Saturday, February 16, 2008

Another Visit to the Vet I Won't Forget, Four-eyed Koi, and Sofas

Miscellany tonight.

You raise your children in hopes they’ll become rational adults with the ability to think ahead and predict outcomes to keep the chaos level low in their lives. At twenty-five, Gina is practical, analytical, and organized. Today, I raised my eyebrows and wondered what on earth was she thinking?

I helped her haul one hundred and thirty pounds of dog muscle to the vet for exams. Mr. Biggins was due for his annual boosters and a check-up and Bamma-lamma-ding-dong needed a Bordetella vaccine and a check on his ear infection and inflamed face wrinkles. I, the wise mother, would have made separate appointments.



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What??? No french fries? Snort.

I drove Mr. Biggins and Gina drove Bam. We arrived at the veterinarian’s parking lot and they instinctively knew they weren’t stopped in the McDonald’s drive-thru.

Oh, how I wished I could have taken my camera inside but when you have a fifty-seven pound hunk of Bulldog muscle at the end of your lead, the camera stays in the car!

Before all of us exploded through the entrance of the vet’s office, Bam needed to poop. In traditional male dog style, he marked his territory with his thick and powerful hind legs that hurled his dump onto my right pant leg. Gina held onto worried Mr. Biggins, laughing until she was red in the face. I did not think it was funny.



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Mr. Biggins, the big brown Boxer mix, loveable sissy dog turns into a frightened, ten-pound pup at the vet. I heard his high-pitched agony as three assistants held him while the fourth trimmed his nails. English Bulldog, Bamma-lamma-ding-dong, loves to be poked and prodded with instruments and such. He nuzzles onto the vet’s lap, begging for inspection. Nothing bothers his wonderful self. A veterinarian’s dream dog!


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We headed back home with a bag full of prescriptions for Bam. He needs his own personal medicine cabinet or pill box. Gina winced at the bill... That’s what you get when you love a high maintenance little man-dog.

I had planned to stop at the nail salon afterwards and maybe stop in the mall for a Lancome free gift. But my jeans were soiled and I imagined an odor might linger…

Good day to examine and clean the pond skimmer and filter. Do some bird counting. It was a glorious, almost 70 degree day.



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I turned off the waterfall for a little while and realized there is a lot of work to do everywhere outdoors.


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I remembered times I would lay across the edge of the pond and drop pellets into their open mouths. Koi are very trainable and pet-like. I should work with them more often and stage a Koi circus.



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Ah, the wonders of photography reveal that some Koi have four blue eyes.

There is more news.

We have never owned a leather sofa. Until today.



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The new sofa and chair are smaller than what we had and they provide us more space in our family room. Italian leather feels wonderful… I wanted it to look this way just for a day. Only one day. Neat and tidy.



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We had a kitchen conference. They did not like it. The sofa was all wrong. There was a protest.

We don’t like the new sophie. It’s hard and cold. We need our holey blankets and pillas.


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Ok. Put your feet up. Sit for a while. Welcome to our house.

36 comments:

KGMom said...

Oh Mary--giggles all around. Bamma-lamma with his big old eyes--all charm. Mr. Biggins "marking" you. You with poop pants. Gina laughing herself red in the face.
A koi circus?
And then your girls not liking the new leather couch.
Too too funny.

Carol Michel said...

Four-eyed koi? That's kind of creepy. Loved the dog story, except the part where you got some doo-doo on your pant legs. Okay, that part was funny, too. I bet Bam was thinking, "Blog that, Mary!"

The whole post was hilarious!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Mary what charming Granddogs you have. You are a good grandma going to the vet with them.

Your Koi are gorgeous...and BIG.

I am glad the girls are getting settled into the new sofa. It is gorgeous too. ONly the best for them. :)

Susan Gets Native said...

You're a good Doggie-Grandma, Mary. MY Mom would NOT even dream of helping me take my two galoots to the vet!
And you got poopy-pants. Our poor girl.
Okay, how did you make that koi have four eyes? That is weird.

PJ said...

hilarious about the beautiful couch! (looks like the bosses got their way ;) Love your pictures! Almost could see the koi's tonsils! HA! yikes four eyes

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Apparently you should've had your kitchen meeting before the new sofa became part of the family.

Glad to hear you're out counting!
Hope you have a lucky day (or two or three)!

dmmgmfm said...

Heeheeheehee!!! I love it! Your dogs are wonderful interior decorators. I will have to do a post on my brother's living room someday. His dog is quite the decorator herself.

Great big hugs and thanks for the laugh.

Laurie

Anonymous said...

Too much fun in one post . . . too much fun in one day! Your koi are hilarious. Your leather sofa is beautiful -- we had one for YEARS and I loved it -- such easy clean-up. Hopefully your pants were easy clean-up too!

Kathie Brown said...

Love the koi photos and comments. So sorry about your pants but I still had to laugh. I think our pets own us!

The Quacks of Life said...

love the photo in the car!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary

I'm a newbie here. I have taken up bird watching and ran across your blog and now I'm hooked! Had to leave you a comment on the dog story...it is just too funny...thanks for sharing!!

Angie

Jayne said...

LOL Mary! I could just see you and Gina trying to get BamBam in there. Love the new sofa!

NatureWoman said...

OMG sorry to hear you got pooped on. Ick!!! I can't wait to see your four-eyed koi circus!
Ohhhh, I love your leather sofa. Too bad the girls don't.

Anonymous said...

Mary, how I feel for you taking the dogs to the vet! Why is it that they just know where they are going! Must be what the other days are saying or the smells!

Cheryl said...

