Groucho, Baby!

Groucho came into my life just when I needed him.  Well, his mother did actually.  She just appeared on my front porch one day in June of 2016 and decided that she had found her new home.  Little did I know that she wasn't alone.  A month later Groucho made his appearance along with his six brothers and sisters.

Recuperating from my liver resection, kittens were the last thing the doctor ordered, but they provided much needed entertainment.  They also required lots of love and time which helped me to focus on something other than the cancer I thought I had defeated.  Five of the kittens found good homes, but Groucho was mine from the time his personality came alive.

Groucho being creepy, Feb. 2019

 Life with Groucho and Snoball, his brother, is anything but boring.  They love to chase each other around the house and the dog.  They love to follow me around the house all day, watch my every move, and love to cuddle with me whenever I sit, and these days, the fatigue can be overwhelming sometimes.

So much has happened since my last blog.   Click on the link below to get the messy details of what has become my life.  


            Mrs. Michel's Cancer Fund

Yes, life is messy.  No one said it was fair or easy or neat, but I've decided to live each day with purpose, dignity, and positive thoughts and to make each day count.  How will you live tomorrow?

Find the Time!

On January 16th the world changed.  I changed.  The cancer was back, and it was only a matter of a year or two before it won.  At least that's what my doctor said. My heart cried, but my head screamed a denial, and so I would begin a two-drug chemo treatment in four days time.

Later that same day I walked into another office and scheduled the mediport insertion as an out-patient procedure.  The mediport is a device implanted beneath my skin and acts like a vein to better administer the chemo medicines.

Some people get chemo through a vein in their arm, but in my case, the doctor said that the chemo medicines I required would "burn" too much going in a regular vein. 

The procedure was painless, and most days I don't even know it's there unless I hug a cat too hard. 

I started chemo the next day.  It's been seven months now, and I just finished my 7th round of chemo yesterday.  I've had two cat scans and an MRI to track my progress, which is at this time a bit unclear.  One known cancer area shows no new growth, but there are 8 other spots that have appeared on my liver, and it's unclear if they are cancerous.  So it's a wait game for now.

Through it all, my world changed.  My perspective on life changed.  I now find the time to enjoy the time.  You should try it!  Why wait for a better day to do something you want?  It might not come?  Don't put off what you've been putting off.  Just do it.  

So visit that place, eat that meal, buy that silly trinket, or spend time with your cats taking those cute pictures (and maybe too many videos.)  Make yourself happy today.  Who knows how many more todays you have?

Hello, Again!

Getting to the point...I've been gone for longer than I ever intended, but life got in the way.  I got cancer - twice.  I changed grade levels at school, and a stray cat who turned out to be pregnant adopted me.  Lucky me.  Really!  Lucky me.  

First, I went from teaching 6th grade to teaching 8th graders.  I had actually started my teaching career 19th years ago with 8th graders so it didn't take me long to get back in the groove, and I had a really wonderful 8th grade veteran teacher to help me and listen to me vent from time to time.  Without her, it would have definitely been a bad year because that was the year I found out about the cancer.

Next, meet Groucho.  In the picture, he is about 3 months old.  He is too curious and has a little stubbie for a tail.  His momma turned up in June of 2015 and was just a sweetheart.  She'd been hanging around the house for about a week when she got bit on her paw.  It started swelling up so I took her to my vet.  It got better, and then we noticed she was getting fat.  She had 7 kittens a month later.   Five of them managed to find great homes, but Groucho was mine from the minute he grew a personality.  We couldn't find a home for his brother, Snowball, so he stayed as well.

Then one Friday night, after a long week at school, I had a pain in my right side.  The next morning, it was worse, so we made a trip to my local Urgent Care thinking that it couldn't be anything serious.  They sent me to a nearby ER center for a cat scan, and they found a tumor on my liver.  After a transfer to a hospital and a biopsy, the diagnosis was Intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma.  

So there you are, almost caught up.  More to come later, but yes, lucky!  I'm still here.

Pretty in Blue!

