Holly I know so well where you are coming from, I have one of them to. But I would so much have your carpets than mine, at least when they got mess up I could say its earth tones colors. mine are of royal blue and no hope for doggy or boots.LOL Can't afford new as yet
Tyler stills has accidents. Time to steam clean again so glad I bought one, LOL
This message was edited Oct 17, 2008 12:33 AM
Holly, that dog looks like a love! And know what you mean about curtains. Expensive, plus they just block what little light I have available in winter. I finally opted for valances in the main rooms because I found some nice ones on clearance at Lowe's and the price was right. We've lived in the house for 8 years, and I just found them this summer, so don't feel bad. I ended up 'valancing' the living room, dining room, and family room for under 100$, so I'm done now.
Poor tyler, and poor you cleaning up after him, Tills! Sometimes I miss the warmth of carpet in the winter, but when it comes to the dogs, I don't miss it.
I share the carpet woes - mine was new when I moved in. I don't so much mind the brown color, but apparently it was the cheapest thing you could buy. IMy cats have successfully created snags and runs and dug out all the carpet at the corners. Now I snag the carpet with the vacuum cleaner at least once and have to turn it off and unravel the thread each time a vacuum.
Saving my pennies for the day when I can have slate tile throughout the house!!!
Yes Kathy, tile is the way to go. We did our whole house in 10" ceramic tile 20 years ago and it is so nice. Even with a batch of puppies, all the dog friends and how these two who are not trained very well but are getting better. Except for the past two days dear Mindy has the runs so I'm washing throw rugs. They are pretty good about using the rugs but they do have their days.
If I had a real house I would do something like tiled flooring. But I really need the carpet, this thing is 3 to 4 feet above ground and in winter the floors where I have tile, is awful cold. Even with the arctic pack belly it is suppose to have, (I always wondered about that).
But anyway I found the carpet I realy want. Its a high low short shag, in earth tone colors with a mosaic type patterns. Had it in the old place, never new if was dirty or not, love it.
Saving the pennies, like Kathy Someday. But I want my new deck first. Oh wait I need a car first LOL
Earth tones sounds like the way to go. I'm going to think of the spotty areas that way from now on. I may even invent a new carpet design called 'puppy paw prints' into which any markings would easily blend. (Never before thought I had a future in interior design). Hee, hee.
My neighbors (who built their own house) have slate tile with radiant heat coming out underneath. It's the best of both worlds. I'm going to take a look at when I do my floors - apparently they make some new radiant heat systems that are easi(er) to retrofit.
But, in the meantime, I'm with you guys - I just try to look at it as my interior design. And it's VERY organic. :-)
I love the idea of pawprint carpet. You are onto something, Holly! And the only kind of carpet to have, in my book, is the kind where you cannot tell if it's dirty or not.
I've always wished we had sprung for the under-foot radient heating when we tiled our family room/kitchen floor. My dogs would be thanking me now, and probably we would be saving on heating the house. Those floors are COLD in the winter, and since the bathroom floor is stone, it's REALLY cold. Oh wait! I know! I'm pretending that I live with Laurie in England and my house is a beautiful historic one with stone floors worn from centuries of feet padding across them!
Brings up for me one of my favorite/most hated fantasy magazines: English Garden. Have you seen this thing?? I completely love it, but it's a total fantasy. All the homes are those huge castles and estates in England, with loads of history and gardens that are older than our entire country. Gives the impression that the entire English countryside is filled with these glorious huge gardens with staffs of 15 fulltime gardeners taking care of them. The results: incredible! I'll probably have to renew my subscription, which I let expire. I totally miss it.
Hmmm. I'll have to check that out . . .
We do have radiant heat in the floor also. The animals do love it. They sleep where the tubes all come out to spread through the area. I agree Pixie, that is a fantasy mag. Check out "Realm" also. Totally castles and great houses and history.
Good morning all - radiant heat is definately not something this old house has, and what happened to the wish of being able to hose out the room in the manner of Pixie's mother-in-laws summer house! Fickle! Sheesh. Put your slippers on, and be glad that with the state of your floors no one has to worry about doing the potting up of seedlings indoors - who will be able to tell!! I like the idea the Greeks have - in the spring all the carpets go off to be cleaned and stored, and at the end of summer they look forward to them coming back and being relaid. What a nice idea. (And before you lay those lovely expensive slate floors - if you are using polished slate - remember it does not like acidic liquids on it - think animal urine).