You are such an entertainer.......thanks once again for a great blog...bold bright and colourful. I am in love with your dogs, they can come and slump on my sofa anytime.

Anonymous said...

Mary I laughed so hard at your blog, you have a marvelous story telling way about you and with pictures no less. Your "girls are listening carefully" or are they telling you something! Thanks for a hilarious post.
Nature Knitter's Mom [Betty K]

thailandchani said...

That livingroom is beautiful! In fact, as I've said before, your whole house is just stunning!

Pictures are beautiful, as always. I hope you don't get sick of my saying so.

Kerri Farley said...

Mary...you MUST write a book about all of your exploits! How funny! Sorry about the pants...but it made for a GREAT post!!!!!

possumlady said...

That is too funny Mary. I agree with you though. Even with all my little 7-20 pound cats, I never bring in more than one at a time--too crazy.

Love your sofa. I've been contemplating a leather one also, thinking the cats would not enjoy it for sharpening their claws and cleaning up fur with a damp paper towel! Sounds good to me.

JeanMac said...

Oh, buttery leather! I'm still laughing about the pant leg poop.

Unknown said...

Oh Mary! You made me laugh so hard w/ Bamma Lamma's shenanigans that my husband asked what was so funny. We've got 3 dogs...we'll only take 2 to the vet at the same time...otherwise it's too crazy. When we got the first two and had Lily spayed and Sarge neutered they told us they had to put them in the same crate because Sarge was making too much noise! He's a cairn terrier and Lily is a black lab/golden mix. I agree you are a good gramma to help taking them to the vet. Though oftentimes I think that they think we are their pets...

Ruth said...

Lovely new sofa. I wonder why we have a dog at times as my house would be much neater and cleaner without one. I have never had a dog make a mess on my pants though!

Mary said...

Susan, I don't know about four-eyed koi. I need to do a little research... Some of them have four. LOL!

Angie, welcome. Glad you enjoyed the silly dog story. They continue to entertain us :o)

Betty, HI! I know you love the dog posts and I enjoy posting them, too. There's never a dull moment, let me tell you.

Amy, HA! Yes, sometimes I think WE are their pets...

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

I love how you write! Your story of the doggie adventures had me howling with laughter!!
Four-eyed koi!?! I think they're watching you. ;-)
Your garden is pretty and I like your new couch!

Aunt "B's" Backyard said...

Hi Mary, you have such a unique way of telling a story. Great sense of humor. I was just so intrigued! I love your boxer-mix, he's beautiful! Your koi are just so colorful. The four-eyed this, has be mezmerized. I was spliting my sides laughing about your pants, sorry! You're too much!!

Dorothy said...

Mary you've got me rolling on the floor in laughter at your saga of Mr. Biggins and Bamma-Lama's day at the vet (and your poopy leg).

Oh how I love your new sofa, both the 'before' and 'after' photos!
Beautiful!

Ramblings of a Villas Girl said...

Hi Mary! Sorry I missed the dog pooh accident. I probably would have been laughing my butt off. Hey next time call me. I could really use some of that gone. I visited your flickr site. Very nice pics. Well as always I enjoyed. Have a good one. Lisa

Cathy said...

Honey - I'm sitting up here in northwest Ohio on the grayest, wettest, dreariest night imaginable and I AM SMILING! Thank you.

BTW - Those lizard shots below are incredible and that bit about the cadet with cat hair problems . . . you sure capture life in all its wacky, lovely and always entertaining eruptions :0)

Robin (Bumblebee) said...

Okay, this really made me laugh. The trip to the vet was a hoot. My own little Papillons are hideous whiners. You would think they were being tortured.

And a leather couch? How awful for a dog! So cold. And the fur doesn't stick properly.

Too funny.

Robin at Bumblebee
Dog lover

Q said...

Dear Mary,
Never a dull moment in your life!
Is your new sofa "Nutmeg" colored?
I almost bought a leather nutmeg sofa. Have always thought they are beautiful! Yours looks lovely.
I see the princesses rule your nest.
You are a very,very nice Mum!
Helping Gina out with her pups was over and beyond the call of duty.
Having a sense of humor does help with the day to day "oh mys" of life. Thank you for sharing your laughs with all of us. I get so tickled whenever I come visiting.
Hope you get to have a three day weekend. You need resting time. The birds and dogs just have their way with you!
I was thinking those four-eyed Koi
may really just be "eye spots". Now I am interested too. Think I will go do a google search....
Hugs,
Sherry

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Mary, you do have a wonderful way with words. You are so entertaining and funny.

I love the koi pictures. You also did a great job on the picture of Bamma-lamma with the bone in his mouth, I immediately noticed his bright eyes.

I'm sure that was a glorious day in spite of the little incident.

Mad Man Bamboo Nursery said...

Wow, the Koi are great. Mr Biggins is cool.

Sean

Unknown said...

I'm sitting here at work cracking up over your doggie poo
What an excursion you had with Gina.

OMG the koi, how awesome.

Thanks for making my day!

RuthieJ said...

Is there a mobile vet service in your area, Mary? It sure took a lot of the stress out of vet visits for our dogs.
Your "girls" sure don't look too happy with the new couch. I hope they're getting used to it now.

Anonymous said...

Mary, I love how you draw us into your life and make us laugh with you (except the part about the vet bills - nothing to laught about, I know!). Your new sofa is a handsome one and I'll enjoy it vicariously (cats + leather sofa = unhappy humans).

Kathi said...

"Poopy pants!" Bwah-hah-hah!

Welcome to my world, Mary! If it isn't poop or pee, it is anal glnd fluid - sort of like being skunked. Yuck!!

This is why vets and their staff rarely go grocery shopping after work!

~Kathi