Meet the Plumbago, another Texas favorite. It's an evergreen shrub native to South Africa, and its hardiness makes it perfect for zones 9 through 11. It will bloom almost all year ‘round and is easy to grow. It likes sandy soil and soils that drain well. However, it can and will take over an area if you don’t prune, but on the plus if you prune regularly, this encourages more blooms.

This past winter we had some mighty cold temperatures, at least from Texas standards, and I thought the plumbago had died. A lot of my plants suffered, but the plumbago really took a beating.  It looked like a rambling of dried vines.  But when I began to replace this dead plant in early spring, I could see that the roots had survived and little shoots were coming up from the ground.  This is when I discovered that this is also a great plant for zones 7 and 8.

When we moved to our new home in Texas, we decided on a corner lot which had the bonus feature of having a bigger yard.  However, being a corner lot meant we also inherited a stop sign and a fire hydrant on the curve. The soil wasn’t the best with lots of clay and rock, but I wanted something pretty for the corner to take the focus away from the sign and hydrant. The corner had full-sun all day, and whatever I planted there couldn’t grow too big or at least be tolerable to pruning because of the sign and hydrant. A plumbago was the perfect answer. 

The plumbago is a favorite of mine because it loves full sun and once it is established, it only needs to be watered when it’s completely dry. So if you’re looking for a drought-resistant plant for your yard, this one is moderately drought-tolerant and so very pretty too.

Too Many Tomatillos!

Gardening can be fun.  When we started our first Texas garden, we went the safe route with tomatoes and peppers.  As we got more comfortable, we tried zucchini and onions and garlic.  Then we expanded to peas and butternut squash and tomatillos .

The tomatillo plant is  can be found in a lot of Texas gardens and is native to Mexico. Maybe you've heard of the husk tomato or a jamberry or the Mexican green tomato? Those are other names for the tomatillo. 

The tomatillo pictured above has not fully ripened yet. The fruit itself grows within a paper-like husk and as the fruit grows to about the size of a really large cherry tomato, the papery husk will get dry and turn brownish. Most of the time you will know the fruit is ripe when it starts to break its husk, but not always.

The tomatillo itself is a bit meatier than a tomato and will be white inside. It can be utilized in many ways.  It is commonly fried, steamed, or boiled. In Mexico, people will add it to guacamole sometimes or use them in making "green sauce" because there is a slight citrus-type of aftertaste.

This year our tomatillo plants have really been productive.  So we've been on a path of trying to find new recipes to use them in. 

The best way we've found so far is in making our own salsa.  We started with chopped tomatoes and onions which we've grown ourselves. Then we raided the pepper garden. We used a mix of serrano peppers and habanero. We chopped these finely and added them to the mix. Then we harvested a few cilantro stems (again fresh from our garden) and finely chopped these as well to add to the mix.

Lastly, we add chopped-up tomatillos to our salsa mix, it added texture and flavor. It is ready to eat, but if you can wait a couple of hours, refrigerate to let the flavors marinate together.  

Yummy!  It was perfect with our favorite brand of tortilla chips!

Puppy Training or Training Us?

 

Daisy Dog has now attended day two of puppy training! She has completed lesson two of six lessons at Petsmart, and we are coming along wonderfully.

One of us though is learning more than she ever thought she would...me!

I was pretty skeptical when my husband decided to sign us up for this, but I've learned a lot.  Luckily for Daisy, she has too!

She's still learning her name, but the cat chasing and the shoe fetish is disappearing so we're good here.

Lesson two was mostly about walking Daisy on a leash which was really needed.  Her method was either to sit and refuse to budge or the "get the hell out of my way, I'm coming" dash through the store, so we were glad to get some tips.  She was doing better by the end of the lesson! 

Our homework for this week is to practice the walking bit each day increasing the amount each day.  So the first couple of days we're supposed to practice walking down to our neighbor's mailbox without any problems and then each day a little further.

On another front, the dog crate we invested in is proving to be the best $20.00 we have spent in a long time.  We are now able to sleep at least 7 hours without waking up to any messes in the house.

She's also becoming a bit cheesy...look at that pose!  Here she is on the porch with her tongue hanging out cause it was 98 degrees!  We had been practicing her sitting commands, but she got lazy.

I can't say that I blame her....it's hot here in Texas!  

