Coming Unhinged, Smoky Sunsets, and Onion Breath

 

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Captain's log, star date ... Sorry. Got carried away. Terry and I are witness to our broken animals this weekend. Not sure if this is brought about by an unknown full moon or if our animals have just mentally checked out for whatever reason. Last I validated, a full moon is not expected until the 30th of August. 

But our animals are kooky lately, to say the least. Tonight, we experienced a couple of indicators that something is broken with our fur babies. Maybe your freeloading fur babies are going through the same thing and it's not just ours? I would hate to think of our dogs and two cats as being "broken," but as far as I know there is no other way to describe what is happening in our home. 

First, Togo. We are finding out more about this big lug each day. He has been a family member for a little over three weeks now and we finally heard him talk back in excitement. Terry was going outside to relax after work and Togo was getting his leash attached to his harness. "Dad" asked if he was ready to go outside with him and he talked back for the first time! He has been so perfectly silent since we brought him home that it shocked us both. Terry's mouth fell open and I was laughing as I had at least heard him bark before. 

The stereotypical Siberian husky talks back to their owners all the time. Not all do, but there are many in videos on YouTube and around social media platforms everywhere. They can be very dramatic and outspoken. I think it's hilarious, but I am glad that Togo isn't one who yells back all the time. He does have several other quirks, however. 

His excitement overwhelmed him so the "whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," was loud yet short lived. But then there's this ...

Now, in our defense, this beautiful boy does have toys. We have a toy box in the corner with toys for both the cats and the dogs. The other dog is a 14-year-old chihuahua who is partially deaf and can't see two feet in front of his face. He's just older than dirt and that's what happens when we get old. The toys mostly came from a basket we won at the Two Shy Brewery and Saving Grace monthly gathering. Jasper doesn't need any of those toys. He has his allergy-ridden self to chew on and doesn't have an interest in toys. 

But while Togo does have his platy, he seems to want to snag my oven mitts and potholders to bring them into the living room to lay by him. He does not tear them up nor does he chew on them at all, but he wants them to lay at his side. His chin rested on the first one he grabbed, a few days after he came home to us. We found it odd but laughed over it. As long as he's not chewing on things, we're good. 

Now his obsession seems to focus on milk jugs sitting by the trash can or a cardboard box that I had emptied, once full of rice. Yes, I said a milk jug. As you see in the photo, he is over the moon for milk jugs. We have absolutely no clue as to why. He loves his platypus too, but hey, who doesn't love a good milk jug? And those rice boxes, wow! What a find! Snuggle with one of those at night before you judge. I don't know. I simply grab the items and put them away again. Whatever floats his boat, I guess. Like I said, he doesn't chew or make a mess, so it's good. 

But the other pet that is broken is Kit. Well, they've all got their issues, but I believe Kit is above and beyond a little loopy. Terry and I have both mentioned Kit in several posts in this blog. Kit is a Birman and is gorgeous. He has always been a very curious cat, just like him watching me make the cheesecake with the mixer on Wednesday evening. I bring groceries into the house and his head immediately goes into the bag to see what it is that I may have brought home for him. Once the bags are emptied of all items, he crawls into the sack. Not to play, but to watch from his new place of comfort. 

Kit and Jasper, the chihuahua, used to attack each other. Now that Jasper is getting up in age, he is sleeping with the cats lately. Neither Kit nor Bella bothers him, and he has not been attacking Kit as he used to. Maybe it is the aging of the dog I've had for so long. Could it be possible the cats' sense he is older, can't see and is basically deaf? It might be. They're all getting along much better. Togo is the newcomer and the one they watch out for now. 

When we come into the house lately, we find all three animals sleeping in dad's recliner. Jasper doesn't lunge for Kit and Kit is content in snoozing next to the dog as long as he doesn't come after him. It's good to see but makes me wonder what is happening there. 

Anyway, back to our broken Birman. Kit has a great personality, for sure. Lately he has been goofy or at least goofier than usual. If that is a word. Terry and I were watching a movie last night and the cat suddenly just fell apart, so to speak. We have a curvy cat scratching pad on the floor by the TV. He loves to scratch it and hang out on it too. But this was above and beyond the call of the wild here. 

This is the cat scratching pad. 

And this is Kit's brain on drugs on the cat scratching pad. 

Um, yeah. He's broken. It's going to take more than glue for this fix. Kit laid on the pad for about a half hour before moving onto the recliner once again. We have no idea why he did what he did, but he did it. 

I began to ignore the fur babies, as there is nothing I can do to help the mentally ill creatures. Mallory came by to visit for a while. I showed her some photos I had blown up for the family wall I am putting together. It is taking some time, but it will eventually come together. I ran to the store to grab some items for French bread pizza, which Terry and I both love. Mallory and Hayden left before I returned.

The trip to the store proved to be eventful and entertaining. Walking in, I passed the table of gorgeous flowers in the floral department. Wow, the smell of those flowers! Amazing. Of course, I stopped to smell the roses as the saying goes. But tonight, I saw a beautiful type of rose. I'm not sure if they are naturally colored or if some coloration technique takes place, but I had to snap a couple of photos. Beautiful!

The outside was white or very, very light pink, while the further you move to the inside of the flower, the more intense the color becomes. Stunning. I love the way they all look when put together in a bouquet. It's almost like a coloring book bouquet or an animated movie dozen roses. 

Perfection!

Shopping was easy enough. Not much to get. I bagged the groceries and headed for the car, when I saw this ...

Oregon's stunning skies are brought to you by smoke. Oregon is on fire right now, as it is in many states. Our forested areas and lack of rain provides ample fuel to take out many acres of beautiful landscape. I have found myself having a difficult time breathing as well. I guess it's back to using masks until the fire season is over. The smoke does filter the sun, creating an amazing sunset by shining its light through the murky mess. I think I would rather take the regular, all-natural sunset though. 

Do not adjust your TV screen (insert sarcasm here). The photo is not out of focus. This is just how smoky it is in the city of Roseburg today. I'm back to wearing masks outside. I can barely breathe. Please stay healthy! KN95 masks if you have them. 

Pizza sauce, onions, olives, mushrooms, cheese, and even a sprinkle or two of Parmesan along with pepperoni on top of French bread made dinner awesome! I love pizza this way. 

Our fur babies seem to have quieted down now. We watched Groundhog Day and enjoyed it. Terry thought it was a very weird movie though. It was his first time watching it! Once again, we loved spending time together. It's our quiet time, sitting and watching movies after the tasks of the day are complete. The Macrae household is abundantly filled with joy and love as we spend time with each other, doing simple things such as watching TV and playing with the fur babies. Now, where is that glue?

We hope your weekend is going well and all of you are safe, happy, and shining your light brightly! Count your blessings and enjoy life!