Happy Birthday "Peter Parker"!

I work in healthcare, as an radiologic technologist at a pediatric hospital.
I am one of the blessed people that goes to work everyday and genuinely loves what she does.
I make a difference in the lives of one of God's greatest gifts to this world: the child.
For some folks, "real life" starts as soon as they leave their job.
For me, and the amazing group of people I work with, "real life" stares us in the face everyday.
Hope.
Joy.
Laughter.
Tragedy.
Togetherness.
Sadness.
Death.
We see this everyday.
We walk these emotions everyday.

Today was "super hero" day and we were all encouraged to dress up like "super heroes".
Today also is the birthday of a patient who touched my heart as well as an entire hospital's heart.

Happy Birthday to a "super hero" who I will never forget.
Here's to all the laughs that we shared together.
To you making me belt out Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" in the ICU via karaoke machine anytime you could, just because you knew I would look like an idiot to anyone just to make you smile.
To a little boy who even mostly blind, always noticed when I got my hair cut.
 And who I often had to bribe with an endless supply of stickers, paper hats and Justin Bieber t-shirts.

I love you, "Peter Parker".
You are "my boy".
You are OUR boy, and I can't wait to see you in Heaven one day, where we will sing an encore together again.....

Lack of responsibility

What is not responsible about this face?!

I came home tonight and upon approaching my house I notice we had no curtains in the living room windows.  Immediately my heart jumped to my throat and I instantly knew what had happened.  We had been robbed....  

I twisted the door knob, and it was locked.  

Well, isn't that nice?  The jerk who robbed us could have at least left the door unlocked for me!  I slid my key into the key hole, turned the knob and SLAM!

Suddenly it felt like a cinder block hit the back of the door as the door snapped back and hit me in the face!  Now I was just flat out angry.  I again tried to open the door only to feel someone pushing back on it again, only this time the push was accompanied by barking, snarling, and I could feel hot air on my fingers.  Immediately I realized my puppies were loose....  I also quickly realized, I was going to get bit if I didn't announce who I was upon coming through the door.  

As soon as I said: "It's me guys!"  I was greeted by a fury of tail wagging exuberance and two bouncing, puppies looking at me as if to say:  "Well, why didn't you just say so?!"  

As I surveyed the house I was nervous.  Two shepherd puppies out all day, left to their own devices, is never a good thing.  Luckily, there was no real damage to my house, just the curtains they tore down, balled into the perfect heap and clearly slept on all afternoon, a destroyed dog bed and busted up baby gate.  Tomorrow they will go back to their crates while we are at work since they are not responsible enough to stay in the laundry room by themselves without escape.  

I'm not ready to risk my house to these monsters just yet....

 

Some of their handy work....

Offering Square Foot Gardening Class!

Want a garden this year, but don't have any clue where to start?

Is no yard space deterring you from the garden of your dreams?

Join me at Hayner Cultural Center on April 26th. for a class on Square Foot Gardening.

Details and cost below.  Only 7 spots still available!

Introduction to Square Foot Gardening
Emily Browning

Emily is an urban farmer in Tipp City, Ohio.  She has been producing food from her backyard for the last 2 years, feeding herself and her family for 8 out of 12 months of the year.  “I have a passion for teaching others how they too can produce their own food out of their backyard or deck. No space is too small!”

Have you always wanted to grow your own vegetables but obstacles stand in the way of your success?
Brown thumb? Hate weeding? No space? Bad soil quality? No clue where or how to begin?  No problem! 
Come learn how to grow your own vegetables no matter what the obstacle.  This class will start you on the path to having the successful garden of your dreams! Learn how to maintain your own raised bed garden. Included will be heirloom seeds/seedlings.
Student Age Limits: 15 years and up
Class Fee: $30
Week Day: Saturday 
Time:10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Session Days: 1
Date: 4/26/14

Register online at:  http://www.troyhayner.org/class-registration-form.html

Stray for a Stay

On Friday I receive a text message from The Reluctant Farmer that said: "I think God sent me something to feed today.  When I pulled up to the house after dropping Katzya off at school, he was sitting on the doorstep.  I thought he would run away but he didn't."  

Of course, there was no picture with the accompanying text....

I text back in a panic: "There is no picture!  What did you find?!"  In my mind I was afraid.  I had just given up rescue and where I knew God never gives someone more than they can handle, I wanted to make sure God and the universe knew I could handle no more critters!  (I feed FROMM Family dog and cat food to all of these critters, and that with medical costs makes it expensive around here!)

The Reluctant Farmer text me back this picture with a message that said:  "I just found it funny he didn't run off the porch, but stayed there like he was waiting.  I think God sent him to me.  We are calling him Bob."  

Bob has been hanging around the porch now for 2 days.  He looks well fed, but he is hungry and thirsty every time he comes to visit.  I don't know if maybe he is normally fed by an elderly person that can't get out in the snow?  Regardless, I worry about him since we have received several more inches of snow since yesterday, drifts two feet deep and the temperatures are dipping into the single digits.  It's rough to be any creature, man or beast, out in these elements....