The White Gardenia

What's that smell?  People always ask that as they climb the steps to our porch. Most people don't recognize the lovely fragrance of the Gardenia plant.

But it was the first plant I thought of when we bought our new house. There was a little niche by the stairs leading to the porch. And I just knew that this very attractive plant would help welcome visitors with its dark green leaves and beautiful, white, fragrant flowers.

It's become another Southern favorite because it does well in the Texas heat and can be easily pruned. These plants can grow from 2 to 8 feet, but I prune it every spring because I want to keep it as a little bush. It will bloom from early spring to late fall, and it's proven to be fairly hearty because it has survived every winter here in Texas with no problems at all.

When you make landscape and/or gardening decisions, you have to consider things like soil, sun, and weather. You have to know the soil in your yard and which types of plants can be supported and also the amount of sun certain plants need in order to be planted in optimal areas.

The area by the porch was perfect for a gardenia because the soil was rich in clay with lots of rock and was pretty acidic. Whatever was planted there would be in full sun for half the day and then in shade during the afternoon, but it would also be protected from the north wind by the porch. Overall, it was the perfect spot for a gardenia which has always been a favorite of mine.

The gardenia holds a special place in my heart as I remember my mother and her mother always had gardenia plants in their gardens. I remember thinking the scent of the gardenia was wild and exotic.

I don't find the smell so exotic these days, but there's just something about the gardenia that makes me smile each time I spy a new bloom.

Explaining the Esperanza!

Driving around a new city brings new sights and one of the prettiest we found, after moving to San Antonio, was this bright-yellow blossomed plant. I was seeing them everywhere.  Some were small, but others were like miniature trees.

On our first trip to the local nursery, I found them.  They are  most commonly known here in Texas as the Esperanza. It's also called Yellow Bells because of the bell shape of the blossoms, and in this heat, it's another winner for your yard. 

It loves the heat and can live with minimal water once a week. It's easy to prune and survives most Texas winters. Just remember to trim off the winter damaged areas, and it will grow back beautifully in the spring.

Another great thing is that the bees love it! So if you have a tomato garden, it's a wonderful plant to have nearby to attact the bees to its blossoms as well.  We have 3 strategically planted in the yard, and since they bloom far into the fall, they help out with the fall garden too.

Important tip to remember is that you can promote continuous flowers by clipping off the seedpods.

Happiness is a Dog Crate!

Puppies can be so cute and cuddly, but not so much at 4:30 in the morning when you're trying to sleep.  I's also not cute to wake up to a mess every morning.

So now Daisy, our rescue puppy, is doing the crate thing!

We had heard many people talk about crates and what a help it was in potty training a puppy!  Well, we thought that as intelligent people, we could handle this the old-fashioned way.  We were wrong.

Daisy was doing fine during the day, and we seemed to be doing a good job wearing her out each evening so that she would sleep throughout the night. 

This worked fine the first couple of nights, but then we started waking up to find messes and overturned trash cans.  So doggy-prison it is.

We went straight to Craigslist because the cost of a brand-new one started at about $100 for a very basic one.  It took a couple of days, but we finally got this one for $20.00 from a college student who was off to another college.

It was almost brand-new and had two entrances and a sturdy tray for the bottom.  We draped towels on the top and sides to help keep the light out and give the illusion of a cave.  We also put in a comfy soft blankets.

We prepared ourselves for the worse....barking, whinning, scratching.  Nothing!

She loves her little cage.  I put treats in the "Daisy Cave" at night, and she goes right in to eat them and then lays down and goes to sleep.

Hallelujah!

So I highly recommend a dog crate now to everyone with a puppy!

Where Are the Made in America labels?

Imagine my surprise when I went to my local grocery store and tried to buy a new doggie toy for Daisy our rescue puppy, the newest addition to our household, and came home without one.

Made in China labels were everywhere. 

I know some people think that a dog or a cat are just that...animals. But they are to me, and many people, family members. They are loved ones. They are our babies. And I for one, am not taking any chances with them. Just look at that face, would you?

