My Heart's on Fire for Elvira

[PaGal]

That sucks that people just abandon the dogs like that. I do not like people for the most part. It would be great if you could work it out to help the shelters out. Luckily for us all the stray animals that we have had on our property had just gotten loose somehow from home and we have been able to reunite them with their owners.

Congrats on loosing the weight!

Be careful with the possum, they can be pretty grumpy and vicious. I just watched the show Swarms on Animal Planet the other day. Some ladies house was being overrun with possums. It's illegal to kill them where she is so they had to catch them all over time with live traps.

We found a big raccoon living in our garage at our old house once. We walked in and he was curled up sleeping on the seat of a dirt bike. He stood up and slowly stretched and yawned and hubby herded him out of the garage door. I'm sure he loved it there. It did explain why we were going through so much cat food but had me concerned thinking how I could have mistakenly petted a raccoon in the dark thinking it was our cat since she kinda resembles one in the dark!

 

[whitelop]

Hello! Been gone for a while again!
Seems like so much is going on here.
We just bought a huge tiller for the summer, to make a huge garden in our field. So my mind has been filled with that, getting the chicken coop moved and the 3 free rangers put up.
And since its winter time, and the weeds aren't growing, I'm taking advantage and taking care of my flower beds. Getting some mulch this weekend.
Because this year, I plan on making our house like the "hippy hangout". LOL My DH's coworker is really excited about our garden, he's going to come and help out. So I'm going to get a wooden table to put outside so we can sit under the magnolia and eat and relax after long days gardening.
I'm still trying to get my husband to go along with kennels. I feel like I'm in such a good place, like I can handle all of it. MY house is looking beautiful, the yard looks better everyday, (I planted like 50 extra bulbs yesterday in a bed and it has NO more room for more bulbs), the chicken coop needs a bit of work, but I need man help. LOL He just says its too much stress for the kennels, which it is. But good stress! AHH oh well, I'll talk him into it one day.

I do have some pictures of Ellie. Shes been such a good girl. I've given her lots of blankets because its cold in the kitchen. She only potties on them occasionally. She's stopped chewing on things that aren't hers(knock on wood) for the most part. My kitchen is over run with boxes, but oh well. She has a box cabinet though! I made her old cabinet into the box and bag storage. Shes been a really good girl though. I'll write this and she'll go crazy and do something horrible. LOL

So I stopped eating all meat now. I made some salmon soup with the last of the fish, finished that off and now no meat. The only animal products I eat are, eggs, yogurt and half & half for my coffee. Almond milk in my coffee just doesn't do it for me. I've lost about 15 or so lbs. I feel SO good from not eating processed crap! My husband still eats meat, since I would never take anything away from him. LOL But hes adapted really well to the healthy life style. He still eats some fast food, if he doesn't have bread for lunch or whatever. But now, instead of going to taco bell, he goes to the organic grocery store and gets a sandwich from the deli! For the same $5 he's getting grass fed beef, natural cheese and fresh cooked chips. I'm so proud of him and he's so proud of himself!
I just have to tell you guys quickly about my mother in law. That woman, man, she's a piece of work. Shes more republican than George W. (not that theres anything wrong with that), shes super high up in an airline, and shes a B. We blame her for the bad economy, rainforest deforestation is her fault, global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain, smog...among other things. haha. Anyway, so the last time we saw her, I told her that I had stopped eating meat, other than fish, and that I wasn't eating processed food. She said I was crazy. We went over there the next day for dinner, I brought a veggie burger to replace the pork she was making. My hub and I stopped eating pork like 6 months ago, we HATE it. And my FIL has a pig valve in his heart and pork is not healthy. So she sort of talked junk about my veggie burger, oh well. Then she had the balls the next day to call my husband and say "if you ever get sick of eating Morgan's weird food, you can go to the house and get "normal" food from your dad. I don't know about all those veggie burgers and weird stuff? Are you starving?" My husband then said to her, "no, I LOVE the "weird" stuff that Morgan makes and cooks. I love the healthy food that we eat and would take the healthy food over the "normal" food any day! So, I'll eat at home but thanks" Well, something like that. LOL So my husband stuck up for me and my weird food! YAY him! I just hate that lady!
Shes the kind of person who spends $52 on a 6 oz steak and doesn't think anything of it. Ugh, I hate those people.

PICTURES!
Here she is, catching the last few drops of sunlight from that window.

This was this morning, in her hay box. She normally doesn't get in it, but this morning she did. It was funny!

She looks like a cow in a stall ready for milking. LOL She's wedged in that box. Shes a big round. LOL

Happy Thursday! I'll catch up on the other blogs later on today!
Hope you guys have a great day!

