New Things

It stopped raining today!  We even got brief periods of sunshine when the clouds parted at the right moments.  And the thermometer made it to 60 for the first time this year.  I'm feeling so much better.  Actually, I'm still fighting this "boomerang" virus that's been plaguing me on and off all month, but nice weather sure helps my mental attitude.

While I've been under the weather (gee, I think I now understand how that saying came about), Goosey has been laying another batch of eggs.  She now has 19 in the same nest she made for the first batch.  She even tries to sit on them this time, but no matter how she arranges herself or the eggs, she can't cover all 19 at once.  I decided to let her keep the eggs for awhile this time.  No one around here seems interested in cooking with goose eggs, but I'm thinking they might be fun to put in Easter baskets in a few weeks.

I also acquired a 6-month old chihuahua about two weeks ago.  Goosey and Cupid are still in the process of learning not to chase each other.  Cupid is also learning not to chase kitties, not to jump on people, not to tear things (like quilt batting) to pieces, not to remove laces from shoes, not to irrigate the floor, and a host of other "nots."  He's supposed to be a foster dog in training for a forever home.  We'll see.  The real problem is not his lack of training but his size.  Cupid is like a Greyhound in a chihuahua suit.  He's a deer head chihuahua with a long nose, long body and long legs that didn't stop growing when they were supposed to.  Standing on his hind legs, he's tall enough to pull things off the kitchen table.  If he had spots, he could easily pass as a fawn.  Prospective doggy parents take one look at him and run!  Too bad, because he has a sweet personality, he's intelligent, friendly, loves kids, and is quite happy to to sit on a human's lap all day.  I think Sophie (my little chihuahua) better get used to sharing her bed with a dog nearly twice her size.

Brrr, It's Cold!

15 degrees F is just plain too cold, especially if you live in a travel trailer.  Even with three fleece blankets, a quilt and four cats piled on me last night, and the electric oil-type heater on, I could feel the cold.  If it hadn't been for the fleece curtains I made last summer for the window by my bed, I'm sure we'd all have felt like popsicles this morning.  Making curtains out of blanket fleece was the best idea I had for 2010!

At 9:30 this morning, Goosey knocked on my door with her beak, telling me she wanted food and water.  The snow is still covering the grassy areas, so she's been eating bread and sneaking cat food the last few days (she's a picky goose and refuses to eat feed grain).  I could put more bread out for her, but there was nothing I could do about the water - it was still only 24 degrees out.  I did see her pecking at the snow, so she isn't totally without drinking water.  She just doesn't have any for bathing and playing in.  Although it warmed up to 35 today, the ice and snow have not melted.  It's supposed to get warm enough to rain tomorrow, so maybe Goosey will finally get some water.