Outside with my dogs

Hello my friends - I'm still alive and kicking, only not as high as I used to - more like dragging, but we are hanging in there. We is me, my dogs Weezie and Teddy. This morning we went to Roquemore Memorial Park and afterward visited Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Weezie at Roquemore Memorial Park

Teddy at Roquemore Memorial Park

Teddy enjoying the Park

Weezie (left) and Teddy on a bench at the Park. Teddy's getting bored with photo sessions!

We left at 7:30 and returned by 9:30 and it still wasn't quite 80 degrees. If tomorrow is the same as this morning was, then we're out there again - come August, we're done with summer. Couped up and cranky knowing we still have another three months of heat before it starts to cool down. I saw Halloween candy in the store today, can you believe that? Anyway, here are a few photos from this morning. Please enjoy and forgive me for not being here much anymore. I'm always on Facebook and I simply can't handle both, my blog and the Facebook. Please, come and see me there! I'd love to hear from you! Take care and I'll try to check in more often than just once a year.

Weezie walking on the boardwalk at Banks Lake Nat'l. Wildlife Refuge

Weezie at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Teddy Bear at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Teddy (left) and Weezie at Roquemore Memorial Park

Teddy (left) and Weezie at Banks Lake

Weezie at Banks Lake (she lost one of her eyes to a severe ulcer last year in February, the same day my father died)

Teddy enjoying the view at Banks Lake

Honeybee on Waterlily at Banks Lake

Swamp Cypress and Waterlilies in Banks Lake

Swamp Cypress (or Bald Cypress) growing in Banks Lake  

 Thank you for reading this and I will try to visit you soon. I'm in the process of crocheting for Christmas and fall fundraisers plus will be spending a lot more time outside as soon as it cools down (which won't be for a while yet) and once I get on the computer, it takes me hours before I get back off... so often I don't even turn it on so that I can get things done ;-) I'm sure some of can relate.

Again, it's nice to visit again and I wish you all a wonderful day and a great week ahead!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing you all a wonderful day.

We're still here...

Sorry it took a while to post again. I've started my Hep C treatment and have completed almost two weeks of it. I have some, but not all, of the side effects, but I've got a long ways to go (between 6 and 12 months.) I've been feeling VERY weak and just a few quick steps will send my heart racing. I'm so glad I had an echo cardiogram done before I started these drugs (Incivek, Peginterferon and Ribavarin.)

I've not been online very much, trying to get used to the new me (whatever that means!) On Monday I have to go for blood work to check my hemoglobin to be sure I'm not getting anemic (a very common side effect) and have my Incivek dosage adjusted if necessary. Incivek is the new drug that was just approved for use in 2012 and is designed to knock your immune system down so that the other two drugs can attack the virus and I've been told they have been very successful with this medication. Out of 20 patients at my doctor's office, only one had to abandon treatment because it was not effective.

Meanwhile, everything is status quo! Not much going on here. Romeow still enjoys walking on the leash and climbing trees:

He seems to be driving me more nuts than usual because when I can't take him out for our regular walk, he gets so frustrated and starts to act like a wild child (understandably) but when I'm feeling too tired to go, then we all have to just wait it out. I put him outside in his cage and Weezie on her leash so they can watch the neighborhood and get some fresh air. He's just spoiled rotten and doesn't know when he's got it made. He's almost eight months old now and still bites sometimes! (We're working on it!)

Look, how he has chewed up the outer edge of his basket. That rascal!

Weezie lounging with a squeaky toy!

Weezie continues to be a good, mellow girl and sleeps all day unless she's sitting outside watching people or we're walking around the lake. We still go to the Nursing Home together, but I have missed a couple of visits while starting this treatment. I told them to not write us off and we are coming back next week. Weezie makes up for the hyperness of Romeow, otherwise I would not be able to handle two over active pets right now. They just have to suffer with me through this. I still walk with them, but not as far and often as before. Thankfully this is only temporary. Next month I'm going to the eye doctor for my past due exam. Having visual problems is also a side effect of the medication, but it's reversible or else I would not sacrifice my vision for a Hep C cure.

I still think of my Gizzy boy every single day and miss him when ever I see his face. I just recently started to enjoy nature again and manage to walk around the lake without crying, but it still hurts and I suppose, it always will. My doctor put me on Zoloft, because depression is a very common side effect of the medications that I am taking. I don't feel any different, but as long as I don't harbor suicidal thoughts, then the medicine is working. (I never have had those thoughts before, but the medication is known to do that to people, so we just wanted to take precautions and put me on it during treatment.)

(I remember you every time I walk past this table, Gizzy, and see you sitting there in my mind's eye! You are sorely missed. Mama loves you forever and ever!)

Also, this year, I'm turning 60 on June 16 and I have posted a Birthday Wish on my Facebook account. It's a simple wish of wanting to help homeless animals. If anyone wants to participate and contribute, here is the link:

Causes - Doris Sturm's Birthday Wish

Wishing you all a most wonderful weekend and God bless you!

Show & Tail: Meet my Gizzy boy - again!

I'm joining in Tuesday's Show & Tail with Angela today - please visit her blog called West Virginia Treasures, to read the rules and join in the party!

This is my first time participating, but to me it's business as usual, because I talk about my boy so much anyway that it won't seem any different to you guys!

I'll start out by talking about his stats:

Name(s): Gizmo, Gizzy, Gizzyfur, the Giz, the boy, momma's peekaboo and more

Born on Nov. 1. 1997 to Sire Mighty Alex and Dam Mart's Babydoll Patches he is a Pedigreed Pekingese in white/biscuit parti color. 

