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Misfit Manor Diary…fall blessings

Misfit Manor
Allie and I getting goofy at the bonfire

Fall is definitely one of my favorite times of the year. I love the process of getting ready to” rest and nest” for the winter at the Manor. Getting ready for fall here is definitely focused around working in our gardens. We have 58 rose bushes on the Manor and we trimmed every one of them back in the last few days. The veggie and spice gardens had to be cut down and turned over. I bring in any plants I want to overwinter. This year I am overwintering my geraniums, coleus and several tropicals…our home offices will look like jungles for the winter. I put in several hundred bulbs this fall and Bret planted a bunch of garlic. I cannot wait to see the results of all of it in spring! This year we ordered a lot of new seed varieties to start more plants inside over the winter. The goal is to not have to buy anything from a nursery next year when we bring the gardens back to life in Spring. Not because I am cheap (which I am) but there is something about learning to work together with nature that feeds our souls. Eating the fruit of all the tomato and peppers I grew from seed this year was amazing!

Misfit Manor
my favorite hedge on the Manor
Misfit Manor

Fall is always so beautiful here. Our sleepy little town is full of so many huge, beautiful old trees…the colors are amazing. We have several hedges of burning bush on the property…I never get tired of seeing them change their color.

Fall is also our favorite time to hang out in the yard at night with the dogs. Bonfires are fun for all of us. The Misfits love running around the yard at night and they know they are going to get some sort of yummy roasted snack from the fire.

Misfit Manor
Buster could lounge outside all day in this beautiful fall weather.

There is something about fall that makes it easier for me to slow down…probably the shorter day light hours. It feels easier to call it quits for the day when it gets dark so early. I used to hate the shorter days that come with winter…now I love them and look forward to resting a lot more. There were so many years when the changing of the seasons did not mean anything to me and certainly didn’t impact how I carried on with my daily life. The busy-ness of corporate life just seemed to motor me on through the daily grind…season after season…year after year…I wonder now how I did that for so long…and what sort of toll did it take on my body, mind and spirit? Manor life is different though; I think and do things differently…it’s a much slower life and it definitely bends and shapes around the cycle of the seasons. Fall and Winter are so much more about “resting and nesting” now. I look forward to hunkering down with more time to rest, read, write, create and of course snuggle with the Misfits.

Misfit Manor
Trudy is magical

My sweet Trudy could teach us all something about resting. This tiny, magical little dog does not have a care in the world despite being blind and deaf. She is so incredibly peaceful and intuitive. She lives every minute solely in the present and relaxed. I like to think that her stable and spoiled life here has something to do with it…but it is more likely her magical spirit…she is truly a blessing.

Wishing everyone a blessed start to the holiday season!

Nancy & The Misfits

Don’t forget about our Misfit Manor shop! We have great gift ideas for dog moms/dads and super fun Pawty supplies! We have started a GoFundMe for Sophia’s upcoming surgery (more on that later).

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Welcome to Misfit Manor Miss Holly!

When you are ready…I guess you are ready. Since Petunia passed last February I have not felt ready to bring a new dog to the Manor. Until last week when I was sent a picture of Miss Holly. I could not resist her precious face.

Miss Holly is a 6lb Pomeranian. She is 11 years young. She is a perfect fit at the manor. Holly was put up for “free” on Craig list because her person was put in the hospital and could no longer care for her (family members decided to give her away). A rescue saw the post and went and got her right away. Situations like this are so heart breaking and just too common. Someone elderly becomes ill or incapable of being on their own and to make it all the worse they are separated from their dog. My heart breaks for the dogs who have no idea why they have lost their person of course…but it breaks even harder for the person who is separated from their dog. Our dogs are our most steadfast companions in life…to be separated from them is a tragedy.

Besides having some health issues that make her uncomfortable Holly was very sad and depressed when she arrived. Her person clearly loved her and being separated was hard on Miss Holly.

We had Holly vetted quickly…she is not without issues…the most urgent being her kidney values are dangerously high. Hopefully the high kidney value is due to the infections in her mouth (really rotten teeth) and their removal and antibiotics will restore her kidney function. She goes in for her dental on the 25th and we will recheck her kidney values at that time.

She has a broken rib that is quite painful (she groans if you touch her mid section). Her xrays show very poor bone density so keeping her protected from falls is going to be important. She has some pretty serious joint issues as well. Her little knees shake when she walks. For now she is on a course of predisone and we are lasering her joints 2x/day. Once we are able to get some better xrays on the 25th and some clarity on her kidney’s we will look at more options for giving her comfort in her little joints.

Despite arriving here with so many health issues and some doggy depression Holly has fit in quite well and is taking advantage of all of the perks of Manor living.

She has become a quick fan of wagon rides at the park with her sister Rosie and likes have a big yard to trot around and sniff in…and bark at squirrels.

She has very quickly figured out how to get in the action with the rest of the pack to get her share of the treats too!

Holly’s favorite time of the day seems to be before bed snuggles and laser time. I take Rosie, Lacey and Holly in my bed (with a little bowl of cookies) and take turns snuggling and lasering all of them…its a wonderful wind down for me each night and the girls love it.

