Dough Dogs

Did you see that Pillsbury is having this event of making dogs out of their dough? Seriously! Like you could create me in dough (although Mum is going to give it a shot). Instructions are here and here are some example of what they expect we can produce.

Now how are we to be expected to capture this look in dough?

I love a challenge! Check back next Monday for what we have produced!

French PONS

Every morning Mum makes us sit down and read one of her favorite dog blogs "Bob and Sophie's French Adventure". They are Polish Lowland Sheepdog pups and very, very funny. I think Mum likes reading about life in France where these two, Bob and Sophie, live. Sophie knows she is not allowed on the furniture in the house and she is not supposed to climb on the furniture in the garden. Her parents have decided one out of two is not a bad score to live with. See video below.

 

 

Recycling is art in itself!

Out here in Oregon we try and be as green as possible and recycle anything that is not nailed down. I have tried to recycle my brother Cooper endless times with little success. Mum continues to check the recycling bin and pulls him out and returns him to the house. It is an endless cycle that I cannot win. But! I found these creative recycling ideas that you might enjoy.

There is no price for my love

As if you didn't know how much animals add to our lives, here you can read it.

How Family Pets Yield High ROI in Financial and Health Benefits

By Vera Gibbons | Cost of living – 8 hours ago

There’s no limit to the love we feel for our pets, but have you ever considered their impact on our health and well-being? While caring for a medium-sized dog will cost you about $700 a year, these and other animals could bring you savings of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, over the long-term. “Having a pet in the household makes you feel better about your life, and makes it less likely that you’ll go out and spend money on things you don’t need,” says Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, Science Advisor, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). “When the going gets tough, you walk your dog; you may not need to go out to the bars or restaurants.”

But if you get a dog, you will need to go out, and walk, or run it, every day. That exercise could save you big bucks on a gym. The average monthly gym membership is about $43, or more than $500 each year, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
And while the IHRSA estimates that one in five people who sign up for gyms tend to drop out, when you get a dog, you’ve signed up for the equivalent of a 15-year membership. And that includes the morning alarm!

The American Heart Association recently linked pet ownership with a reduced risk for heart disease. And while pets are no substitute for good medical care, it’s worth noting that without insurance, a month of heart medication like Lipitor can cost up to $200/month, according to Consumer Reports. A five-night stay in the hospital for a heart attack? About $20,000, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research.

Pets can also boost your immunity. A 2012 study showed that children with early exposure to dogs had fewer respiratory and ear infections.

Related: 10 Health Benefits of Owning a Pet

Even with insurance, co-payments for five trips to the pediatrician will run you about $100. A few rounds of Penicillin? Another $100 or so.Dogs are also proven mood-boosters, says Zawistowski. “Even if you had a bad day at work, you lost an account or something, your dog is going to like you anyway.”On the other hand, the costs of anti-depressants can really add up. Prozac can run you more than $200/month, or nearly 3,000 dollars a year, according to Consumer Reports.
Finally, dogs can be great social instigators. You never know who you’ll meet through your dog -- your next customer? Customer? Or maybe even your next boss!

How is your pet saving you money? Find me on Twitter @veragibbons, and use the hashtag, #costofliving.

A Baked Potato with Legs

I know, I know. Where have we been? Thereis only one excuse. Our Mother. Mum claims she has been busy with work, looking after her 90 year old Mum (who lives in assisted living near us), Church, knitting, life, etc with total disregard to our needs. Well isn't that just ducky!

 

Enough with Mum's many crosses she has to bear, let's dwell on me for a bit, shall we?

 

As you may remember, I have had two knee surgeries and an extensive plumbing repair. Because of the plumbing surgery I had to go on this special kibble to keep crystals from forming in my wee wee. What they do not put on the package is that one of the side effects of this food is massive weight gain. Seriously. We're not talking a pound or two, we are talking ten or fifteen, overnight. My vet refers to me as a baked potato with stick legs. This does nothing for my self-image issues. But Mum and Dad weighed the alternative (excuse the pun) and decided weight would be better than the horrendous surgery they put me through to remove the bladder crystals/stones. However, now we are dealing with me stumpers (see diagram above) and my knees who are having a tough time holding all this weight up. Mum is researching these issues and trying to find a happy medium. In the meantime I am being starved and am not allowed to play tug-of-war, fetch or any of my favorite games in order not hurt my knees.

 

Cooper, my brother who is now 15.5 years old, is fine. A couple of you were worried that maybe he was ill or better yet, dead. No such luck. He carries on and has entered a second puppyhood. He is almost totally deaf now and half way blind but he runs around like someone shot him full of happy drugs. His constantly happy attitude really grates on my nerves but I know if I sold him to a passing stranger Mum and Dad would spend scads of money finding him and I would be blamed.

 

And finally these are Mum's knitting projects. The first one is a Special Olympics scarf that my Aunt Emely organizes each year. Mum and a bunch of like-minded knitters knit each Special Olympian in our County who participates in the Winter Olympics a scarf to keep and wear. Each year the colors change. This year it is multi-colored. They are knitting 30 of these wooly wonders so Mum should be totally sick of the yarn by the time she hits her fourth or fifth scarf.

 

The bottom project is the start of a baby blanket for a cousin's baby that will be in college by the time Mum finishes the blankie. (Honestly, the woman has more projects on needles than Planters has peanuts!). I like the colors and have already pulled the project off the needles once and chewed on a skein of yarn. No need to thank me, I am happy to help Mum on these little projects.

 

Have a good weekend pals,

 

Love, Dozer