Day 90 And Everyone is Still Alive

 

Bailey always ready for the Camera with her brothers Riley & Rufus

We made it 3 months and everyone is still alive and I have some of my sanity left! Guess what?? 3 Dogs is crazy. Don’t let anyone tell you it is easy. Don’t go to the shelter and think “I want to be like them!” Believe me you don’t! We have about 3 days a week that are easy peasy…the rest of the week is like running a zoo, but I do love it! And I am happy to give rescues a home. It kills me to know how many dogs are not as lucky as these 3 fools!

Riley needed a buddy. He loves having the big dogs to play with. Bailey is the silliest girl you have ever met. She loves everyone (except the mailman) and enjoys life. She doesn’t care what is on the agenda for the day as long as someone tells her she is a beautiful dog. She loves compliments!

Rufus is my Everest. It took weeks to figure out his moods, sounds, eye rolls, and needs. He definitely did not have good human interactions prior to coming here. Bailey probably had no human interaction which is why she LOVES you to tell her how pretty she is! Rufus has the biggest heart and sleeps on top of me almost every night. I have to roll him over multiple times throughout the night as I can’t sleep with him on my chest! I thought Riley was a Stage 5 Klinger, but Rufus takes it to a whole new level. He is so strong and has to protect me and the house. Almost to the extent that it is overkill. Riley is his assistant. If Rufus is barking you can bet Riley is right next him! Most times the two of them actually have no idea what they are barking at, but will always back each other up! The good news…I don’t think anyone is going to break in anytime soon!

Things we are still working on….
1. Not acting like the world is ending when the mail lady arrives.
2. Not humping each other.
3. Not barking on the porch before 9am or after 9pm. If you live near us…we are trying!
4. Not stealing treats from each other.
5. Not blocking Uncle Ed from coming on the porch or in the house. 

Every day is an adventure…get ready!  #Rescue  

Rufus’ Pet Bird

Things have clearly gotten out of control at this house…Rufus has a pet! A few weeks ago I had to replace the birdhouse because birds were getting their heads stuck in the feeder causing stress for both the bird and me! I found this great little birdhouse and this little guy has moved in. He or she sits on the feeder all day. It eats and just chills. Rufus sits and watches his pet. Their tummies and eating habits are about the same so you can understand why Rufus has selected this bird to be his buddy. This morning I had to open new birdseed and I wasn’t moving quite fast enough. Rufus quickly started howling to let me know that his bird needed fed! In the 12 years I have been feeding birds I have never had one that just sits at the feeder 24/7, but in the realm of activities that keep Rufus content this is by far one of the easiest! I’m not sure what the plan come winter will be, but I may or may not have been online this morning looking for winter houses for birds…oh dear!

#Rescue #AdoptDontShop #Birdwatching

Make a Dogs Day

Rufus got the memo that today is #MakeADogsDay and he has a long list of things that will make his day perfect! I believe the first box was already checked as he woke up snuggled in his favorite fluffy blanket that he stole from the humans of the house! This is his favorite time of the year. Cozy blankets, warm meals, and since I don’t like snow more time at home! I spent Sunday tackling all of his blankets. He had 4 loads of laundry to my 2! Spoiled much? While I was grabbing a quick bagel Rufus decided he should check out the fridge and quickly pointed out that I should go to the grocery store. This dog! I don’t want his doggie breath in my fridge!

#MakeTheMostOfTheDash #MakeADogsDay

An Adult Daycare Center

Bailey’s photo pretty much sums up this week! I always joke that I would tell you the story of my life, but you wouldn’t believe it. This week could have had its own chapter. I have tried for almost 2 years to have gutters installed at the house. Contractors never return calls or show up. I finally found an amazing contractor and we have planned for new gutters, a new porch roof, and new windows. Windows are backordered, but the other projects started Monday morning. It was very rough on Rufus to have people around the house. On Monday he barked for 4 hours. On Wednesday & Thursday he barked for 6 hours. Imagine if I hadn’t drugged him how loud he would have been! While the contractor was working on Thursday two of our neighbors felt it necessary to harass him. I had to log off work and referee in the front yard. At one point the contractor was throwing his gear in his truck while my neighbor is screaming at him. Half of the roof was complete and only 1 gutter had been installed. Since I am afraid of heights and can’t install roof shingles I had to do everything in my power to keep that contractor working. I just wanted gutters…I put Rufus in the bedroom to reduce the barking and spent the rest of the afternoon on the porch trying to keep everyone happy. It was like running an adult daycare. By the end of the day my neighbor continued to harass the contractor, but he realized it was beyond my control and apologized for threatening to quit. Unfortunately the neighbor doesn’t realize there was anything wrong with their behavior. Gutters, downspouts and roof are complete! Taking bets to see if he will return for the windows?! I can’t even explain the rest of the week as reliving it would just be exhausting. Rufus has spent the last few days recovering while Bailey fills out applications to find normal people to live with…Here is hoping next week is more serene otherwise there will be a for sale sign installed and we are moving to a piece of land by ourselves!

