My Heart's on Fire for Elvira

[JBun]

Sorry the new house didn't work out

Repairs! Ugh! I know how you feel. Old houses are a pain in the butt sometimes. Always something to repair. Our house is nearly 100 years old, and sometimes I am just really wishing we had a newer home without all of the problems that an older house brings.

Your toilet problem just sounds like the wax ring between the toilet and the sewer pipe, needs replacing. It's really cheap, only a few dollars. The most troublesome part is having to drain the tank and disconnect everything to get to it.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

I'm sorry the new house didn't work out.

I know what you mean about repairing homes and all the work and trouble that goes in to it. This house here has need tons of repairs and its just so tiring. I'd love to get a nice new house that doesn't need repairs every 2 seconds. We actually are looking at different properties in different states to move to ourselves.

Sorry Ellie ate your cowboy boots. Ash has been chewing on so many things like that too and its just gets so annoying. Life would be SO 'much easier if bunnies just wouldn't chew stuff.

 

[whitelop]

Its okay about the house, just one of those things in life.
Yes old houses suck sometimes, unless they've been completely remodeled. Which my house hasn't, not since the 60s at least, when they put the bathroom in. So sometimes its difficult, but its affordable and we like it...enough.

So this morning started out pretty crazy. AJ woke up and was instantly WILD. He usually wakes up happy, but today he woke up crazy and he's been screaming and squealing all morning. It probably doesn't help that I just fed him waffles with syrup. LOL I made my coffee SO strong that I pretty much have to chew it. Thats pretty bad. hahaha.

AND I think my dog has had a stroke or something. He's been acting really funky the last two days. This is the second morning he's been acting weird. Yesterday, he refused to go out the back door and I had to let him out the front. So he peed on my ivy pot that rights next to the front door, walked across my walkway while still peeing and tried to come in the house while still peeing! I had to stop him. It was insane. Then today, he refused to go out the back door again, but I didn't want to let him out the front door. So I had to push him out the back door and he didn't want to get off the steps, until I pushed him off the steps. Then he finally went into the yard.
Yesterday when he was looking at me, he didn't look quite right. I don't know whats going on, but its super strange. He's still eating and everything, but he's just acting off. He went for a ride with me last night, that didn't help. He got on the couch for like 2.5 seconds just a few minutes ago and got back down.
He's just acting funny.

I have no idea where my hen is laying her eggs. Since they've been free-ranging, she was laying them in the bush and now she's not. I don't know if its because I was taking them or what, but she's stopped laying them in the bush and I've yet to find them. My fear is that a snake is taking them and eating them. Which isn't good because then the snake knows there are eggs around. My hub said he found a 5 foot long black snake yesterday in the field, which doesn't bother me but thats probably where my eggs are going. Its been like a week or so without any eggs. I think I need to lock them up again and make sure that she's even laying eggs and see if the little Bluebell hen is laying eggs yet or not.

My husband is mad at me, because I kept him up all night. haha. Not really, but until like almost 1. I watched this movie called V/H/S, it wasn't scary but it was freaking weird. I have a hard time with scary movies at night because my house is old and creaky and creepy at night. Plus its so dark around my house. So after the movie was over, I got a little freaked out and wanted my husband to stay with me while I fed Ellie, brushed my teeth, turned all the lights out and went to bed. So he was mad because it was late and I was acting like a little kid. Then he over slept because we didn't get in bed until late. haha. Oops. I felt pretty bad this morning about it, so I'm sure he'll have some sh*t to talk when he gets home but he'll get over it! hahaha.

Oh and Kaley made me cry this morning with her story about her dog. Thanks Kaley.

 

[PaGal]

Wow! Your day sounds kinda like mine.

Sorry the house didn't work out. I have learned over the past few years not to sweat things like that as it all seems to work out for the best in the long run. Like with our excursion. We wanted something bigger than the explorer because of the kids getting bigger plus towing the trailer when we went to the kart races. At that time we were having trouble getting approved for the loan because of credit. Well just a few months later a guy that works for the same company as hubby was wanting to sell his. We bought it paying cash we had saved up. We just paid what he owed on it so instead of having to make payments every month for years we got what we wanted with a one time much smaller lump payment. The house we bought worked out in a similar fashion. It was only a few years later and by then our credit was golden and we qualified for a loan much higher than what our home cost us.

I wonder what's with your dog. If mine acted like that I would just put it down to him not wanting to step on very wet ground but my dogs like that. But then again my dog is goofy all the time so there isn't much that is normal for him. The whole peeing and walking part is pretty strange behavior though.

