YOU ATE WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?

 Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!

Well... you just never know exactly what will be coming your way any day you get out of bed, do you?

So... perhaps some of you remember Demon, the tuxedo kitty that is very appropriately named.

Older and Lazy!!!

In his prime... After that swinging mouse!

Buddying up to the frog

He has done pretty well since the loss of his pal, Dude, in August of 2010.  He seems to have adapted nicely to being the only kitty in the house and has become a bit more "lap-loving" than he was when he had a pal with which to play.

Apparently, he has NOT figured out that dining should be done only from his bowl.  Sigh.  I caught him once with a HUGE amount of ribbon in his belly.  There was a piece still sticking out so I gently removed it by pulling.  That was when we realized we would have to make certain there was nothing left he could reach that might tempt him!

He began seeming very lethargic last week.  The other thing about an inside-only cat is the ability to monitor the litter box.  When I reached the morning of the third day without solid production, I called the vet.  While there was a suggestion of a Fleet's to see if that would help, I assure you I was not about to kitty-wrangle a cranky, fully-clawed, well-toothed cat to provide such an assist!!!  I have already had experience with making the kitty unhappy... and can show you the scars!  So... I loaded him into the carrier and took him to the vet's office.

About an hour later, I have a call from the vet advising the little fella's X-ray shows a "marble-looking" object firmly lodged in his large intestine and he will need emergency surgery in order to get that out of there and save the cat.  Sigh.  Knowing full well this is going to cut into the Christmas funds, the go-ahead is given and I am assured I will receive a call when he is in recovery.

I receive the call that he has come through surgery nicely and they have saved the "whatever it is" that was removed.  I ask that they keep it as I want to see it.  With all the care taken around here to keep things away that he might be tempted to eat, I really want to know what he found!  I am told I can pick him up at 4:00 that afternoon.  Fine.

I arrive at the vet's office and am ushered into an exam room where the vet and I both scratch our heads over some gooey, gummy, dark green, felt-looking stuff that the vet had retrieved from the duma$$ cat's large intestine earlier in the day.  Neither one of us had a clue as to what it was or where it might have come from.  The cat is then brought in, unhappily I might say, and his stitches are displayed for me.  *chuckle*  I know the cat would never eat another thing outside of his bowl if he had the ability to correlate the hellish day he had just had with doing so.

I am sent home with a VERY groggy kitty, two medications that must be given orally each day, and a receipt that blew Christmas all to hell and back.  Sigh.  Oh well.  That's what it means to be a pet-owner, I reckon.

So... he experienced this all on Friday.  He did nibble some food Saturday morning and was eating quite well by Saturday afternoon.  He still has trouble jumping up onto the bed but is determined and usually makes it the 2nd or 3rd try.  He is still moving a bit slowly but seems to be improving almost hourly.  Now all we are waiting on is some "production" from the food he ate Saturday.  That is our final milestone to reach in order to not be further concerned.

I won't bore you with the details when we reach the final milestone.  You have probably had a little TMI (too much information) already.

Until next post...

MORNING WALKS...

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Pals.  Welcome back!

Some of you are aware of my morning walks.  I had walked while in Texas with a neighbor who was a friend.  Once I relocated here, I found myself less motivated to walk without a friend with whom to chat.  That was a mistake.  I began my morning walks again near the end of 2010 and have been consistent with them.  Good idea.

There are plenty of things to see when walking.  I have become more observant as I began walking earlier and earlier during the summer.  With the days getting shorter, I am starting a bit later now.  However, I wanted to share with you some of the things one sees while walking early in the day.

The early walker sees the moon!!  Very pretty.

The sun beginning to reach the edge of the horizon makes for lovely clouds.

Some mornings show no sun... but even the fog can be pretty!

AHA!!!  One of the many "golf eggs" one finds at random places along the golf course!  These are very sneaky and difficult to wrangle... but with stealth, one can capture them for use as targets at the range!

GOT IT!!!  Clearly a Halloween "golf egg."

Spotted this growing from a neighbor's tree.  Thought it was interesting.

Another view.

Hope you can make out the rainbow which was the object of my camera.  Lovely to see.  Hard to capture.



So... if you have been considering walking as a way to reach (or maintain) a fitness level, I encourage you to consider a walk through your neighborhood.  Pay attention and see what you can find!!

Some things coming up that will likely be blog-worthy!  Stay tuned!  And thank you for sticking with me.

Until next post...

BPF PART III - DATE NIGHT!!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Pals.

Well, it's the last post about the Beauregard Parish Fair.  I will have to find something else to regale you with before I post again.  The "Fly-In/Drive-In" is the first weekend in November so perhaps I will have some interesting airplane and automobile photos for you!!

At any rate... I asked the spousal-unit if he would take me on a "date" to the fair.  He actually said he would so we put on our comfy walking shoes the 5th of October and headed to the fairgrounds.  Our first stop was a run through the livestock area.  You have already seen some of the critters that were housed there.  We also wandered through the Petting Zoo with a gazillion little munchkins who were running from cage-to-cage, squealing as the critters "lipped" the feed from their hands.  We didn't spend a lot of time there.

At this point, the spousal-unit had a craving for a Frito pie at one of the locally run food booths.  We went to the Lions Club booth as that is the one my dad used to work at (and I spent a couple of fairs behind there serving burgers and fries with him!) so we figured it was the one at which we should spend our money.  Well... you can't really mess with Fritos but the canned burger chili and the lack of any cheese at all (the signage indicated Fritos, chili, and CHEESE!) were less-than-stellar.  He consumed about 1/3 of it and we headed off to the midway for games and rides!