#Rescue #AdoptDontShop #Gutters #Pittsburgh

These Mums Stink!

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Yesterday was a marathon day of local shopping for fall favorites. Mom and I hit the Farmer’s Market and then made our rounds stopping by the locally owned grocery store for Mums and then down the road to the warehouse nursery for Pumpkins and Cornstalks! The Farmer’s Market had a great variety of unique pumpkins and of course my favorite veggies but no apples just yet. After a stop for mums and a quick sandwich we headed down to 380 Auction for the rest of our fall decor. The jack o lanterns were not available yet, but I scored a great assortment of small gourds and pumpkins to decorate the porch. Normal people purchase bales of hay and cornstalks, move their vehicle up to the store, load and go. And then there is me…The parking lot was a disaster. People were literally driving backwards down rows to find a parking space so we loaded our smaller pumpkins in the truck and I headed back on foot for my cornstalks. The cornstalks were not heavy, but just a tad awkward. I accidently assaulted one woman with a rogue ear of corn! My mom would have taken a photo, but she was laughing too hard and holding my purse! We managed to safely get the decorations to each of our homes and tried to beat the rain as we decorated. I was unloading the mums onto the porch and thought “jeez these mums stink!” I should have known it wasn’t my beautiful flowers. Rufus stepped in dog poop and dragged it across the porch. Gross! Thankfully the porch is still just cement as I am waiting for the roofers to finish before I install the new outdoor carpet. He helped place each mum and pumpkin and the wonderful scent followed us as we decorated. Oh dear! I told him he couldn’t come in the house until his feet were clean so it was a long night!

#Rescue #AdoptDontShop #Mums #Pumpkins #Fall

I have decided you can stay

Rufus knows exactly who lives in each house that surrounds our yard. If they have friends over Rufus makes it clear that he is displeased. I have spent years trying to make him understand that he does not own anything outside of the fence and therefor cannot harass neighbors when having a picnic or play date! Our neighbors brought home a puppy several weeks ago. At this point it may have been months ago! It has been rough. Rufus charges down the hill to bark at the puppy which causes their other dog to get upset trying to protect her buddy. Countless hours have been spent trying to get Rufus use to the new puppy. A few days ago I was scrolling through social media and our neighbor had a post mentioning that the puppy treated herself to half of an Italian Hoagie from the counter! I shared the story with Rufus and mentioned that the puppy seems like someone who he would get along with. Stealing a hoagie is definitely a Rufus Move! I don’t know if it was the story or just finally time, but Rufus has decided to like the puppy. Now he sits at the fence waiting for her to come out and say hi. She is officially one of the crew!

#Rescue #AdoptDontShop #Hoagie #DogLife

Totally Normal

Is there anything better than finding out someone is bringing you dinner on a weeknight and you don’t have to cook??!! I think not! Yia Yia messaged earlier in the day that she was stopping by our favorite chicken place and would drop off dinner for me and the Four Legged. I of course told Rufus which prompted him to sit in the dining room for hours waiting for his chicken to arrive. Totally normal right? A few hours later we found out that our chicken place is now closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so Yia Yia made a plan to stop by the Verona Village Inn. I selected Chicken Marsala, a dish I have yet to conquer at home, and the Four Legged picked meatballs. I told her the dogs really did not need anything and could eat leftovers, but Rufus was in the background making sure she heard that he wanted a meatball! I don’t think we could ask for better people to be in our lives! I would have loved to grab a shot of the dogs on the porch greeting Yia Yia and drooling, but when meatballs are involved you have to move quickly!