Sounds like it's time to lock up the chickens. I guess it could take some time to find the eggs though when you have plenty of space.

You are lucky. I can't imagine my hubby staying up with me because I scared myself with a movie.

 

[whitelop]

We're not too upset with the house, another one will come along and maybe it will be better! Thats what we have to look forward to.

My dog is an odd duck anyway. He's really sensitive to different things like when AJ cries he doesn't like it. If I raise my voice, he hates it. When something loud happens, he hates it. Thunder, fireworks, loud wind, chickens. Anything, he's crazy. So who knows whats going on in his brain.

There is something wrong with my rooster, BUT I can't get to him. I can but I don't want to because he's so mean. I need to get him out of his coop because its so wet, but I can't put him in with the other roosters since they don't have a pecking order set up and I don't need any fights or bloody birds. I don't really know what to do with him right now because I don't have my big kennel here, its at my moms house. So I don't know what to do with him. I guess I need to figure something out with him.

 

[kmaben]

Some flour, some Crisco......

 

[Chrisdoc]

Sorry about the house but something else will come along and it´ll be the right one for you. Enjoy doing up the house you´re in and getting it exactly how you like it.

I´d like to do loads of work on my apartment but can´t do it at the moment as can´t afford it and when I do it I want to do it exactly how I imagine it so no go at the moment.

Hope you find where your hen is laying her eggs, a bit scary knowing there´s a snake about there.

Your poor dog, hope he sorts himself out.

coffee isn´t expensive out here around 1.20 euros so I have a coffee out quite often. but I hate paying for something I´m not enjoying so I´m now giving my business to someone else.

 

[whitelop]

Well, I think today has been the strangest day yet.
I had to give the rooster a bath. The big mean rooster, Big Boy. Its been raining SO much lately, that every time I go out there to feed him its raining, so I just run out give him food and water and run back in. I didn't know until today that there was SO much mud in his coop that he was standing in like 2 inches of mud in the majority of his run. So I had to get him out and give him a bath to get all of the mud off his feet and legs and feathers. The mosquitoes are SO bad out there. I had to spay my whole body with bug spray, my clothes, my shoes, my face. Because they were biting me though my pants. They were biting him too. He didn't even crow at me, or make a single noise. I called my dad to see if he could help me and he said it would be a while so I knew I had to do it myself. I grabbed him by the leg and got a good hold of him and then dunked him in the water. He didn't like it much, but he tolerated it. He didn't fight me at all, which is scary because that can't be good.
So I got all the mud off, looked him over and he seems okay. I rinsed him really well, but the water the second go round was cold and he didn't like that at all. The first time I put a few gallons of hot hot water in with the cold well water, so it was nice. But he's clean now and I put him in the big coop by himself since the rest of the flock is free ranging.
I did notice earlier that the little roosters were trying to get him through the fence of his coop, and he wasn't fighting with them. So he must not feel well. I have to keep an eye on him and make sure he's alright. I'll probably have to worm him and once he fully dries out I'll dust him for mites.
I'm pretty upset with myself though and while I was cleaning him I told him how sorry I was and cried. I'm like super upset about it actually. I feel like a terrible pet owner and like I don't deserve these animals and they need to be at another farm and better taken care of.
I did get these mosquito dunk things to put in their water troughs, so it kills the mosquito larvae and the adult mosquitoes. They're working pretty well. I put 2 in the pond and they last for like a month. BUT the mosquitoes will still lay eggs in the water on leaves and stuff so they're just everywhere and terrible because its been so wet here.
Hopefully the rooster is okay though, I would feel really terrible if something happened to him because I was so negligent. But he's so mean most of the time, I'm gun shy about being near him. He wasn't mean today though, so that was good.
I carried him around for a while too and he went to sleep in my arms. I was soaked and smelled terrible, like a huge chicken. haha.

I'm in a terrible mood now because of myself.

 

[PaGal]

Don't beat yourself up too badly as I'm sure you would have noticed sooner if it hadn't been raining so much and if he wasn't so mean. He did after all do some pretty bad damage to your finger. A bad owner would have seen the conditions he was in and just left him but you got him cleaned up and moved him.

Maybe you can move his regular coop to higher ground maybe or is it just that wet everywhere? Maybe attach a dog house or something he can go into when it rains that much so he can get out of it.