Despite everything that is going on with her health and the stress of so much change in her life…she is incredibly sweet and her little tail is starting to wag more each day. She loves to bark at Solstice!

We are thrilled to have her here with us and look forward to showing her what life as a diva at Misfit Manor is all about.

Life on the Manor continues to be full of love and joy despite the craziness going in the world….the Manor is an oasis for the animals and for Bret and I. Bret’s real estate business is keeping him crazy busy these days…he loves coming home to the peace and privacy our life here affords. I continue to run our vacation rentals but in the era of coronavirus we have very few guests.

Solstice and I keep busy in the studio designing new pawty items and making new art work. We are incredibly grateful for the support our shop has received this year. Check out our Misfit Manor Shop for new items for your pawty planning needs. We are working hard to gear up for the holidays as this year’s online holiday season is set to be incredibly busy.

We hope this post find you well and finding new and creative ways to enjoy life despite all the challenges going on in the world.

Pawsitively grateful,

Nancy & The Misfits

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Confessions of an imperfect dog mom: Luna

For the love of Luna!

adopted lunaSeveral weeks ago I got a call from the local humane society that there were two female Chihuahuas at the shelter that needed a foster home.  Bret and I had recently fostered two other Chihuahuas and had a great time with both of them (both found new homes quite quickly).  When I arrived at the shelter to get them…the shelter was full…loud and chaotic…stressed out dogs barking.  The shelter staff took me to a kennel at the very end…it looked empty.  She lifted the large dog bed up and there I saw the two little girls huddled together; shaking and hiding under the bed.  She moved fast and put them in a carrier.  I left fast. I hate being in the shelter.  I had barely gotten a look at either dog.

When I arrived at home with the dogs Bret met me in the yard and we opened the carrier and let them out.  The younger dog came out first; timid but she looked like a young and healthy dog.  Then Luna came out.  She had a really bad limp, a permanently crumpled up ear, a hunched back, a few really rotten and smelly teeth and a clearly broken tail.  We were INSTANTLY in love with her.

We kept the normal routine of fostering for a few weeks…figuring we had to at least give a fair shake to her chance at adoption.  But we quickly failed miserably…we made Luna ours forever.luna pjs

Pet Rescue Photo Art

We know nothing of Luna’s history nor why she ended up at the shelter.  She has an agreeable personality as long as there is not a lot of commotion around her and she is perfectly potty trained.  I suspect someone loved her a lot and somewhere along the way something tragic happened to cause her injuries…but who knows.

Luna
Luna

We took her for a wellness check right after we adopted her. The vet believes she is around 12 years old…he confirmed all the old injuries we suspected and pulled out her last little snaggle tooth. (She is totally toothless now).   Luna is deaf and has cataracts dimming her vision.  She has an amazing attitude.

I am of the belief that each dog has come in to our lives exactly when they are supposed to.  I don’t pretend to know why some steal our hearts and others don’t…but Luna was love at first sight.  Despite her obvious physical issues…Luna has great enthusiasm.  She is curious, adventurous (to a fault), always up for a car ride…and wants to hang out with me wherever I am.  She is also accepting…of the other animals, of bed time in her crate and of living with joy despite her obvious challenges.  We love her spirit…her excitement.  When we arrive home after being gone for even a short while Luna comes to life…jumping up and down, squealing and rolling on her back with her legs in the air.  All dogs get excited…but when they show joy in the face of the physical challenges that Luna has…with such enthusiasm…it melts our hearts.luna shuffle

partycar1Luna can walk around fine on her own but she has a pretty bad limp and clearly has pain in her right leg (a broken leg that did not heal properly).  I added her to my routine of wagon riding with Kringles at the park.  The two are great wagon mates…they truly seem to enjoy each other’s mellow company.  Luna barks at all the big dogs walking by…so funny.  Luna stands in the front of the wagon the whole walk….wind blowing in her hair…the chance for her to cruise around and sight see without having to use her own broken body to get around…it is really something to see.  The daily wagon rides with her and Kringles are always the highlight of my day.wagon riding

I no longer feel the need to justify why I feel the way I do about certain things…I used to…but maybe I am finally old enough to trust my instincts.  For some odd reason…when I met Luna I was able to feel Sparky again.  I love all my dogs…but caring for Sparky as he aged was such an honor…I loved every minute of it…it was the only time that I felt I was giving back anywhere near the love he had given me.   Luna brings back that sense of satisfaction and purpose…and I love it.  I hope we have Luna with us for many years…but I am also realistic about how long her life with us will be.  For now…what a joy to have the honor of being part of her life.

together foreverWe also adopted her shelter mate…Lucy…while they weren’t bonded to a point that they couldn’t be adopted separately…as you can see in this picture…we did not want to break them apart.  I don’t know if they are related…perhaps Luna is Lucy’s mother.  Lucy is less than 2 years old.   I will write about Lucy soon…she is wild and a complete delight!  She is Bret’s dog…through and through.

Life at Misfit Manor has been busy…our first vacation rental property is doing well…Bret can work from home now and on Friday we are closing on three more rental units….very exciting (and scarey).  In the meantime…we continue our daily routine in our little slice of heaven that we call Misfit Manor…just a bunch of connected souls on the great and messy journey we call life.

Rescue On!

Nancy