 We didn't want to leave Bob out in the elements with no protection so tonight we made a makeshift shelter out of two cardboard boxes to help keep him warm and so he would be sheltered from the wind. 

 Our design is fairly ingenious, has a veranda to house Bob's food dish and has an L-shaped entrance so the wind can't blow directly in on him.  To add to more comfort to our "homeless feline housing project," we put  a non-electric warming disc and fleece blanket into the box to keep him toasty.  

At this rate, Bob won't leave until spring!

Lifeboat in a Storm

I have shared before that our New Year's resolution was to pay off our unsecure debt in 2014.  We started this adventure in the middle of November, and as of this week we have reduced our debt by $4000.00 and paid off a student loan.  That feels great, and I would love to tell you that this challenge has been easier than buttering toast, however that would be the biggest lie of 2014!  This budget has been the hardest thing I have done in my entire life and I am reminded daily why I have never been a successful dieter.  I lack any type of willpower....

This week I have had to dig deep for my willpower due to a minor mistake in mathematics that left us with roughly $3.72 to our name, therefore curbing any extra spending money.  I won't lie, I have been sad and my budget has been extra hard this week.  Tonight on my way home from work though, life got so much better!

I received a call from my amazing friend Julie, asking if I was free for dinner and girl talk.  It was her treat AND I got to pick the restaurant!  Naturally, I picked Chipotle and it was great, but not as great as my friend and the offer of a "lifeboat" in a storm.  

I expected (or at least hoped) to lessen my debt in this process, but I never expected to discover a more authentic side of myself.  This adventure has made me so much more appreciative, it's the little things that mean the most to me now....

Pardoned!

Last week I noticed Brent the kitten was brazenly urinating on our dogs beds.  He had no care if someone was watching him, if the dog was sleeping on the bed, whenever the mood hit him he would pop a squat and pee.  I called our veterinarian, explained the situation, and she advised a product called Cat Attract (A litter additive that makes cats want to return to the litter box...) and an examination.  

I took him to visit her, she obtained a urine sample and determined there was nothing wrong with Brent.  I asked her if there was anything else to be done for my boy, and she mentioned we could do the surgery to reroute Brent's urethra in the next month and that possibly that would fix the problem.  She did also warn me there was a possibility that since his urine didn't show any signs of infection or sediment, there was nothing medically wrong with him and there was a good chance he would continue to urinate outside the litter box.  

I was deflated.  Here was a life that I had nursed back to health, loved with my whole heart, and I didn't want to give up on yet.  I knew in my heart though, I could not have a cat urinating in  my house.  That is disgusting....  I thought about making Brent an outside cat, but the possibility he wouldn't have someone keep an eye on him, and that he still was in danger of having a urinary blockage, made me question if that was the right thing to do for him.  (I am not someone who would ever want to put an aniaml's life in jeopardy just to make myself feel better.)  It was eventually decided that I would take Brent in to be euthanized sometime this week.  

Flash forward to this evening.....

I got home, was gathering a load of laundry to put into the washing machine and noticed it was wet.  I smelled it, immediately knew it was cat urine, and quickly realized the entire pile of laundry was soaked.  I could take no more.  I loaded Brent up in the car and with huge tears rolling down my cheeks, prepared to say goodbye to my little buddy.  

I got to the veterinary office, and the staff was so kind to me.  (They have come to love this little nut as much as I do, and no one wanted to see him die.)  Dr. Kalo came in, talked with me about my decision, and then offered to take Brent on as a barn cat if I was interested.  You could tell she was nervous about broaching the subject of Brent living outdoors, I however was relieved!  Yes, there are risks such as predators, weather and traffic, but is death and death and if he stayed on the exam room table, death would have been imminent.  In fact, I love the idea of a Brent living as a barn cat, and think this will be the perfect opportunity for him.  He can run around like a crazy, eat a lot of food, urinate wherever his heart desires, and his new mom is a veterinarian!  We couldn't have gotten any luckier then that!    

People like me!

Tonight as I was leaving work, this little reminder popped up on my iPhone.  (I'm not sure how this happened, because usually my phone doesn't alert me for anything.  Perhaps my smart phone new I was sad yesterday...)  The phone was reminding me about an informational meeting for an event called EarthFest.  I was intrigued, and only 1.5 miles from the event, so I drove down to the meeting spot, nervously went in and WOW!

EarthFest is an event that was held last year in Dayton, Ohio and had nearly 1,000 visitors and over 30 free workshops on everything from bee keeping to lasagna gardening and a bunch of stuff in between.  It's an all day affair and sounds absolutely amazing.  I volunteered to teach a class on backyard meat animals, if they have workshop space still available, and I won't lie the thought of helping others learn to be more self sustaining excites me.

Perhaps the coolest part of the evening was meeting the 20 some people that were there with the same interests as me!  I met other urban farmers, beekeepers, pottery enthusiasts, and even other chicken keepers.  (And this was just the people I was able to talk with, there were more people that I didn't get to interact with, but I will next time!)  And one very kind woman, Mandy, invited me to meet with a group of urban farmers that are meeting this weekend.  I am pretty excited!  And to think, I thought I might be bored without dog rescue.....