It's a shame you couldn't do something to make it safer to deal with him. Hubby welds and he has the big leather welding gloves and a leather welding jacket along with the helmet. I wonder if he could claw you through something like that. If not you could try buying some. maybe even used on craigslist so it wouldn't cost much.

 

[kmaben]

Morgan you are so...special sometimes. You must have been feeling terrible to carry him around like that. He's evil! But you still saw his conditions and did something about it. He has a good life. I probably would have accidentally run him over in the yard or something by now. And how the hell do chickens get worms? That is the oddest thing ever. I cant even imagine trying to worm a chicken.

 

[whitelop]

Hahaha. You worm them through the water, you like give them a big dose per gallon and they get it like that, then do it again 14 days later. They eat a bunch of crazy stuff in the yard, so thats where the worms come from. My outside cat has chronic worms and I can't make it better because he eats squirrels and crazy sh*t so he constantly has worms. I can't worm them often though, I think you're only supposed to worm like twice a year or something.

Its wet everywhere! It hasn't stopped raining in weeks. Its freaking terrible. But I think I am going to move the coop to a different spot this weekend and I'm going to put some sand in the coop for him so it won't be as bad. Half the coop has a tarp on it, so its not THAT wet under the tarp, but its still pretty damp. But the half of the coop that doesn't have a tarp is the worst part, it was so thick. I told my husband how bad and it was and we're going to fix it this weekend.

I did feel terrible enough to carry him around like that. He didn't even put up a fight or anything. He was so quiet and so calm. He was my big baby today, like he used to be. I rocked him like a baby and it was really sad. I also told my husband that I gave him a bath and he dropped his cookie and was like "BATH?! YOU GAVE THE CHICKEN A BATH? Which one?" I told him Big Boy and he almost spit the cookie out! He was like, you got in the coop with him? I told him yes, he's not well so he was okay today and I used shampoo. haha. He laughed so hard and told me I was insane. I think he thought that I gave all of them a bath or something completely crazy.
Poor Big Boy. He's better though in the big coop.
I know he has a good life, but I still felt really bad letting it go on that long. But he IS really mean, and I don't have much contact with him anymore. I think he knows that I do love him, so when I was talking sweet to him he was closing his eyes and looking sleepy. Maybe this time around he'll be nice! NOT. haha.

I think I got DEET poisoning today though. That may be a little dramatic. But I had to spray a lot of bug spray on me and I think I probably ingested some of it and it soaked into my skin. I feel really weird now and my muscles are pretty achy. I think after some sleep I'll be okay.

And yes kids, I know I'm crazy.
Now my crazy *** stroked out dog is standing in a corner panting, staring into the corner. Is there a ghost in my house or something? WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

 

[PaGal]

I think if you had a ghost your dog would have acted funny a long time ago unless someone who used to live there recently died and came back to the house just now.

Funny thing is bug spray doesn't work for me. If anything it seems to attract the bugs more. I swear southern bugs love my northern blood because I get bit was more than hubby. One of the herbs is supposed to keep them away. It might be basil.

See you are taking care of that mean old rooster even though he would happily kill you given the chance.Ha!

The sand sounds good as it drains well and he wouldn't be covered in mud. He needs a little pair of rubber boots. That would be great and then he couldn't get you with his talons and his tootsies would stay dry and clean.

 

[Chrisdoc]

That made me laugh thinking of your rooster with wellington boots to keep his little feeties dry. It was good that he behaved for you but really gutsy of you to go in there and get him, you are one brave lady. Deep down you really care about your Big Boy however mean he is to you and you´d not want to see anything happen to him. I´d hate all that rain, I bet it's really depressing. Heck, I´m fed up with the heat and the sun already, it has been about 100 today and it exhausts me, I really should sit in the sun to get some colour but I just can´t be bothered, it´s just toooo hot and everywhere is crowded, shouldn´t complain about the tourists but sometimes, I long for the autumn and peace and quiet again.

 

[JBun]

Wow! I can't believe Big Boy behaved himself for you. Glad he did though. Your weather sounds awful right now. I always hated wet mucky weather when I had a horse, as it always made it much more difficult caring for him. He was always filthy cause he loved rolling in the mud, despite having a nice dry shelter to stand in. I hope you and all the animals are feeling better today.

 

[whitelop]

Big Boy is feeling much better today, he's not being super aggressive but he's more perky than he was.
I told my dad about what I had to do and him and his girlfriend were like, "wow, you really must love that bird." I was like, yeah I really do. Then my husband talked about when he got hurt a few years ago and I had to clean him and make sure he healed properly. haha. Its the truth though, I have this soft spot for him, even though he's so mean.