 

[Tauntz]

Hi, Morgan!
Love your update! Its so wonderful that you are eating healthy & not taking the easy fast food/already made route! Your whole family will one day, if not already, appreciate the healthy diet you prepare for them! I'm trying to eat healthy but it is so hard to find even semi-fresh vegetables in our local stores & the cost is outrageous for sickly, dead veggies, as I call them! My grandparents always had a vegetable garden until my grandmother fell & broke her hip. We always had vegetables for our meals. Mom would do a bit more meat but not much. But my grandmother only cooked bacon or sausage with the breakfast, no meat until Sunday's dinner. Sunday's dinner usually had chicken or a roast. That was it! My grandmother was the best cook & I didn't miss the meats. Wish I had been able to keep up that diet & lifestyle. I definitely would be healthier now. Don't let your MIL bother you. I'm envious of your healthier lifestyle! Wish I could live it too!

Ellie is looking great despite our crazy winter weather! I'm like Ellie, I like to just sit in the sunshine & enjoy feeling it warm me! lol Faith & Hope, my bunny girls & I have been trying to take advantage of any warm days we get either grooming outside & play time.

Enjoy your healthy lifestyle! Look forward to more posts.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Morgan, you good girl getting yourself on the healthy track. I will be joining you, at least, on eating healthier when I get back from the UK on Tuesday. I am taking my mom back home on Saturday, she´s been with me for 6 weeks and we´ve had a blast. I love spending time with her and will really miss her when she goes home but she´s got people to see and things to do and she´ll be back in no time.

I need to lose about a stone so will be starting my health drive when I´m back on my own. I´ve been cooking quite a lot for mom as I want her to eat well.

Ellie looks great. She´s just like the boys, likes sitting in the sun chilling out. I just love that little lassie, she is so cute.

Your MIL is a bit much. Don´t force your ideas on anyone but glad your hubby defended you. You have a super healthy family now.

I am definitely getting more into fish when I come back. I saw a really good silicone dish for steaming so I will be looking in the UK as everything is so much cheaper there.

I had a weird dream the other day, I won loads on the lottery and was giving money to all you guys on here; you, Denise, Jenny, Jennifer, Coco Puff´s mom and lots of rescues. I live in hope that one day this will become a reality. Wouldn´t it be great to spread your luck around and make so many people much happier :blushan:

 

[Chrisdoc]

PS, forgot about Becs there down under. If I had the funds, you´d be one of the first lol.

 

[kmaben]

Morgan! Found this recipe. It looks fabulous. Gonna make these when I go home. Thought you might like it.

Guinness, Whiskey & Irish Cream Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Guinness cupcakes with a Jameson whiskey ganache center and topped with a Baileys Irish Cream frosting.

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:
1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey
For the Baileys Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream

Directions:

1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
3. To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.
4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
5. To Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

 

[Azerane]

Sounds like you're really getting things in order, with the garden and eating healthier. I love gardening, but being in a rental is kinda limiting with how much you can "experiment" so to speak. Been trying to be healthier since just before Christmas too... made it hard with Christmas and have been struggling a bit, but since I'm having to be a bit tighter with money currently, it's making me eat healthier because I'm buying less fast food (although it's pretty cheap in terms of a bought meal, it's way cheaper for me to just make a sandwhich or a meal that leaves me with leftovers)

Ellie looks adorable in her hay box

PS, forgot about Becs there down under. If I had the funds, you´d be one of the first lol.

lol, much appreciated I'm sure Bandit would appreciate it too. Gourmet snacks and toys etc. Will keep my fingers crossed for you

 

[whitelop]

Kaley, those cupcakes look SO good! I want to eat them!

Bec! Yay for less fast food! That is such a good start. You'll get healthy and find that there is no better way to live, and junk food tastes just like that...junk!

 

[whitelop]

Hey Everyone! This is the first time I've written in my own blog in so long! I don't know what happened, I just sort of stopped responding to things on here, even though I would check RO from time to time.

So this is whats been happening for the last month of so. It might be sort of long, so maybe sit back and grab a cuppa and enjoy. LOL

I've been doing normal things still. Trying to work out more and trying to be healthy still. I've lost 30 lbs since Boxing Day and I still haven't eaten any meat. I think the biggest thing with me not coming on here much is because I'm going through this thing called "vegan haze". Its because I'm not eating meat anymore and I'm deficient in vitamin B12. I'm taking supplements, but some days are more cloudy than others. On a hazy day, I can't multitask and I have a hard time concentrating. So I think thats a big reason. MOST days are pretty normal, but in the evening I'm like a special kid. LOL