That being said, I think Daisy deserves the best, but getting the best is proving a hard thing to get. All the toys said: Made in China. And I mean, all the doggie toys! I could not find one doggie toy that wasn't made in China.

Even most of the doggie treats are made in China. Now I am not totally against all things made in China, but there have been many reports of dogs that have died and gotten sick from pet treats made in China. So I was pleased to read an article about how Petsmart and the other major pet retailer are committed to stop selling Made in China pet treats.

By March of 2015, it will be a lot easier to find Made in America or Made Anywhere Else, but China labels.  Yippee for all pets out there!

Poor Daisy did not get a new toy today, but she did get some wonderful chicken-flavored chew rawhides made in Columbia.

A Bird Feeder Memory

A bird feeder?  I'd never really thought about a bird feeder, but my husband likes birds, and so one of the first things we put up in our new yard when we moved to Texas was a bird feeder. 

We went to our local hardware store and found a 4 arm shepherd's hook that we thought would be perfect in our yard.  We could then hang 4 bird feeders at one time. What a time-saver, we thought. We won't have to fill them as often. 

Were we wrong! At first, it took the birds time to get used to the bird feeders, but word soon spread like wildfire among the bird population of the area, and we couldn't keep the birds away.

Now the birds empty the feeders in one day. It's become part of our morning ritual besides feeding the cats and feeding the dogs, now we feed birds.

Every morning I get to enjoy the doves as they come to call. And call they do until the bird feeders get filled, especially those white-winged ones.  

One morning I was out on the porch sipping my coffee listening to the birds, and it took me back in time.  For a few minutes I was back in 1976 at my grandparent's home.  

I remember this huge walk-in enclosure where he housed many doves.  He would go out every morning and walk around spreading seed.  He would also share the seed with the many free doves that would inevitably find their way to his yard.  When I was older, he would let me feed the doves too.  It's one of the few memories I have of that man.

Isn't it funny how sounds can trigger memories we don't even remember having.

Best of Texas!

 

Was walking through the yard this morning chasing after Daisy when I heard a lot of buzzing.  It was coming from the Pride of Barbados.  The bees were all over this plant this morning.  It is in full bloom right now.

If you've traveled through Texas or spent any time here, you're bound to have seen a particular lush green plant with bright red, orange, and yellow blooms. It's a plant that loves and thrives in our steaming summers here. It's a member of the pea family.  I won't bore you with the exact scientific name, but you might have heard it called the Mexican Bird of Paradise or even the Peacock Flower, but most commonly as the Pride of Barbados.

When we moved back to Texas three years ago, it was during a drought. The property we settled on had a small barren yard.  The soil wasn't too good, but the weeds loved it.  So the first order of business after getting rid of the weeds was to try to spruce up the place.

At the local nurseries, we talked to many people and these beautiful plants were recommended. They typically grow to about 5 - 8 feet in this area. Mine in the picture are about to the 8 foot range now.

They have suffered a bit in the winters here, but they grow back beautifully every spring.  It can be pruned fairly easy, which is good because they will block walkways if you let them. It loves full sun, and it is very drought-resistant.  We water these minimally.

Most of all, it is beautiful and adds lots of color to any yard.

What more can you ask of a plant?

Daisy Does School!

 

Daisy had her first day at puppy training. She was wonderful!

We adopted Daisy through San Antonio Pets Alive when they were hosted by Petsmart. A couple of times a month they set up shop in the aisles of Petsmart to find new homes for dogs and cats that have been saved from certain death at kill-shelters.

In exchange for adopting a dog or cat at one of these events, Petsmart gives you a coupon book worth over $200.00 in savings on supplies and food at Petsmart. Included was a $20.00 coupon for their 6 week Training Course.

Since adopting Daisy, she has only been about ninety percent accident free, and we've discovered she has a shoe fetish.  A training course?  Let's try it, we thought.  What could it hurt?

Daisy attended lesson one a couple of days ago. They presented us with a free bag of training treats and a clicker. We learned about using a clicker to reinforce good behavior.

Daisy seemed to understand the general concepts.  Now we have to keep practicing and reinforce what we learned in the class at home.  Apparently consistency is the trick to training.  We even left the class with homework for Daisy to work on until our next training class.