He was named Zeus by his first human parents, but when I adopted him (at the age of three) I could see that he is not a Zeus, but a Gizmo. He's not even a dog. He doesn't know what a dog does and how a dog lives....he's just a little Gizmo that thinks life's a bed of roses consisting of walks, ducks, treats, toys and long naps in soft, pink beds...and me, of course - after all every Gizmo needs a slave mommy who loves him and spoils him rotten.

Strange thing, that years later, I discovered that his previous owners were actually tossing names around for him and one of them was Gizmo, so this name bounced back to him through me.

I have never owned a male dog before Gizzy and never a pug nosed dog - all my previous dogs where females with long noses, you know, proper dogs (LOL) - just kidding! Gizzy behaves exactly the way he is supposed to based on his breed.

PEKINGESE, aka Lion dog, Foo Dog or Pelchie dog

The Peke, despite his petiteness, is courageous and bold. His independence and confidence should imply combativeness rather than delicacy. The dog is accustomed to being unchallenged and foremost in his master's eyes. His coat requires extensive grooming. (from the Mini-Atlas of Dog Breeds by A. De Prisco and J.B. Johnson) --- and that's my boy to the T!

Gizzy is a very entertaining and versatile dog. He lets me do anything to him, but he is quirky with strangers to the point of being down-right rude sometimes - very un-Southern, you might say!

Here are a few photos of his various personalities:

Babushka Gizzy

Looking like a Sheik after his bath

Being mommy's bumble boy

This outfit has brought him two trophies at the Honey Bee Festival

My trophy boy's wall

Looking cool in his Clifford sunglasses

Being a lazy boy on the La-Z-Boy snuggling with his ducky

Christmas Gizzy

Pleading Gizzy "let me outaheeeeeere!"

Banks Lake Gizzy

Napping Gizzy (almost)

Upside down Gizzy

Gizzy's "planter" pose

Swinging

Done swinging

Riding on momma's walker around the lake

Gizzy, the explorer - hitting the nature trails!

Life must be wonderful if you're a Gizzy...I sure hope he thinks so, because I want him to enjoy this ride for as long as we can - we're a team!

Strawberry Fields Forever!

Every year I look forward to strawberry season, so "Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever." (Remember?) I don't think I ever fully appreciated the songs of the Beatles until I got older because it wasn't till then when I started to pay attention to the lyrics. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone, but it all works out. It doesn't matter much to me. Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields. Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about. Strawberry Fields forever." Southern Grace Farms operates this strawberry field every year from the beginning of April till the end of May. People can come and pick their own berries or purchase them ready picked by the gallon or flat. As soon as you drive up, you can smell the strawberries. What a lovely scent! Here's Gizzy peeking out of the passenger window where the car is parked at the entrance. You can see rows upon rows of strawberry plants and in the very back are some people picking strawberries. (It helps to double click on the photo to enlarge it.) I don't know why I felt compelled to look down to take a picture of this lonely little strawberry that fell to the ground - never to be eaten (poor little berry!) I asked the young lady to take a picture of me for my blog after I purchased the strawberries. Simple things in life make me very happy! Here I'm beaming some more in the sunshine. I decided to purchase two one-gallon containers full; one for me and one to give away to a friend. Here are my sweet, red jewels in the back seat of my car, awaiting their final destination...Yummmmmmm, I can't wait! Hope you'll be eating fresh strawberries very soon too (if you're not doing so already) and, thank you little honey bee, you did a fantastic job! The strawberries are delicious! ...and may you be around for another 30 million years so that we might enjoy "Strawberry Fields forever!"

It's a Great Day in May!

Today I'm blessed with another beautiful day and the mosquitoes are not bad at all. Maybe all that spraying the city's been doing helped or maybe the breeze we've been having blows them away, but I'm thankful about having a little reprieve - for now! I visited my friend at Bank's Lake again, and, as usual, we sat outside on the bench, just talking and watching nature. I did see another alligator (with the binoculars) but it wasn't close enough for a good shot with my little camera. She told me that earlier this morning a big 8 footer was laying on the boardwalk and I could have got a really good picture. Maybe I'll try going there earlier in the mornings and see. Here are some pictures that I thought turned out really well, considering I don't have a fancy camera: This picture to the left, is me looking down from the landing of the boardwalk, onto a protruding patch of land with cypress roots growing up from under it and the reflection of the opposite trees in the water. I thought it looked kind of interesting. Afterwards, Gizzy and I stopped at Roquemore Memorial Park. We saw a few new memorials that were added recently. Gizzy had to run straight to his favorite "Rocky's Bridge" memorial. Then, we strolled around while I took some scenic pictures. This memorial is one of my favorites. It commemorates the departing of a beloved daughter. It's a lovely statute of a girl reading, surrounded by beautiful roses. The roses' first bloom is almost over, but they bloom continually all year through autumn. They have a lovely, fruity fragrance. Here's a close-up of one of the remaining big blossoms: Lastly, Gizzy tried out the swings to see if they're still Gizzy-proof and that's the resulting short movie clip of him swinging: (just click on the right-arrow to view - it's very short!) Here are some stills for those of you with a slow internet connection and no patience - you know who you are ;-) Maaaaam, I'm ready to go now..... And this, ladies and gents, is what happens when a woman has no grandkids. Have a nice May!