Most recently, my mom and some dog rescue group have found this dog thats been living behind a Jack-In-The-Box and a hotel/mexican restaurant. Hes been living out there for like 2 years. We think he's a corgi/sheltie mix, he's about 20 lbs. He's the cutest dog! Well, we've been trying to catch him for 2 weeks, hes just too smart. The mexican restaurant feeds him, and they're feeding him more now that people are watching. So as good as it is that they're feeding him, it goes against what we're trying to do because hes not hungry enough to go into a trap.
Anyway, when we catch him, I'm taking him to foster. Hes going to take like a year to rehabilitate. Hes been on his own for so long, he's become like a wild dog, so its going to take him a while for him to be a normal dog again.
His story, so we've been told is that, there was a couple living in the hotel and they had him with them. Then he broke his foot or something, somehow. So they left the hotel and left him there. He had to heal on his own and stay out there on his own. Its so sad and hes just so cute, I don't know how they left him.
Anyway, my mom has been going out there at like 4 am to put the trap out. He's almost gotten into the trap twice, but hes so smart he just won't go all the way in.
I just hope that he'll go into the trap and then I can take him to the vet and then I can bring him home to make him a real dog again.

Anyway. I sold all my roosters, so I'm left with one hen. I'm trying to find another hen to go with her, but I can't find anything thats not terribly expensive. I need to go to the shelter to see if there are any there. Maybe I can rescue one. We went to tractor supply, but the minimum number of chicks you can buy is 6 and my husband doesn't want to buy 6. Hopefully we can find one hen, so my hen won't die of loneliness.

On the Ellie front. She's doing really well. I came into the kitchen this morning and she had shredded the crap out of a cardboard box! LOL Shes shedding like crazy right now, she has a total cactus butt. Shes completely obsessed with my recycling! I come downstairs every morning and shes gotten into my recycling baskets and pulled everything out. Shes so crazy!

Its almost time to cook dinner, but I'll be back. I don't think anything else big has happened? Just normal things. But my brain doesn't work all the time, so its hard to remember. LOL

 

[PaGal]

Congrats on the weight loss and good for you sticking with the new diet!

Awww the poor pup. When I was growing up there was a couple down from us that had a corgi named Champ. I loved that dog. He got loose all of the time and would come up to play with my dog. They were best buds. I have always thought I would like having one as he was so sweet and they're little dogs but not like a little yippy dog. He liked chasing skunks though and one night as I stepped out onto my porch he zoomed past me into the house. I didn't even see him just knew something ran past. Until I started getting yelled at by my father. Champ had just been sprayed by a skunk. And he'd never been in the house before.

Your poor hen needs some company.

I wonder if she'd be the same if she was spayed. I guess I wonder because I see how the hormones drive Shirley and wonder if she would be calmer if spayed. Laverne too for that matter she just hasn't shown real hormonal behavior.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Great to see you on here Morgan and amazing you have lost so much weight congrats

 

[whitelop]

Well, I told you guys that I sold all my roosters. And I just got a new hen. Shes really pretty! Her name is Purdy Birdy and shes a Silver Laced Wyandotte. I picked her up Saturday morning. Had a bit of an issue with Bluebelle being a bully, but I think they're passed it now.

Here they are!

This is Bluebelle, since its been a while since you guys have seen pictures.

She was being a butthead about the camera, she didn't like the flash and was pacing back and forth and wouldn't let me get a good picture of her.

But Purdy is a hog! LOL Shes such a lovely calm girl.

And here is a new one of Ellie! She was super grumpy today, as you'll see by her ears. She lunged at my camera and then pinned her ears down and glared at me. LOL

Happy Monday!

 

[Chrisdoc]

She's gorgeous. I was thinking of you today as they had a hen handed in to a rescue, someone had just dumped her. She looked really cute and I thought that Morgan would have rescued her if she'd been over there.

Grumpy Ellie, yes she is definitely giving you the "stare" haha.

 

[whitelop]

Yes I would have rescued that hen, Chris! All the shelters around me didn't have any hens. I think because its "chick days" right now, where they're selling chicks at the hardware stores. In a few months, people will be trying to get rid of chickens because they've decided that it wasn't right for them to have them.
I might be able to find some cheaper hens later in the spring. But Purdy is lovely!

We still haven't caught the dog yet. Sunday we went and ALMOST got her. She slipped by my leash by an inch. It was so freaking heart breaking. I ran a mile that day chasing her. It was so bad. Then my mom found out from another person who has a business out there, that she has been out there for 3 years. 3 YEARS! We just can't believe it. And its a girl, I saw that on Sunday while I was watching her. So I think I'm going to name her Annie, like Orphan Annie. Hopefully we get her soon. The guy that mom talked to, is going to help us get her, which is great.

Ugh, anyway. Happy Tuesday!