Will this help us over-come her shoe fetish? 
We'll have to wait and see! 
Wish us luck!

Sassy is Just Like a Student!

My favorite time of the year is summer.  Why?  Because I'm a teacher, and I have summers off. Today as I was trying to do some things that needed to be done. I was reminded that the new school year will be starting much too soon.

Do you remember that student in class that always raises their hand first?
The one who always knew best?
The one who always had the answer?
The one you got tired of listening to?
The one who wouldn't take no for an answer and monopolized the teacher's attention?

That's my Sassy Cat. She has to be the first one every time! She's also the one who follows me every time I go into the bathroom. I try to close the door, but she just sits and scratches on the door till I let her in. It's as if she doesn't trust me in there by myself. You'd think I had a back door and was going to escape if she didn't come in with me.

Sassy needs a lot of love being a rescue cat, but I've also had to set boundaries just like I have to do with my students. I've had to show Sassy that she doesn't always get to be the one first, and that she can wait and be patient, and in return every night she knows that she will get to sit on my lap and have one-on-one time with me.

Students also have to be shown how to be fair because students can become outcasts in the classroom if they don't play nice. They have to learn that taking turns is perfectly fine and you don't have to be called on every time, and that if you're patient and appreciative of others, that they will return the behavior. 

Each year brings new challenges for the teacher, but some are recurring ones. I usually have at least one Sassy Cat in every class.

Here's wishing all the teachers out there are getting a good rest before the new year starts!

Are You a Bargain Hunter?

Do you pay full-price for items or are you a bargain hunter?

These days one has to be a little tight with their money.  If I could, I'd buy everything that caught my eye, but I can't so I don't.  But that doesn't mean that I don't buy anything that I want.  It just means that I have to be a smarter shopper.

Gardening and maintaining my yard are two things that I enjoy.  So when I saw this metal stand at my local Lowe's one day, I loved it, but it was pricey.  Needless to say, it remained in Lowe's care.

I kept my eye out though, and sure enough, after the season was over, I grabbed it on clearance for $10.00.  This was at a very considerable discount.  They were down to three and really wanted to get rid of it.  I was only to happy to take advantage of this deal.

Sometimes I miss out on things I really want, but when every dollar counts, I can't afford not to hunt for bargains.  I've found that if you wait till after the season, all the leftovers are marked down to make room for the new stuff. 

Every time I go shopping, I make sure that I look through the clearance aisle or section.  These days every store has them, and you'd be amazed what you'll find.

The other day at Walmart I found Hershey's New Mixed Berry Sundae Syrup for 50 cents.  Apparently this New item was not selling.  I grabbed it up for my ice cream eaters at home.  They loved it, but at 50 cents, it wasn't too much of a risk. 

The other item I found was Betty Crocker Frosted Premium Brownie Mix with Caramel Frosting...for 50 cents again.  I bought two of these thinking that brownies are brownies, and if I didn't like the frosting, it wouldn't be a big loss to toss the frosting.  I was right, the brownies were great without the frosting. 

When's the last time you found a great deal?

Remember Daisy Duke?

 

Remember the Dukes of Hazard? The TV show from the late 70's with Bo and Luke Duke and the General Lee, the orange suped-up Dodge Charger stock car? Well, I'm sure there's lots of men out there that still remember Cousin Daisy with the skimpy shorts and the legs that went on forever?

Well, meet the newest member of our family, a four-month old Lab mix, Daisy. We got her yesterday when we went to PetSmart. I swear, we only went there for cat food and cat treats. I imagine we must have looked pretty funny walking out with this dog and box of cat food and bag of cat treat.  People were probably thinking that we had no business owning a dog if we didn't even know how to feed it.

However, PetSmart was hosting a dog rescue organization named San Antonio Pets Alive. Several foster parents were there with puppies and dogs that they had rescued from kill-shelters in the area. These people rescue these abandoned or forgotten pets from being euthanized.

In some cases, they give medical attention and in most, they have to work with the animals to get them ready to receive (hopefully) a new home. Every time one of the puppies or dogs gets adopted, two animals are saved because then the foster home has a space available to rescue another animal. When we heard all this and saw the dog formerly known as "Angie," we knew we just had to have her.