I don't think either Realm or English Garden are available over here - I've never seen them. But then with 15 gardeners and a number of castles to look after I really don't have the time....... if only!!
I think the autumn leaf season is about to start - my raking fingers are getting itchy!! Trying to get the shredding from the hedge cutting done to make room for the next pile of collectibles!
Laurie, you are such a hoot! Some day I am going to see your lovely castle! Of COURSE English Garden and Realm are not available to you in England! These are meant for Canadian and American gardeners to keep the illusion of the homeland being a gardener's shangri la alive and well. They do an admirable job. Last one I looked at focused on Prince Charles, an organic gardener with a huge staff, and his lovely, incredible and completely tightly controlled Thyme walk. I believe the article stated that the entire top 6 inches of soil had recently been scraped off and replaced with new soil, underneath which was a layer of gravel so that there would be perfect drainage. Wow. If only I could get someone to completely scrape off the top layer of non-soil in my yard and replace it. Now that man has resources!!
Must say, though, that radient heat does not preclude the washing down of floors. As it's installed in the mastic underneath the tile, you can still have your floor drain and heat it, too. I love the Greek carpet decor, however. We do something similar in my house.
Speaking of fall color, though, do you remember that last year I was lamenting the lack of color on my shrubs that were supposed to offer nice foliage? I did a little experiment with fertilizer? I believe I am on to something there. My sumac has pretty nice color this year after a generous helping of nice wormy compost . I think the soil in some of the areas of the yard that are not technically 'garden' space is fairly depleted. After a couple of years of amendments, I think the trees will do better in terms of fall foliage.
OOPS, Sorry pixydish, I just read through the thread and realized I hadn't responded to your welcome NJ a few days ago. Thanks. I find it fun to read about other regions and countries.
Don't have anything to offer about radiant floors, but it sure sounds great on a chilly morning. The only room left that doesn't have hardwood is mom's bedroom.
I still want the slate - though I'll probably put a few extra layers of sealant on it. I think that has to be the key. Probably won't do radiant heat, but will add a carpet here and there for extra comfy spots. I think the Greeks do have the right idea, but, really, how cold does it get there?
Pix, my SIL gave her trees a little shot of food at the end of the summer and thinks it helped with the leaf turn.
It snows at least once a year in Athens.
Katie this is for you
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44441000/jpg/_44441781_6.jpg The acropolis in snow.
Crazy!!! I had no idea. I assumed that all the ancients were in togas all the time - how do you do that in snow?
Clearly, this calls for a trip to Greece to broaden my pitifully narrow horizons . . .what do you think? Anybody else?
I'll go. My daughter is going on a mediterranean cruise next summer and will be in Greece. That picture makes me wonder how that would have looked when it was new. How the botton ruins and the Acropolis were tied together?
That looks too cold for me, and only once a year, but for how long? wonder if it would be better than what we get. LOL
I'm ready when do we leave.....
Changing color
Flame bush
Tils your camera has fantastic clarity. Love it.
It is quite an amazing sight isn't it? DH was in Athens last week, and he said (having a balcony overlooking the Acropolis to breakfast on) that the sun hits the Acropolis and then slides down the face of the mount and onto the city - give you some idea of the relation between whose on top, and those below: The gods kiss the temple first, and then spill over onto the people.
That's very poetic, Laurie - lovely mental image.
Owww, you're right, Murmur - every once in awhile I surprise myself. How fun is that!! Thank you.
Amazing, the things you learn on DG. Thank you for sharing Laurie! That is one mental image that I never had, the acropolis in snow. Along with Katie I think the togas wouldn't let me even imagine it. LOL
Kathy- So glad to hear that Magic is feeling better. Fingers crossed, no more seizures. What a wonderful sister Sahara is staying right by his side the entire time. Glad to hear that everyone's fur kids are healthy and happy.
