Greytinspirations Weblog

As much as I love to write in my blog, sometimes it is just impossible to keep up with it on a regular basis. I have these occasional lapses, like the past few days.

This past weekend was so busy despite my best efforts to make it a relaxing weekend, life just gets in the way. Between personal matters, business, the kids and the dogs, there isn’t much of a break. My husband spent the weekend at my Dads place, along with a few other members of the family, cleaning out the house in preparation for putting it up for sale. I decided not to go as it would have been much too difficult - saying "Goodbye", knowing it would be the last time there and the last "piece" of my parents. It was hard enough without being there…another part of my life closing.

I spent the weekend working on Greyt Inspirations business, creating web templates that will be for sale soon, and regular work around the house. It wasn’t a particularly nice weekend outside so I didn’t get any of that work done.

These past few weeks have not been easy but I’ll get through it, I always do…

We pass a store that sells Menonite furniture everyday on the way home from work and we have always said that we should stop and take a look. Today, we took some time and stopped. We specifically wanted to see how much the Adirondack chairs cost.

We start talking to the owner of the store and find out that she has last years models on sale - the price was the best we had seen yet plus she had “no tax” today too.

We just happened to mention that we are also looking for a table and like the cedar bar tables that she had outside. She promptly tells us that they are also last years models and are for sale for $600.00 off! —SOLD!

Another surprise bonus was that she and her husband were visiting someone down the street from us tonight so she offered free delivery. Her husband was here with the 2 chairs and table within an hour of us getting home.

She didn’t have any of the matching barstools left so we’ll go back and pick some of them up in a few weeks.

Talk about Service!

Then we stopped at the butcher to buy some pork chops for supper. They had a large bag of pork chops, a large bag of chicken breasts and a large bag of ground beef for good prices - guess what we bought?  He gave us a bunch of dog bones for $5.00. We are regular customers, there every week for something or other, and he regularly gives us a really good deal.

We are very happy with the excellent deals today…every once in a while we get lucky like this..;

Today was a very busy day and nothing much got done…

Here’s how my day went:

- woke up, got into shower, noticed red rash all over my body. Assume red rash is a side effect from the antibiotics that I have been taking for the past week for a sinus infection. Make mental note to stop taking antibiotics.

- Finished washing, got out of shower, dried off, took closer look at red rash which is now starting to itch.

- Looked in medicine cabinet for some Benadryl. Bottle of Benadryl has an expiry date of 2005! Look through rest of cabinet and toss all medicines and such that are past expiry date.

- take an allergy pill in hopes that it will make itch go away.

- drive hubby to work as I need car to take myself and son to dentist. On way home, itch starts to go away.

- arrive home, make something to eat, sit down to check on emails and business information.

- go pick up son from school for dentist appointment. Spend 3 hours going to/from dentist office and appointments.

- drop son back at school.

- go home, get late lunch, check email and respond to business needs.

- go pick up hubby from work.

- run a few errands on way home.

- get home, make supper, do dishes, check email and tend to a few business needs.

- itch starting to return, guess allergy pill is wearing off. Ooops, forgot to pick up some Benadryl while I was out today

- sit down to watch a little Tv before bed. I’m very tired despite not getting much done today.

I hope your day was much better than mine.

I guess you can say we are pretty lucky with our 5 dogs. Only one the five has needed any “ear care”. Like with the eyes, we need to take special care when cleaning the ears. When I came across this “all natural” ear care formula, I thought “perfect!” - I’ll take some. Natural ear care that’s chemical free! As pets (especially canines) have been domesticated and cross bred, their ears have gotten longer and droopier– a far departure from the ancestor wolf. As a result, the external ear area of pets requires extra care to prevent or minimize ear infections, wax buildup, etc.

Natural Ear Care’s formula uses a safe and effective combination of natural ingredients: Magnesium and Zinc sulfate – Used in folk remedies for their tonic and astringent capabilities. Hydrogen peroxide – Generally found helpful in softening and removing ear wax. Deionized water base - Deionized water has been treated to remove all minerals and inorganic chemicals. Apple Cider Vinegar – A natural non-toxic folk household cleaner that has traditionally been used for deodorizing, disinfecting and to control the growth of unfriendly bacteria and other microorganisms. Used by Hippocrates (the founder of modern medicine) in 400 BC.

ecoPure Naturals Herbal Ear Care

Or could it clumsy because old?

Our lovable, goofy dog Onyx will turn 12 years old in a few months. He has always been clutsy and prone to injury, but as he ages, it seems to be getting worse. During the past month or so, he has tripped on the stairs at least three times and hurting his leg each time - once so bad that we had to get it X-rayed to be sure there wasn’t any serious damage. A week of Metacam and rest and he was good-as-new.

Yesterday, he did it again. After yesterdays incident, we have decided to block the stairs off to him so that he will only go downstairs when necessary. His legs don’t work like they used to and he is obviously having more and more difficulty “doing” the stairs.

Other than his “tired old legs”, he seems to be doing very well.  Oh the joys of getting old.

I don’t usually post about personal matters, but I feel the need to write this down in an attempt to overcome the bad feelings I have right now.

I’ve been going through a pretty rough spot with family. I have heard many times that dividing up assets can tear families apart and although I have seen it happen before, I niavely thought it wouldn’t happen with my family. Well, it is!

Long story short, my Dad passed away in December and, we (his siblings) are not having an easy time agreeing on some major matters. There are 7 of us and we are divided on some issues making for a very stressful situation. I have said my piece and am “paying the price” for doing so. One, or more of my siblings is getting “back at me” in another way which has hurt deeply and pissed me off. Another sibling (or possibly the same one?) is being very unreasonable.

This whole situation has reminded me why I like my dogs much more than I like my family - no judgements, no demands, no arguments — just unconditional love!

Our lawn this spring is terribly weed infested, worse than normal. I don’t like using chemicals as it is not only bad for the environment but not good for our dogs either. I found some good alternatives to using chemicals.

The National Coalition for Pesticide-Free Lawns has some easy tips you can use to create a healthy lawn.

• bad mowing practices can cause many lawn problems so make sure your mower blades are sharp and keep your grass height at 3 to 3 1/2 inches.
• some weeds are the result of using poor quality grass seed. Make sure you use the proper grass seed for your region.
• remember many “weeds” have beneficial qualities. For example, clover takes nitrogen from the atmosphere and distributes it to the grass, which helps it grow. Clover roots are also extensive and very drought-resistant, providing resources to soil organisms. It also stays green long after your lawn goes naturally dormant.
• if you have weeds growing where you don’t want them, pour vinegar, lemon juice or boiling water on them. Make sure the liquid only goes where you don’t want vegetation of any kind because it does not discriminate; it kills everything.

Check out http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticidefreelawns/resources/index.htm for more great tips for a Pesticide Free Lawn.

Pet Adoption
Mekia-Frisbee dog!

breed: Toy Fox Terrier, Corgi[Mix] Sex: Female Age: Young Size: Small

Ozark Haven Rescue

This smart, alert, very terrier, 18 lb girl is about two years old. Very friendly and loves to play fetch, is very toy/ball motivated. Will roll the ball to you with her nose to get you to play with her. Foster mom says she is so gifted with the ball they decided to try her on frisbee and she is excellent. Will make a great agility dog. She is gorgeous to watch!

She was being kept locked on an apartment balcony. The grandmother took her from the grandkids because the dog was miserable locked out on the balcony all of the time. She is thrivig in foster care and ready for a home of her own!!!

This pet is up to date with routine shots.
This pet is already house trained.
This pet has been altered.