The foster mom told us that "Angie" had never really bonded with her name so my husband picked the new name Daisy, even before we left PetSmart. It brought back memories. As a teen-aged girl, I had spent many a night dreaming of Bo and Luke Duke.

Isn't it funny how things in everyday life can trigger memories long forgotten and take us back to yesterday?

I've been calling her Daisy Duke ever since!

DIY Cat Condo Anyone?

Got cats?  Get a lot of rain?  Want to give the cats a place to hide and stay dry?

Well, I do, we do, and we did.  So my handy guy with the tools, otherwise known as the hubby, had a new project.  It turned out perfectly.

What I wanted was this:  a place for the cats to crawl into during the cold nights, a place for them to hide from the rain, something that wouldn't take up too much space on the porch, and something that wouldn't be an eyesore.

Thus the cat condo was born.  It is 19 inches wide and 60 inches long.  He built the lid with a frame on the inside so that it fits snug inside the walls and can be lifted up for easy maintenance.  The lid extends past the walls on all four sides by about an inch and a half all the way around.  This offers more stability and allows for the rain to drip off instead of running down the wall and possibly causing it to rot before it's time.

There are openings on both ends for easy access, and it even has a window on the side with a removable plexiglass that slides easily in and out for the different seasons.

On the plus side, he painted it a nice neutral color which goes well with our house.  Since it is 20 inches high, it also serves as a great seating area for both humans and cats.  I usually have a big beach towel folded on top as a soft, nap area for the cats, and padding for humans who don't mind cat hair.    

Overall, a wonderful addition to our porch.  I and the cats love it!

Do You Donate?

This is Champs or as I like to refer to him...Champers!  When he first showed up at our house obviously abandoned, we couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl cat because he wouldn't let anyone near him.  He did develop a knack for showing up for meals on time though.  Then he would hide again.

As he started to get braver, he would climb on the porch for small periods of time, but before you knew it, he was gone again!

It took time and patience, but now he is much more trusting.  He's still a big fraidy-cat and loud noises tend to send him scurrying from sight.  I believe there are some bad memories hidden away that come out to plague him from time to time for he will find a dark corner to hide sometimes.

These days Champs is doing great!  This is a recently picture of him napping on the diagonal counter that separates the dining area from the living room.  It's become his favorite spot!

Cats are wonderful, loving creatures if you just give them a chance.  It's too bad that many are abandoned when they get too big or inconvenient to have around.

Every time I go to PetSmart, I make a point of donating a dollar to help the PetSmart charities when going through the checkout line.  Can you imagine how many cats and dogs could be helped if everyone donated just one dollar?

Spiders, Oh my!

 

Now I don't mind spiders generally.  I come across the occasional one here and there and usually walk around it.  Plus with five cats in the house, I never have to worry about stumbling into one in the dark in the comforts of my own home.

However, apparently my garden is fair game.  This big, ugly one has taken up home near the plumbago.  If his web is any indication, it is here for the long haul.  The web must span a good 3 feet.

My son says it's big enough to be a pet so he's named it Bob.  He seems to be fascinated by the spider.  I think my son needs to get a life, and Bob needs to move out!

Bubblews: New and Improved?

Surprise!  Bubblews is new and improved!  As a consumer, I always dreaded seeing the words new and improved.  I always think to myself..What was it before, old and lousy?

Well, while it was not lousy, Bubblews has certainly gone out and made some drastic changes to improve the site.  Of course, like with all change, some think it's good and others don't.  But change is what makes the world go 'round.  It's the only constant you can count on.

The best change I've seen is that you are now able to see those who are connected with you.  Before you could see them as they connected with you on the notification feed, but if you missed it or were off-line for a day or so, well, you missed it.

Now you can see a list of all the people connected with you and a list of all the people you connected with.  You can also use this list to make connections instead of having to visit a person's profile page.  This is much easier and faster.

Sometimes, you need to embrace change and go with the flow to see where it leads you.  Trying to fight change only causes you undue stress.

As you can see in the pic above, Sassy never lets change get in her way.  She sleeps right through it.