#Meatballs #WeeknightMeals #Dinner #Rescue #AdoptDontShop #TakeOutTuesday

Tangy Mushrooms

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You know those recipes that you make so many times that you just know it by memory. This is one of those classics! I believe it is my grandma’s recipe. The mushroom caps are stuffed with the mushrooms stems, onion, blue cheese and breadcrumbs after cooking the stuffing components in butter. It has been years since I made stuffed mushrooms, but since it is Nascar playoff season I decided to grab the ingredients. In true “Summer fashion” the store was out of blue cheese. Really??!! I had to make a second stop, but the end result was worth it! Years ago I made the mushrooms almost weekly for a bowling league. A friend of mine commented that they looked gross. About ten minutes later he was 8 mushrooms in and needed to know what in the heck make these so good?! Who knew blue cheese could transform a mushroom? Rufus was less than thrilled to see blue cheese mushrooms come out of the oven. Lucky for him I also have a ham and au gratin potatoes baking. I made it a goal to not leave the house the entire weekend, get caught up at work, and cook meals to get us through an anticipated crazy week. I haven’t left the house and I have cooked some great meals, but I’m still behind at work. Bailey and I sat on the deck for several hours with my laptop. She is in her glory with the temperatures dipping and the sunshine. Mom sent a text that the store has amazing mums and I almost hopped in the truck, but decided I could make it until tomorrow. About 40 more emails and I will be caught up to start the week! I would be further along, but you know the Four Legged need someone to get them treats, open the door, move blankets around….etc., spoiled just a little? It is the weekend. Tomorrow they have to work their bone breaks around my meeting schedule!

#Rescue #AdoptDontShop #InTheKitchen #Mushrooms #BlueCheese

Meatloaf

Fall is here and someone is not as excited as the rest of us! Rufus has really bad joints. Cool weather makes it harder to maneuver the steps and he is already tired. I pulled out the extra blankets and Rufus has spent most of the morning chilling in my office while I catch up at work. I was out of town last weekend and promised I would cook several warm dinners to make up for my fun travels! While working I mentioned I would make his favorite meatloaf later this afternoon. A few minutes later I mentioned (yes I talk to the dogs while I work!) I wanted to use up leftover carrots in the meatloaf and this was the face I got! After several minutes of grumbles I am in the kitchen making Salisbury steak instead. No carrots…Still ground beef based, but I was looking forward to meatloaf! My great grandma had a cookbook that featured recipes from the backs of cans, boxes and jars. One of my favorites is a meatloaf recipe that uses cream of mushroom soup as the binder instead of ketchup. Don’t tell the die hard Pittsburgh Residents, but I just don’t like ketchup that much. (If I do it eat it don’t worry it is Heinz…I’m not a total traitor!) Almost all of my favorite recipes are online at this point, but when it comes to the classics that is by far my favorite cookbook! The author is Ceil Dyer. A definite must have if you love to cook.

#Rescue #AdoptDontShop #Meatloaf #Saturday #InTheKitchen

Steak

We’ve been here before. Rufus wants dinner at 4pm. I can’t always serve dinner at 4pm. Sometimes I have to work, sometimes the food is not ready, sometimes I am not home. You will notice that there is dog food available, but clearly that is not want he feels is an adequate dinner. How this dog lived outside for the first four years of his life and survived is beyond me! So now it is 4:18pm and I have to run to the hardware store. Rufus is circling like a shark. I looked him square in the eye. He started to howl. Here I am in the kitchen trying to have a rationale conversation with a dog! As he howls I mention that I am not serving dinner before errands because I am ordered steaks. He suddenly stops howling, turns his head and looks at me. Steaks you say? A smile spread across his face and if I was a mind reader I am 100% sure he was saying “what size steak did you get me?” Needless to say I was able to run my errands and dinner was served just a bit late. Rufus is now in the backyard sharing his day with the neighbor dogs!

#Steak #AdoptDontShop #Rufus #DinnerTime #Pittsburgh

Pot Roast

It’s 4:27PM. I know that Rufus eats at 4PM, but I am taking advantage of a 3 day weekend to catch up on a work and the pot roast is a few pounds heavier than usual and needs the extra cooking time. As I have tackled emails Rufus has reminded me several times that it is well past his dinner time. About 5 minutes ago he was crying to the point that I had to go downstairs to check on him. We are now both in the kitchen telling the pot roast to “cook faster!” The fact that I just peeled potatoes and prepped broccoli means dinner is at least another 30 minutes out. Rufus is currently calling Grammie to see what time she is serving dinner!

#SundayDinner #PotRoast #AdoptDontShop #Rescue