Blog Move and Other News

After this week, I'll start preparing for moving my blog one last time--back to the beginning, back to my first blog. This paid blog will expire at the end of January and I've decided to make whatever posts I do write more personal.

UPDATE: Blogging will continue at this url. 

The move to personalize the blog is more for myself. Let's call it a journal so I can remember when I did what. I'll still write occasional articles on things that interest me. Though I'm a tad worried that Pinterest followers see me more as a death doula. My articles on death seem to have a huge following.

I've tried being an "influencer" and make a little money with affiliate advertising, but I just don't have the chutzpah to constantly ask people to buy from my Amazon links or send them endless emails. If my friends remember to use them, that's great, but I refuse to be pushy.

A lot of things have been changing for me. For one thing, I'm getting crotchety. I don't want to work as hard anymore which is almost heretical considering the way I've lived my whole life. That's one reason I tearfully had to let go of my goats.

I'm going to concentrate more on my gardens and continue to eek out a forest garden. A lot of it depends on when and if I get wood chips. I need tons--literally. It'll help a lot in retaining moisture and keeping down weeds.

The end goal is to have more time to enjoy myself more, but first I need to fix some mistakes.

We made a whopper with Odin, our sweet 122 lb rottie. We got him just before the pandemic that isolated us. That made it ideal for training him but we forgot one important detail. Socializing. He is fearful of strangers. A fearful dog, especially such a powerful dog, is a dangerous dog.

Two weeks ago, we decided enough was enough when he wouldn't let the vet examine him. Since then we try to take him to dog-friendly stores and let him see other people. He comes home tired, but I'm hoping the stimuli will make him realize that most people are nice.

He's still nervous, and so am I. I don't want him to bite anyone out of fear. One of the reasons we're fixated on socializing him is because he needs to see an eye specialist. He suffers from entropion. This means his lashes rub on his eye balls and it makes him tear up. 

This is not going to be cheap. I could take him to a local vet who's done this surgery before, but it's a very delicate procedure and I don't want the job to get botched.

Next up, is Jammy the cat. That poor cat continues to have problems. Now he has a hernia. The good news is it's not troubling him. Our vet recommends we take a wait and see approach and only intervene if it gets bigger or twisted. I examine him regularly so that shouldn't be a problem.

Nana, our temperamental border collie is actually the only one in the pink. Add to that, she has begrudgingly accepted Odin. She had to of course. He's a head taller and nearly twice her weight. She's cranky, but not stupid.

Things are changing around our household and I'm not happy about a lot of them. But change is a part of life. And sometimes we have to change so we can have a life that's more than work and duty.

I hope 2022 will be kinder to us, but I don't count on it. Better to be prepared for the worst and celebrate whatever good things happen.

I hope Greg finally gets his knees fixed, my dogs become better friends, and my cat stops finding ways to kill himself. As for myself...aw heck, if I can get those first things done, I'd be a happy (and saner) camper. My family wears me out. LOL!

How about you? What are you planning for 2022?

Merry Christmas, everyone! Stay safe, eat good food, and hug your friends and family.

See you in January.