Camping Panic Takes

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Meg and I are hitting the road today for another American Heritage Girls camping trip this weekend.  It's "family camping" but we're the only ones from the family who can go.  Fortunately, lots of other moms are in the same position this weekend.

I was seriously panicking yesterday evening when I realized I had absolutely no time in which to prepare for this trip.  Fortunately, my good friend Veronica called and was amenable to cancelling our plans for this morning, freeing up 6 whole hours in which to read blogs and blog  pack and prepare food.

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"Happiness is a warm puppy.  Gus is sleeping in my lap, which is an extremely rare treat.  Usually, if we're holding him it's a wrestling match to keep him from chewing our clothes and hands!"

That's from last week.  We've had a few good days in a row, but he's in all out terror mode this morning for some reason.  I thought he might want to go out again, but when I took him out he was backing up and snarling!  He was fine once I got him off the porch, did a little business, and we came back in, but he's still very ornery today!

--- 3 ---

Can I do another Quick Take on Gus?  We took him back to the vet for shots where we found out that he weighs a whopping 4.4 lbs. now.  Woot!  1.4 lbs. in 3 weeks!  One of the kids said he's as big as a baby now.  Um, no.  Those are more like 10 lbs. at this age, if not more.

The vet said he might be part Cairn terrier instead of Westie because he doesn't see any white on him. He said it "shines through."   Funny though, his color has started changing along with the fall leaves.  He's lightening up.  His belly looks black and white now, quite zebra-ish.  And when I walk him in the sunshine, he has this white shimmer about him.

Kind of like a halo.  But not, since he's a devil dog.

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I'm stunned.  Awed.  I'm in good company.  I think.  Jen, hostess of 7 Quick Takes, of Conversion Diary fame, will be "hanging out at the American Heritage Girls booth" at her church festival.  Does that mean she's in AHG, too??

Their Fall Festival sounds like a blast.  I wish our Church picnic was like that!

--- 5 ---

We had a "Sing-In" (silly name!) at church on Wednesday.  Instead of our regular choir rehearsal, we met in the church with all the parishioners who wanted to learn the new Mass parts we'll be singing.  There were about a dozen people there besides the choir.  Very disappointing.  I can't figure out what the problem is; and neither can the pastor & music director.  I have my suspicions though:  not enough has been said by the pastor from the pulpit about the new changes and the reasons for them, and most people really don't care for the contemporary music.  You will find most of the congregation actually singing only at the 10:30 a.m. Mass where the traditional music is sung.  Our new Mass is unremarkable.  It's simple,  and fairly easy to learn.  In fact, I have some of it stuck in my head----I'll find myself humming and wonder:  what is that I'm humming?  And I realize, oh, it's the Mass.
Eh.  I'm happy about the translation, though.

--- 6 ---

Thanks to Barbara's post the other day, I was inspired to upload the Rosary Army rosary to my ipod.  They have 2, a regular and a scriptural.  All the other audio rosaries I have tried have been way too agonizingly slow.  I never talk that slowly!  I was very pleased that Greg and Jennifer Willits manage to sound like normal people while praying!  In fact, I could complain that they go a hair too fast for me, but I won't.  They also have great voices.  They're easy to understand and they just plain sound good.

--- 7 ---

I have a new book to read for my camping trip this weekend.  I ordered the kindle edition of Wheat Belly by William Davis, M.D.  (He's a cardiologist, people!), so I'm psyched that I'll be able to read in the dark tent on my phone.  It's a fascinating, scary book.  I've believed for a while that wheat is killing this country (I know, I'm a whacko), even though I haven't, until recently, been able to kick the habit myself, and Davis lays it all out there.  I find it especially shocking/BraveNewWorld-ish that the wheat we ingest today is totally unrecognizable from what we ate only 200 years ago!  I don't know anyone who likes GMO's (genetically modified organisms) in their food, but wheat is exactly that, and it's in practically everything we eat!  I highly recommend that you pick it up if you have any health or weight issues.  In just the little bit that I've read, wheat can cause a myriad of problems.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

We're a Little Squirrelly, here!

Last week I heard The. Loudest. Racket.  Outside, inside, it was someone working on a construction project in my attic....with their teeth!  It was hard to pinpoint the exact location, but it went on practically all day, and the next day, too.  Dh had gone up to look around and definitely saw a squirrel hiding out.