 

[PaGal]

Have you tried asking the people to stop feeding her? Have any of the people that do feed her been able to get close to her? If they have maybe you can get them to try to catch her for you.

I'm assuming you know what a catch pole is. You could try rigging one up yourself which would make catching her easier than when trying to use a leash. I made one myself once.

 

[whitelop]

We have asked the people to stop feeding her. No one can get close to her at all. My mom goes every morning to feed her now, so she has a routine.
We made catch poles. I ALMOST had her with mine. If I had been like inches close to the left, I would have got her.

That whole day was insane! I got up at 5, met my mom at 6:30, went to where the dog is after that. Waited for the dog to come eat, because we drugged the food with NOT ENOUGH! Then we waited for it to work. I almost got her at one point, then she took off, so we chased her down. Almost got her that last time. She got away. I followed her back behind the restaurant/hotel. Found a TENT with a person living in it! A PERSON LIVING IN THE TENT NEXT TO THE MOTORWAY! So I yelled at him to make sure he knew I was there. He asked if everyone was going to know he was living there. I told him no, I had two people with me and as long as he didn't hurt me, he wouldn't be found. Hes was behaving like a junkie, since that crap hit hard in my area about a year ago. I left him there.
So we continued to look for her. We guessed that she went back to her "home" to sleep it off. We didn't see her again. I one point I was walking through the woods, I see a cop and a truck driver. The truck driver points at me, and the cop gets out of the car and starts yelling at me to get out of the woods. Too bad the woods are AGGRESSIVE! Every freaking thing in there has thorns and briars and grabs your clothes and skin, I'm cut up from head to toe! I'm trying to yell at the cop that its going to take me a minute to get out because of the briars. He calls me in! "a female subject, 20s, purple shirt, black pants, wandering through the woods". I'm yelling "I'M NOT A SUBJECT! I'M A DOG RESCUER! I WORK WITH A RESCUE! THE BRIARS, I'M STUCK I CAN'T GET OUT!" Of course there are cars going by and its loud and he can't hear me. My mom walked up from the other side and was like ITS OKAY! Then the cop called back in to say that we were with the rescue trying to get the dog. LOL
I was really worried that he was going to taze me for not being able to get out of the trees fast enough! I told him I was deep in the briars and he said he had had to chase someone through there once and ruined pants. He was really nice, but it was scary!
And there was another tent like 50 feet from where I was, so I'm sure he thought I was some hobo or something at first.

The person my mom talked to, has a completely fenced in property. So if get the dog into the fenced in property, we'll be able to get her. The fence is 6 foot tall fence and she should be able to get her. The guy is an animal lover, he has 2 feral cats that hes had spayed/neutered. He said he has to trap his cats first to take them for their shots and once he traps them, we can use his property to trap our dog. Hes willing to help us with it too. So he is going to keep feeding her in his property, so she'll continue to eat there. Then we can block off the bottom of the gate and get her. Hopefully it will go smoothly. Shes just so smart and so so fast!

Ugh, it just breaks my heart. I just need her to be here and safe. We just found out recently, that there was a dog that was living outside a Home Depot, right next to a Petsmart, for 5 years. The people from Home Depot built her a dog house, but they didn't feed her. My mom found out about her and finally found her, in the dog house, half dead. So emaciated and eaten up with mange and mites that she couldn't stand. So my mom had to take her and have her put to sleep. We're scared to death that Orphan Annie is going to end up like that. That the people who do feed her will stop feeding her and she'll starve or she'll get hit by a car because its a super busy area. But we swore to the dog, that we won't carry away her half dead body to have her put to sleep. We'll save her and she'll live a happy life.

I'm supposed to rehab her, but I think she'll have to live out her life with me. Shes been on her own for so long, I'm afraid that she'll never be a normal dog again. But she can live here with me as long as she needs to.

Now I need to go cry.

 

[Pipsqueak]

That poor dog! I hope you catch her soon. By the way your chickens are gorgeous!

 

[rabbit_bonkers]

Awww , she is so cute 💗 I am ever so sorry about your loss , I love coming on heR to read other story's about peoples rabbit because I used to have a rabbit called freckale it broke my hart when we had to sell her !!! But I will alway know my relation ship I hade with her x

 

[HolyHandGrenade]

Pretty chickens! And I still can't picture how little Ellie is! I just came back from a hiatus also. I'm gonna try to keep up with things, but who knows. Times are tough.

Here's Monty, eating her salad next to me on the couch

~ Holy Hand Grenade, that's a huge bunny!

 

[PaGal]

If she's been out there that long then she's obviously good at watching out for herself. Don't worry, you'll get her! She could turn out to be a wonderful dog. Like the racing greyhounds that make great pets seemingly because they never had the love and companionship before.

Pretty chickens.