As we wandered, we ran across a gal hawking the old "pop-the-balloon" game.  She had a big ol' smile and was fun to talk to, so we spent some dollars there playing.  Wandered away with the cutest little stuffed pig wearing a black "leather" jacket and a "pirate" doo-rag.  Needless to say, he's a little HOG (as in Harley Owners Group).  I wasn't going to let him go!!  We wandered a little further and ended up playing another balloon-popping game with a gal who was GOOD at hawking and double-talking!!  When we left, we had a yellow "Angry Bird" stuffed animal and a good laugh... but I think our two little stuffed critters, valued at about $10 total, cost about $40!!!  LOL!!  That's alright.  That's what the fair is for.

So... we purchased "coupons" to ride a ride.  I wanted to ride the Merry-Go-Round.  The kid running it was very apologetic as he told me the individual who owned it had told him no adults on the horses.  WHAT?!?!?  Whatever.  Thanks anyway.  I don't want to just sit on a bench and go round and round!  So we wandered on.  I was feeling just frisky enough to consider riding something just a little more exciting than the Merry-Go-Round from which I was banned anyway!

While my favorite ride when I was a young'un was the Zipper, I knew enough to realize my back would not likely take a "spin" on that one.  However... there were two other rides I enjoyed... the Scrambler and the Tilt-A-Whirl!!  There they were.  Side-by-side.  Yep, the spousal-unit was willing to pile on with me.  It was on!!!

At the Scrambler, we were behind a little fella' who was stretching just as hard as he could to be tall enough to ride the thing.  There was a gentleman with him who had a cane and was clearly not able to ride it.  The ride jockey told the little fella' that he needed an adult to ride.  Well heck!!  If he's got the nerve to ride it, he can ride on it with us!!  We piled him into the car (with the spousal-unit in the "Squish" position, me in the middle, and the little guy in the "free" spot!) and off we went!  He was squealing and hootin' and just plain enjoying his spin!  The only thing I got out of him when I asked "How are you doin'?" was "This is really fast!"  Yep.  It was.  And it was tons of fun.  And he didn't get sick (which I thought about FAR too late in the game to do anything about it if he did!).

We left the Scrambler and walked next door to the Tilt-A-Whirl.  After a few minutes of getting my inner ear back into place, we took our place in a hooded car and waited for the ride to begin.  I had to laugh at my spousal-unit who was laughing at me!!  I was really working that little car, trying to reach the apex at just the right time to make that thing spin like crazy!!  We got about two really good multiple spins out of it and had a good ride.

The spousal-unit had worked up an appetite since his Frito pie had been such a bust and he had been working so hard on the midway.  We stopped at the American Legion food booth where he ordered a cheeseburger and fries.  We should have paid a little more attention to the fact that every person at the booth, and a couple inside the booth, were eating something out of paper bowls.  Turns out it was gumbo... chicken and sausage... and was apparently delicious.  The burger?  Not so much.  He consumed about 1/2 of it and we headed toward the exit.

While there is no photographic evidence of our game-playing or riding, I will leave you with a few shots of the midway. We're good until next year's fair.

Not on our list... but it does look like fun!

Which part of "acrophobia" do you not understand?!?

Didn't get the name on this... but didn't matter.  Not going!!

Ah!  Here's my old favorite.  Fun to watch even if I can't go on it these days.

One more view of the Zipper and we're gone.

Until next post... I hope you enjoyed the fair!!!

BPF PART II: THINGS THAT MAKE ME CRY "FOWL!"

Hello again, Blogging Pals!!

Alright.  I know you are all astute individuals so you are likely to have figured out that our post today is to provide you with photos of... CHICKENS!!  Yep.  Those fabulous creatures that provide food and warmth as well as entertainment.  You will find a few ducks, as well, but our focus today is the incredibly varied world of chickens found at the Beauregard Parish Fair last week.  It is difficult to photograph through cages but I have tried to provide you with the best possible view of these lovely birds.

Without further cockadoodle-do...

When did chickens get fuzzy?!?

Love the blue feathers on this gal!

This one nearly needed a double cage!!

This should be called a "Sesame Street" chicken.  You cannot believe the feathers on this bird!!

These two roosters were staring at each other when I walked up... and they were still staring without moving when I left them!!

Now she is a gorgeous chick!!!

Wish you could see all of the lovely colors on this duck.

So... that was my foray into the poultry world at the recent fair.  One more segment to come before we put the fair to bed for this year.

Until next post...

BEAUREGARD PARISH FAIR - PART I

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!  It's FAIR TIME!!

The Beauregard Parish Fair took place last week, complete with exhibits, livestock entries, food booths, and a carnival to boot!

If you have never been to a small-town fair, you should really put one on your "Bucket List."  The Beauregard Parish Fair has been an annual event as long as I have been alive... and before that!  While I can't provide you with sounds and smells, I hope you can get an idea of the fun available to everyone who attends.

Part One is a look at a few of the Petting Zoo critters as well as some of the 4-H Club members' entries into the livestock competition.  Hope you enjoy these!

A lovely llama.

Are these the REAL "Three Little Pigs?"

A dromedary with a zebra next door.

This young lady was having no problem shearing her sheep!

I believe he's done this before.

Billy Goat Gruff and friend?

If these aren't called "Oreo Pigs", they should be!!

Bunny Fest!

Sweet little lop-eared fella (or gal).

This one was curious about me!

Stay tuned for Part Two coming very soon!!

Until next post...