive like the Emirates. Complete and total asshats.

Glad you made it back though and everyone is still in one piece. And perhaps a pound or two heavier! I'm sure Thumper knows a sucker when he sees one and enjoyed getting away with everything. Obviously the girls arent going to miss out on an opportunity either!

I miss hearing about the kids and the fur kids in our letters. You have a real nice family Denise. (not to sound like a creeper!)

 

[lovelops]

lovelops...I know of Prince George MD but only in the sense that I must make sure to include Virginia in any searches I perform on line relating to my area. Otherwise all of the results are for Prince George MD which is of no help to me. Apparently Prince George MD is better known then my area.


YES and I've had the same thing happen with me. It's because we are ten minutes outside Washington DC.. we are the first county over the line from DC when you enter into Maryland from the South East side of the District.


From your reply to what I had posted I can see what you mean about southerners being much more talkative then northeners...LOL Forgive me as I am truly not being mean, I just could not pass that opportunity up.


HE HE HE... So see I proved your point!!! :bunny18


I guess I have not yet had a real issue with too much talk from southerners. I have no family related to me by blood anywhere near VA.


Your lucky!!!



Although I do talk to my pets only the cats reply.


And that is the way it should be!



As for the drivers...mostly it was more the congestion than anything. I forget where exactly we stopped in MD to grab something quick to eat on the road and some gas but it was in the middle of nowhere. There were no houses anywhere in the area and yet there were stores, gas stations and restaurants and plenty of backed up traffic. Although there was one particular man in an SUV that made me realize why there is such a term as road rage.

Yeah it's gotten worse in the last 20 years. In the 90's I moved to LA and moved back here and thought wow no traffic... now, forget it. It's like driving in LA minus the 3 additional lanes on the freeway!

Vanessa

 

[Chrisdoc]

I really enjoyed reading these last few posts, I have a sister in law from Houston and when I went over there for the wedding, it was like the third degree from everyone, I actually found it quite tiring and enjoyed just spending time on my own when I was there. I also find quite opinionated but not in a good way like she hasn´t got a clue what she´s talking about most of the time. As you can see, I´m not a big fan so it´s a good job she lives miles away and we don´t have that much contact. Having said that, i did find the folk in Houston very friendly and helpful and I did have a great time over there.

Driving is the same the world over. I think people are in far too much of a rush to get everywhere that simple courtesy has gone of the window. You could die over here waiting for someone to let you out of a side road onto the main road and most people don´t have a clue how to use indicators or slip roads. And yes, everyone used their phone in the car, you can always tell when you´re driving behind someone on the phone, they weave all over the road. Good job I drive on my own most of the time as I cuss constantly. I think that we live in a society which is losing good manners and patience. It´s a sad fact but that´s progress for you.

 

[PaGal]

Kaley...I mentioned Katy to hubby since he used to live in Texas and had asked before if I knew what part of Texas. He was curious if I had ever mentioned that he keeps saying if things go bad here in VA, such as too much gun control, etc that we will be moving to Texas.

They certainly did take advantage! Little stinkers. Hubby talked to his buddy every night and every night he was laughing about how crazy they are over the pellets especially Thumper. Or maybe it's just because he is so much bigger so it seems more extreme when he goes crazy. I still need to get a video as I'm sure it will have all of you laughing.

Thank you Kaley.

 

[PaGal]

lovelops...yes, you proved your point.

That's the one thing I hate about driving, the other drivers make me crazy. Well that and getting lost which I am very good at! Luckily we skirted around DC so we avoided that mess.


Chris...that's funny about the cussing. We do not ever cuss in front of the girls but that is the one time I come close is when I'm driving.
We do fuss constantly about the traffic on our road. There is one company out this way and the workers use our back road to get there. They drive like maniacs...way too fast, down the middle of the road and every single one of them is on the phone. If the cops set up a speed trap on our road they would be able to pull every single one of them over.

 

[PaGal]

I forgot to mention yesterday that while we were away I got to watch some Downton Abbey. It did not dawn on me until Thursday to take advantage of the unlimited internet access in the hotel and my kindle so I only got to watch the first four episodes of season one.

I have been so curious about the show having read all of you talking about it. I so wish now that we had unlimited internet at home. The Dr. Who was also available but I didn't get the chance to see any of that. After I put the kids to bed last night and I had watched a little tv on my dvr I did look through the upcoming line up on pbs and guess what? I found Downton Abby. I did not think it carried the show as I had looked before but I guess I had been searching for Downton Abby. I now know it is listed under Masterpiece Classics. So I have the dvr set to record it. Yah! I got hooked with the first four episodes.

The girl that got sick in school yesterday now seems fine. I made her some soup for dinner last night and she ate breakfast this morning and says she feels fine so maybe it was just something she ate. I may be making a mistake but I plan to take her with me shopping. I don't have much to get so it won't take long but we need to get valentine's. The twins are the only ones that will pass them out at school and the one doesn't want to so I'll take just the one girl with me so she can pick out the ones she wants.