It's been bittersweet around here the past few weeks. We had to help Cinder cross over the rainbow bridge, her body was failing and I had to let her go with some dignity still intact. I was with her and she slowly and peacefully drifted off, still getting teary eyed just talking about it. The following day I had to let my bunny "Stormy" cross the bridge as well. I had been keeping him in the house for about 5 days because he had been dragging his back legs (I was hoping that it was just from a stroke.) We have had him for two years and his previous owner had him for 5 or 6, so he was a pretty senior bunny. I talked to our vet when I took Cinder in and she said that it was probably a broken back and to bring him in the next day for an exam. Unforutunately she was right, so I was there with him as he crossed over the bridge too.
"Chai" bunny was furious with me, everytime I would try and pet her she would bite me, and all she did was sit around and pout. So I watched Craig's list for a few days and sure enough a 4 month old male bunny in Yelm needed a home, you guessed it! Charlie has been part of our family for about a week and a half now, he is in a separate cage for another week since he just left his manhood at the vet's office last Friday. Chai likes to kiss him and preen him through the wire though. Oh, bunny romance :0)
While we where at the farm in Yelm getting Charlie, Carl and I decided (o.k. I pretty much said "oh honey look at all the ducks and chickens, we've been wanting to get some" and my sweet easy going husband agreed. So now we have Daffy and Darla the ducks and A,E,I, O, U and W the chicks (to be named when we know if they are hens or roosters, really hoping for hens :0)
Gee I have been here in Sitka and missed this thread because I have only an hour a day to do all my internet. Sorry Kathy about all of the stuff you have been through with the kids. Many dogs have siezures and as long as they are infrequent there is little to worry about. I always have blood work done to rule out liver, hypoglycemia, and a host of other causes. But the fact all is well don't worry.
Everybody else who has had losses I am also sorry. Bunnies are good friends and spinal issues are common with the older ones. Sorry RR.
Greece is a tempting winter thought, especially from wet and windy Sitka. I can see the deep blue Mediterranean with all of the white and blue buildings scattered across the hill sides. The smell of thyme and the native herbs filling the air. Ahhhh. Nice thoughts.
Thanks, Steve. Based on his health and breed, we've pretty much ruled out everything except ingested neurotoxins or epilepsy. So far, so good - nothing has happened since the initial two.
Rach - I don't know what to say, except that I'm sorry about your loss of Cinder (who I met and loved) and Stormy (who wouldn't come out to meet me). I can't imagine how tough for you it's been.
Congrats, though on your chickens and ducks - it's quite a menagerie out there. But I'm guessing that you won't have any more slug problems.
Brrr it was cold last night - I could go for some Mediterranean warmth about now.
Katie 59 - I just stumbled back on the PNW to look around and saw this thread - I'm so glad Magic is better, how stressful for you.
and Rachie - sorry about your tough week, but love how you how you didn't hesitate to help our some more animal friends.... I hope Charlie knows how lucky he is.
... we are still "settling in here" (I don't know if you all remember me, but I lived in Tualatin, OR and moved June '08) so no animal stories yet for me, but it won't be long I'm sure - the girls are begging for kitties and my son wants a dog.
I'm attacking my empty back yard with a serious vengeance - lol but mostly (budget) with small plants. It was nice to read that all of you are doing well pixy and the bunch !!!
RTP - looks like you are starting from scratch, all right. I guess there are worse things . . .
This morning I was just looking at a post by you about growing Grevillea and wondering how you were doing. Glad you stopped in.
1Anjl (whose mom and sister live up here) is on the forum - she lives in California, though I have to confess that my geography's not good enough to know how close she is to you without looking it up. Stick around!!
Rachel, I'm so sorry about your losses . . . makes me tear up just reading about it. Glad you filled in the empty spots a wee bit with some new critters . . . pictures soon?
RedTootsiePop (btw, I ate three of them yesterday - am about to eat more), you have a wonderful blank canvas there! Have at it and keep us informed!!! Hope the move turns out to be all that you wished for and more.
Kathy, I'm so glad Magic is doing okay. I was thinking about you a bit ago when my mean cat Margie attacked poor little Tinker whom I've been letting in for short visits, hoping Margie and Friday would accept her (Friday will, no problem). Do you have any that are that awful? It made me cry, and then I started wondering about how Margie will ever accept a dog (or two or three). Is this an impossible situation?
Carole - I don't think it's impossible.
Tell me about Margie. What color (sometimes calicos are a little bit ornery -some think they're extra dominant, some think it's because they're extra-sensitive) is she and how old is she?
