Our little dog (girl) Katherine, is getting gray. She is 10 years old already. It seems that she was just a puppy. She will be 11 in December. We call her Katherine " The Investigator". She wants to investigate everything we are doing.
Elizabeth is our Middle girl and is extremely sensitive. She was handled roughly as a puppy and dropped many times by young children that carried her around by the neck. The lady said she had to get rid of her before the youngest child killed her. she is afraid of many things, something that moves quickly and something that drops to the floor. She is even afraid of rain bubbles. The rain drops falling off a tree into a puddle and form a bubble and she is extremely empathetic and loving.
Then there is Bernadette. She came from a very severe abuse situation. Bernadette was only a puppy and tortured then hit by a truck. Someone took rubber bands and wrapped them tightly around her ears and back left foot and left them there. She was picked up by someone after she was hit by the truck and taken to a vet where the doctor discovered why her head, ears and foot were so swollen and painful. He cut out the rubber bands from her infected body and he said it looked like someone may have also tried to burn her. She was terrified of the sound of a play station xbox, not the games but the sound of the box when it was turned on and did anything she could to escape when she heard that sound.
This was when we still had a television and had a play station for the grandchildren but just after this all that left the house.
The people that had her must have had a play station. The afternoon that the lady rescued her she asked us if we could take her because she could not keep her and she was going to need medical care that she could not afford and a loving home.
She had fleas and mites and skin infections and was a mess. As she got a little older we took her to puppy obedience school to try and socialize her and get her to trust us.
She has been a challenge because she likes to chew and suck on things to comfort herself. She is 4 years old now and still does this. Finally I made her a pillow that she can suck on and that is hers to carry around as she pleases. We often find her laying on the floor sucking on her pillow only now she is starting to suck on the bottom of her left front food like a pacifier. I only wish I knew what trauma she went through. She will let us cuddle her now for short spells and she is happy and playful. This has taken 4 years to get to this point. She has learned the words "Leave It" to drop or get away from what she is chewing on.
She is still afraid of storms but not as bad since all three girls have a safe place to go to when there is thunder or a tornado siren. They have been trained to go to a storm closet. Now the first thunder and they all three go to the closet and settle down. We taught them this in case we are away from home and a storm comes up.
Here is a link to her story about her graduation from puppy school with photos There is another story about her in the pet section.
http://gdonna.com/pets/update-on-bernadette/
The reason I am posting about the pets on living like the past instead of the pet section I wanted to say that not only has living a more old fashioned life helped Charles and I it has also helped the pets.
We did not know how bad all the electronic noise of today was bothering them. I posted one time how I stopped Elizabeth from scoffing her food and that was by turning everything off in the house that made noise and I sit on a stool while they eat their meals. She calmed down and started chewing her food and has done well ever since this.
At this time we are going through a political crisis and turmoil and I can only imagine the tensions in some households that have strong political opinions. I wish I could tell those that have children and pets that just because they can rant doesn't mean they should.
This radio shown above reminds me of what it must have been like during world war 2 when families sat around the radio to listen to the news or during elections. Back then was so very different than today, there was no television or computers, social media or twitter. Everything was at a slower pace which allowed people to process thoughts before they spouted off.
Are we meant to receive so much information as we do today? Is this good for us?
Charles and I do turn on the radio and listen to the headlines but not all the time. We want to stay up to date but not saturated.
This is when we focus on home and less clutter and do something about the things we can control.
I have said this before and I do repeat things because many of the things I write get buried in newer posts and it takes time to read back through things. Some of you are new to my blog so I will say some things over.
Some times I even have to read my post to find calm as God has a hand in what I write about as I always pray before I write a post.
I will finish with a update on trying to get rid of plastic in our home. I ordered this stainless steel 2 part sandwich/lunch box for Charles lunch from amazon. It has a small top tray for condiments or extra. This is a pastrami sandwich on pumpernickel bread with pickles and cooked potatoes that were sauteed and then baked.
The second tray sits on top of the bottom that holds the sandwich....
Then the top closes on the top. It is not leak proof for soups or liquids like that but works very good for sandwiches and such as this. I am not affiliated with amazon or this container I just wanted to share because Charles really likes it because it is small and just right for his lunch.
Just search Amazon for Stainless steel bento lunch box. It may be out of stock for a bit since school just started back so if it is just check back. This is what it is called, just highlight it and click it into the amazon search.
Cal Tiffin Stainless Steel OVAL Bento Lunch box 25 oz, 2-compartment - Eco friendly, Dishwasher Safe, BPA free, Plastic free
Besides plastic I am getting rid of our aluminum pans and a few years ago we threw out anything that had a non stick coating.
Charles made nachos. :)
I hope to do a update soon on the house since we divided the house to make a guest apartment within our house. This has been a challenge for me to downsize to our smaller space on "our side" but it is slowly getting there.
I hope you all that are working on your 30 day challenges and decluttering your home is going well and those that are moving to a more simple life find calmness, good meals and joy that comes with living more like the past.
Grandma Donna