We called Our Squirrel Guy who had installed our lifetime warrantied pest exclusion in '08 and rid our attic of many dead and live squirrels.  He came out a few days later, though the major noise had stopped, and because of that he thought a female had been building a nest and might be ready to give birth.

God forbid.  You know that the babies return to their birthplace to give birth again?  Imagine the generations of squirrels in your attic giving birth at one time.  Or don't.  Don't go there...it's scary to contemplate.

Anyway, he found the likely spot where it (they!?) were entering, and installed a one-way door so they could get out for water, but not be able to get back in.  After about a week of no more noises, he came and sealed it up properly again.  But we were still hearing little noises, so he decided to put a paper plate full of cany and nuts up there saying that we should check it and let him know if it was touched.  We shouldn't touch it, but leave it for him because he would be able to tell what kind of rodent (eugh!) was up there.

Pippo and Meg have been thrilled to be able to climb up to the attic every day to check the (amazingly) untouched plate.  But yesterday....Yesterday....they a saw a "big ball of gray fluff" in the insulation.  Dh went up after we left to go back to Commitment Sunday...so we missed all the fun...darn it.....and pulled out a BIG dead squirrel....and threw it in the woods.

So, the question is:  Was it there, and dead, the whole time, or had it somehow survived without water while the one-way door was in place (because he says they're scared of it and won't use it until they're desperate), and then got sealed up in the attic?  Fortunately, the weather has cooled off and he wasn't rotting...yet?

Eugh.  I hate squirrels.  And attics.

And I'm jealous of The Squirrel Guy because he built his house himself, with metal over all the joints, so it will be Rodent Proof.   Nice.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...There's an indigo sky over the trees, but it's still dark and quiet.  The season has definitely shifted to fall.  The sun is still warm, but the wind has been blowing a chilly breeze for days.

I am thinking...That a brindle* colored dog maybe isn't the best color to get.  He can hide anywhere, even in plain sight because he's so well-camouflaged!

*brindle |ˈbrindl|nouna brownish or tawny color of animal fur, with streaks of other color.• an animal with such a coat.adjective(also brindled )(esp. of domestic animals) brownish or tawny with streaks of other color: a brindle pup.

I am thankful...for Commitment Sunday!  That sounds weird, I know, but I spent practically the entire weekend at the church, in the Family Center, to recruit for American Heritage Girls.  I was tired and stuffy because of a cold, but I really enjoyed sitting around, crocheting, and talking with my friends for hours.

...for blog readers who comment and supply you with what you need!  Thank you to Jen at ::Meditatio:: for sending me her Daybook Template!  I love it!

From the kitchen table...Still plugging away at the books.  Since today is Monday school is bound to take at least 8 hours.  I don't think it's the workload on Mondays; I think it's just the attitude.

In the kitchen...I'm still using the Everyday Paleo menu plan, which makes my life a lot easier.  Only this week I was a little more selective and switched one of the recipes for Barbara's Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps.  I know it's not summer anymore, but we're going to have them anyway!

I am wearing...Blue jeans, handknit socks, tee, cardigan, handknit scarf around my neck.  It's cold.  I'm cold.  And I have a cold.  So I'm trying to keep warm.

I am creating...I spent a lot of time yesterday working on my sleeping mat for the homeless, and last night I worked on my own sweater.

I am going...To stay home today until it is time to pick up Tom from school late this afternoon.  I like that.  Unless I get out to JoAnn's for some sewing things I need.  I like that, too!

I am wondering...If they'll find a bone marrow match for Isaac.

I am reading...Not much, right now.  I got a book from the library the other day about housekeeping...and promptly forgot about it.  Yes, I forgot about both housekeeping AND the book...it's been a busy few days.

I am hoping...They find a match for Isaac.

I am looking forward to...A walk in the sunshine today.  I hope.  I took Gus for a long walk yesterday, his longest yet(!), and it was perfect.

I am hearing...The dryer running already, and Pippo sniffling because he has a cold, too.

Around the house...Squirrels.  Around, and in.  Yuck.

I am pondering...Where I'm going with my blogging.

One of my favorite things...Warm sunshine.  Can you tell I'm cold this morning?

A few plans for the rest of the week...Choir, AHG Board meeting, working on our co-op drama costumes.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Tom and his GF Alexandra, ready for homecoming.

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