My Panda grew up with three other cats and got along with them well. But when I started raising this group, she left home. I had to go get her and then made them all indoor cats. Panda has had quite a year adjusting - but they are all, for the most part, "live and let live". The only ornery situations is between specific cats who just don't like eachother.
For them, I admonish them for attacking and will start using a squirt gun when they start up. And when I can bring them close, I pet everybody and speak softly to everybody while keeping them from throwing a fit to emphasize that we are all in one colony. I really think they can learn, like dogs, that you are in charge and that you'll only accept certain kinds of behavior. They don't have to like one another, but they do have to do what you tell them.
So I would just follow Margie around while Tinker is in the house to reassure her. Let Tinker's smell get on stuff. Try to give Margie a high spot that Tinker can recognize is hers. And keep a squirt gun handy. Margie needs to remember that you will protect her space and she doesn't need to do it for you.
I don't know about Margie, but often they noises they make sound much scarier than they are.
This is Margie. She's been studying. Birds.
She's very dominant over Friday as well (but easily accepted my cat Bigfoot - the male who disappeared over a year ago), and shortly after I got Tinker safely back outside, she attacked Friday, too. Lots of fur flying, but I don't think any injuries. Margie absolutely adores me - and I keep reminding her that I rescued her and it's only fair that we rescue Tinker. I assure her I have enough love for a dozen cats (well, maybe only 11!), but obviously she's not paying attention.
I'll get a couple squirt guns. That sounds like a good idea.
Oh yeah, she's pretty. I'm not an expert on cat coat colors, but I think she would be classified as calico - so I'm guessing that she's dominant if she's anything like mine. And she looks like she'd be dramatic like my girl, Panda.
Keep talking to her. I swear that when I say, "Allegro, don't even think about it." That he knows I'm addressing him (his ears turn toward me) and that I am going to intervene when he jumps on his sister (actually, his cousin, well, maybe half sister, but that's another story). He really just wants to play rough with her, but she doesn't like it (maybe because he pulls out tufts of hair from her backside).
Now, when I use that tone of voice and his name, he will change what he's doing and then I immediately use the lovely tone of voice with his name and he immediately turns around and starts to rub whatever is in the vicinity. I don't think that terribly shy cats would do this as well, but for those with healthy self-esteem, I think you can communicate much like you would with dogs.
You can also try to associate Tinker coming in with a sardine-feeding or something really cool like that. Make Margie associate Tinker with treats and I'm sure she'll re-evaluate her tolerance. :-)
That's another good idea, Kathy - thanks!
It's funny - Margie won't have anything to do with other people at all. Only me. Oh, yeah - Steve's friend who came to pay his respects after Steve died . . . Margie did like him. Even my brother - who rescued Margie first, then I took her because she attacked all of his cats - she won't have anything to do with him or my SIL anymore.
Oh, yes, a Diva in the making. Some of us are just more complicated than others.
At first, you might try putting Margie in another room while Tinker's in with you. That will allow Tinker to get her footing and get her scent all over the place. Then, when Tinker's outside and Margie's out, she can start "desensitizing" to Tinker's smell. It's sort of a pre-introductory stage.
Carole - I sense that you are very sensitive, so you might be able to start "talking" to Margie about this (sort of telepathically), as well. I'd just caution you not to justify her drama (you know, sort of matter-of-factly tell her that this isn't going to "ruin her life") and to remind her that, while you love her, it's your decision and not hers.
One time Tinker was in and Margie was never aware of it. Tinker took a nap on this kitty condo. Since then, every single day, Margie spends time on that kitty condo (never even looked at it before) as if to say, "I don't THINK so!" What a little witch Margie is (s/b spelled with a "b"). Then she started spending time on the big kitty condo which is usually only used by Friday.
It's as bad as politics, I tell ya, as bad as politics!
Except with the politics, there's no QUEEN to set them all straight. :-) Tinker looks like she was doing okay. And somebody has to be the witch, right? Silly kitties. Scritches to them all.
I would say that, worst case scenario is that they each develop their own territory and ignore eachother. But that's certainly a lot better than fur, fur, fur.
Saw a darling 15wk old Boston Terrier puppy today on the way to the car from the bus. She was precious.
