The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

by annemariedemyen, posted in July 2022

Yesterday was a rather challenging day for me.  I was just off, and while there were some bright moments along the way, there were some that were less than brilliant.

The Good! I received a few items that I ordered from Amazon.   This isn’t something that we do often, but for some odd reason there is a shortage of squirrel peanuts in our stores these days, so I put together a small order.

If you haven’t tried these crackers or salted nuts, they are both amazing.  I don’t know how Amazon sells Costco products.   Since I cannot handle Costco’s bare cement floors (or their location here), I really appreciate it.

I also got a sundress for myself, which is super comfortable and fits quite well. 

More Good!  I cleaned out my dresser drawers, tossed a number of items, and sorted and folded the rest.  I noticed that somehow, something had slid under the bottom drawer so with some finagling and some help from Molly, a ruler, and a small flashlight, I found a favourite pair of socks, a couple of bras, and SEVERAL unopened packages of pantyhose from my office days.  Weird – I always wondered where they went.  

The Bad! While my morning walk with Molly was pretty good yesterday (as our morning walks generally are), the evening one was bad.  I had a bruised toe that was very painful, the mosquitos were terrible, and Molly was distracted and disturbed by every  barking dog we passed – and we passed a lot of barking dogs!

Also Bad! Since I started my mission to get fitter back in February, I have shaken things up every few weeks by adding new healthful activities (like walking Molly), improving my diet, and the like.    Yesterday I needed a shake up so I turned to something a few fellow bloggers, most recently Dwight from Faded Jeans Living , have tried.   I decided to give cold showers a go.  This was a stretch for me because I do not enjoy showering at the best of times (bubble baths thank you) and apparently our cold water is piped in straight from the North Pole.    But, I have been reading up on this practice, there are a number of benefits that do sound reasonable, and I am no quitter.  So,  as much as that was one unpleasant split second after I turned the hot water off, I am not done.   I will definitely giving this another – and several more tries before I throw in the towel, so to speak.

The Ugly! Molly is not the first dog I have had.  She is not even the first BIG dog I have had.  Up north, we had a sizeable Springer Spaniel who was aptly named Sprocket.   But, yesterday, I had a big dog moment that I was NOT prepared for.

Major Puddle
Molly’s water dish
Molly

I don’t know exactly what happened, but Molly came crashing into the porch, holding up one injured paw, and despite my best efforts, swallowed an entire sparrow before I could figure out how to get it out of her mouth or bribe her with something that would be less disgusting than eating an entire bird.   🤢

I can’t believe our veterinarian gives me regular diet advice like, “you can start giving Molly an additional 1/2 cup of dry food a day” or “Molly is too young to have bones or bully sticks”.   Molly eats wood (in fact she eats trees), she chew on rocks, she eats anything out of the recycling bin, and now she eats entire birds – beak, feathers and all!  (I am not even sure it was dead).  

Today is looking up to be a less intense day all around. It is cool and raining out. Molly is relatively mellow and it is time for me to get something productive done around here.

Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

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30 thoughts on “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”

  1. Wow, Anne! I can’t believe that Molly ate a bird! I grew up with dogs, none of them ever did that. I hope that she passes the bird without any trouble, poor baby! I am glad that you have more positive things going on though. How funny it is that you found so many things in your dresser! And, it’s nice that you treated yourself to a new dress too. You deserve it! ❤️🇨🇦

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Thank you, John. I don’t know if she passed it somewhere in the yard last night but she took a big dump on our walk this morning and thankfully it didn’t look any more disgusting than usual.

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  5. LOL, took a big dump! 😂 Your funny. you mean all poop looks disgusting? 😂👍🏻 I’d expect to see some feathers and bones… 😝

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  7. Sounds like not fun, that’s another reason I don’t have pets. I love cats but not seeing my expensive home decore broken since a cat will climb everywhere. A dog will pee and poo in the house, and I don’t want to be scooping poo off of my faux grass in the backyard. 😂💩

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  8. Thanks for putting me in The Also Bad section😂. Excited you’re giving it a shot. When I started I only did 30 seconds right at the very end of a hot shower. Now I do 1 to 2 minutes. Keep us posted on your progress.😊

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  10. Wow! What a day! I’m glad some good things happened as well. My husband has been doing the ice baths off and on for a few months now. He swears it’s helping his back (he has had some pain, but doc says it’s just age- idk about this but…). He’s encouraged me to do it, cold showers anyway, but I just don’t know. Like you, it’s already sometimes a struggle to get myself to shower when I’m so fatigued. However, I’m really interested in how it goes for you! How long did you stay in the shower? I’m so impressed!

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  11. It wasn’t long after I first shut the hot water off, but I splash cold water on my face and arms after I stepped out of the brunt of it. It is supposed to help one build up brown fat (the one that insulates a person and helps to burn off the ‘bad’ fat.) I am hoping that it does as I know I will have to take Molly to the park to walk her this winter so that brown insulating fat would come in really handy. I will see what it can do for me before I give up on it and I will post updates on how it is going for me. 🙂. Thank you!

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  12. Yes, please keep us updated! Is there a fat that will keep me cooler? LOL it’s so hot here, and we’re only halfway…maybe….through the hottest time of year here. I’m sure your winters are no fun though!

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  13. They weren’t bad when I could stay inside with my little Cavalier. With Molly, that won’t be an option. It’s probably easier than being too hot – especially if it is humid. That is really hard on my lungs.

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  16. You are one brave gal! I could not stand the shock of a cold shower! As to getting something out of the mouth of Molly, I recall once having to recoup a rather large chunk of cheddar cheese out of my Cocker Spaniel, Tristan, mouth. Horrible job but he was choking. This is why I stick to “outside” pets!

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  19. Activity has been high gear at your place. Wow, you were brave to try a cold shower, there is no way I would give that a go. I am hoping Molly grows out of eating anything and everything. Swallowing rocks and some of the other things she eats is not a good thing for sure. Sorry your evening walk with Molly was not so good. Wishing a great day for you and Molly today. Hugs

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  20. Thank you Mags! Evening walks are always too distracting for Molly but I took her late yesterday afternoon and that went better – and we met an older woman (like me) with a Golden Retriever (who is about as well behaved as Molly). We both live on the edge of the park so this should work out well for a bit of socializing (for all of us). 😉

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  21. You are welcome Anne. The afternoon walk sounds great. Glad you met the lady and her dog. Happy afternoon walking for you, Molly, the lady and her Golden Retriever. Two beautiful dogs.

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  25. Well our pup has managed to fail to capture squirrels and rabbit. I am sure she thinks each would be a tasty addition to her diet. We did wrestle a bird away before she downed it.

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  26. I got a few baby ones away from Molly but she’s getting faster or I am slowing down. Kat used to try chasing squirrels, but after a few painful flops off the back landing she realized she could not jump or fly up to the squirrel runs.

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  27. I’ve heard that too about how there are benefits to showering or swimming in cold water. I’m not sure I could handle a cold shower though! And wow! I can’t believe Molly ate, more like swallowed, a whole bird!!

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  28. I am not loving the experience so far but I am not ready to give up yet. I was freaked out when Molly swallowed the bird but she’s not the first. My boss told me a story about his Golden Retriever swallowing a Robin one day and I just about lost it. 😯

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