I left Ellie out while we went to my dads for dinner and we got home and she was missing. haha. My husband let the dog out and I thought he let her out too. So I was freaking out trying to find her, then had to change AJ's diaper. I had my husband look for her and she was behind the stove! I was so mad that she was back there. Then she wouldn't come out! I had to lure her out with raisins and then I called her a bad name and put her in her cage. She's been so difficult today, trying to get behind the washing machine and opening her pellet tin and moving it around the kitchen. Then getting behind the stove. Shes still so grunty and lungy at me. I told her if she bit me while trying to get a raisin from me, I was going to punch her. haha.

Now AJ is in bed calling for his dad, who is mad at me for slamming the bathroom door because he was mad Ellie was behind the stove. Stupid.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

Sorry about Big Boy. Good to hear he's perking up a little.

Ellie is one crazy girl, lol. Why would you want to go under the stove? Maybe she was looking for crumbs under there. She wouldn't have liked it if the stove was on. She's sounds like such a grump bun, lol.

 

[whitelop]

Ellie is super grumpy! Just so much grumpiness in such a small frame. haha.

I forgot to tell you guys! Saturday we went to Ikea and got a new dresser and a bunch of small things. haha. It was INSANE there. There were so many people, it was overwhelming.
I like Ikea, even though its pretty modern stuff in there. Some of it isn't so modern and thats the stuff I get. I like it because its made for small spaces, so there is a lot of storage options and things that can be made to take up less space. Not to mention that you get everything in a box and have to put it together! haha. I had to get the dresser for upstairs from there, because it came in a box so we could get it upstairs. The way our stairs are, its like going into an attic because thats what my bedroom is, the old attic. So its hard to get some furniture up through the stairs. So in a box was the best way to do it, so now we have a huge dresser upstairs! haha. My husband spent like 3 hours putting that thing together, I took a nap. LOL
But we also got these little cubby things that you hand on the wall and you put small things in them. We got two for AJ that are lime green and then two for us to put socks and stuff in. They're such a great idea though!
I just sort of love Ikea because its not too expensive and its got a lot of options for everything. Plus, their chicken tenders were pretty good! haha.

Maybe I need to spend some more time with Ellie? Could she be grumpy because she's alone a lot? I don't know, maybe I need to go sit in there with her and she'll be less grumpy. But she gets grunty when I pet her, so I don't know what to do with her.

 

[whitelop]

So just a little bit ago, I was in the bathroom and I heard my husband in the kitchen, beating on the window and yelling at the chickens "HEY, CHICKENS! I'M EATING YOUR RELATIVES! I'M EATING THEM AND THEY'RE DELICIOUS! YOUR RELATIVESSSSSSSS!" I laughed so hard.

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

Haha, your husband sounds like a funny guy. But he's right that they taste good, lol.

 

[whitelop]

My husband is crazy. ahaha. He really makes me laugh, but sometimes he's difficult. But I'm like the most difficult person who ever lived, so I guess he can be difficult occasionally. LOL

Just watched The Lorax for the 100th time, still love it. Now I just know the songs. haha.

I let Ellie out of her cabinet last night, I think she was trying to tear up my rug! She's such a brat. I wasn't home all day yesterday, so I think she was just lonely. When AJ takes his name, I'll go sit in there with her.
Speaking of AJ. He was SO bad yesterday! I went with my bestie for a hair/makeup trial for her wedding. I took AJ because I had no choice. haha. But I thought it was going to be in a salon but nope, it was in the middle of this super high end wedding dress shop. There was NO music playing, it was dead silent and filled with $12,000 dresses. It was insane. So he totally showed his *** and didn't want to corporate with me. I was going to take him into William Sonoma but he was acting so crazy, I didn't want to chance him breaking something in there and me having to buy it. haha. By the end of the appointment I was so stressed out and embarrassed that I couldn't even see straight. Not to mention, I was freaking starving like -hangry- then I had a headache. I swear, I live off of motrin because its the only thing that helps my head, I'm like at 6 a day now. Ugh. Then we got home and my husband was like wth is happening? So we blocked AJ in his room and he got put in timeout. haha. He was acting SO bad. I was like falling asleep on the couch at like 7 but couldn't go to sleep then! Didn't get to go to sleep until like 11:30 because I found a new show that I like. Ugh. I'm exhausted today and guess what...my head hurts!

I'm done complaining. Maybe I can go lay in the floor with Ellie and she'll make me feel better. Or she'll bite my nose off.