HoundsGood

It might be fun to add a pink streak in one’s hair but neon spray painting your white Bichon Frise to match makes me cringe. If you really wanted to follow this fashion without using hair dye, hair chalk is a slightly safer and less permanent alternative. To use it, run the eyeshadow-like pat of chalk along a strand of hair, then set it either with heat of a blow dryer or hairspray. The chalk washes out with soap and water.

Have you ever tried it when you are longing for a punk day with none of the consequences?

Healing through nutrition and natural health products are important to me for myself and my pets. Supplements do not replace medical care, but the periodic assessment of nutrition can dramatically improve health and disease resistance. A skeptical eye, however, is cast always on the latest diet fads. Some discoveries are legitimate. We know a lot more about antioxidants than we have in the past, but where is the line between supplementation and pill popping?

Green coffee extract is in the news, thanks to celebrities who swear by it. Many websites quote that Dr. Oz endorses. The Dr. Oz claim, after research, is speculative. Indeed, Dr. Oz’s show did a study on it. The group given the extract reported “double the weight loss” than that of the control group. When you read further, the experiment reports:

In two weeks, the group of women who took the green coffee bean extract lost, on average, two pounds. However, the group of women who took the placebo lost an average of one pound – possibly because they were more aware of their diet for that two weeks because of the required food journal.

To me, two pounds is not very dramatic, but over 12 weeks, the overweight participants lost approximately 4.4% of their body fat and an average of 18 lbs, which is 1.2 lbs. To me, the weight loss is no different than what would be experienced by someone who was keeping a food journal and becoming more conscious of their caloric intake and what foods they were eating. A more fair assessment would have been to take a group and instead of not telling them if they received the placebo or not, also not tell them that the goal of the study is to assess weight loss.

Should you try it?

According to WebMD, side effects are very similar to those of ingesting caffeine. Some may say that it can’t hurt if it doesn’t help, but if you have high blood pressure or anxiety, you most definitely should opt out of this idea, or thoroughly discuss it with your health care provider, as it may cause an elevation in blood pressure or make you more anxious.

In some areas of the United States and Canada, the icicles are dribbling on the porch and the patches of grass poke out from random bits of ice and snow. The winter coat is off in favor of a vest or short jacket, but it isn’t time to optimistically pack the away. What does it really want to do out there? Spring will be here before you know it. Start thinking son of checking up on your air conditioner and fans in your car and in your home.

Why now? Everyone rushes to test things out on the first 85 degree day. If you do it soon, you can troubleshoot and even save for repairs and improvements to insure the comfort, but mostly the safety and health of your pets (and people) this summer. Deaths sometimes occur when the needle hits 105 and those not equipped for the weather become fatally dehydrated, and of course, a pet can die in a too-hot car.  Who wants to even think of such safety precautions now, when a late frost can turn the driveway into a skating rink once again? When record heat hits, it always seems like reports from Chicago include more incidents of death than much warmer places, such as Miami, and the key difference is that in Miami, you are used to the heat and don’t wait for the wave to hit.

If you are in a southern climate, 85 degrees is days and not weeks away, so troubleshoot now before you have to desperately Google “air conditioning repair west palm beach” or “San Juan” while fanning yourself with printer paper, careful not to tip the cold glass on your forehead.

Air conditioning units can fail either electrically or mechanically. Mechanical failures are often signified by leaking or clunking, and perhaps the unit can plug along for another day or two, while often electrical failures cause the unit to underpower or to cease operating completely. Whichever case you suspect, do not attempt a repair unless you are trained. It is not about a repair person making money, but about you not creating a fire hazard.

Guest post from: Constance Rodgers

It’s been a big struggle at my house lately. First the fridge went out just before Thanksgiving (which I was hosting for my entire extended family) and then just last week the heat unit broke. I had the guy come out which took three days and he tells me I need to spend a couple grand just to get it working again. Now I’m worried that I should just fork out the extra money to buy a new unit?

I did my due diligence when I moved in here by looking at the Reliant Energy rates and talking to the water company about usage and all that but I guess I just wasn’t prepared for so much stuff to break at once. I guess that’s the risk you take when you buy an older home, though, and I knew that going in. I just couldn’t resist the charm of the place and now that I’m a homeowner I’m really glad I took the leap! I think if I had to give advice to other first time buyers I would warn them to save up enough money to keep in reserves that if something like this did happen to them they’d have a way to pay for it.

I wish I had known then what I know now and maybe I wouldn’t have stretched myself on this house so much. Or better yet, maybe I just would have waited a few extra months until I had more savings. But hindsight is always 20/20 and you know, I didn’t realize then how much I would love this house, either, and I wouldn’t have wanted to lose this place over a few bad appliances. I guess once all this gets fixed I can count on the roof to go or the basement to leak but that all comes with owning your own home, I suppose. At least my dad is a contractor and can help me fix the big stuff!

Many couples are incorporating a beloved pet into their weddings. It is easier to do during the summer, when the wedding can be held outside, but for small weddings at home, a special pet is often still an honored guests. Some couples have an intimate wedding without the pet, and then later have tea at home.

How do you ensure the weddings decorations and the festivities are pet safe without making the ceremony “pet themed?”

• Xylitol is poisonous to cats and dogs. Do not serve mints that contain the ingredient. Sugar free candies and desserts often contain it as well. Surely you do not intend for your pet to eat it, but guests may be indulgent.

• Lighted Candles are fine on a mantel or when the pet of honor is a dog. Refrain from lighting candles on surfaces a cat may climb onto and knock over. Most likely a cat won’t be at the ceremony, but he/she might participate in a home luncheon.
• String can not only choke, but kill a dog or cat by cutting the intestines. Eliminate balloon strings and twine, or make sure they are pitched in the proper receptacle.

• Check your selected flowers against lists of plants poisonous to your pet. Eliminate flowers that will cause your pet harm should they ingest them. Nasturtium and Roses are edible for people, just as a random fact.

• Assign a family member or friend to be on garbage patrol. Place candy wrapper, bones and other hazardous items in a secure garbage can quickly. Better yet, include garbage cans in the decor. Wrap a can in tulle! Guests will get the hint.
• Assign a family member to the pet. Surely the bride and groom will care for the pet, but a point person during the ceremony should hold onto the dog’s leash during portions of the nuptials. For a home wedding or luncheon, enlist a family member to be an extra set of eyes and ears.
• No one not to include your pet. It is a very sweet gesture to have a pet at the ceremony, but your individual dog or cat might be overwhelmed by so many people in his/her home. Create a safe haven. Place his/her crate in one bedroom and forbid access to it by guests or to more than just a few select ones. It may also be a better option to have a close friend or family member that the pet likes to take the pet for the day. Even though that person might not be home, the pet will have peace and quiet.

If you included pets in your ceremony, what else did you do to make the day pet safe?

Ropes, blankets and flashlights are common supplies to keep on hand for both wildlife and human rescues. I am not talking about ongoing cruelty cases, but where lives are in immediate peril and quick action makes a difference, whether a person is caught in rapids or a deer or dog is trapped under a piece of equipment or fencing. It is often human nature to dive into the water or rush into a building, but we often misjudge potential peril.

One piece of professional equipment that firefighters use and might be helpful to you if you find yourself in dicey situations frequently are IR Thermometers. Wave an infrared thermometer into a building or at potentially icy water to help you prepare supplies for the conditions ahead, or to determine that its safe enter.

Of course, an animal rescue worker would never enter a burning building unless a qualified firefighter, but one could easily check the temperature of a door handle or decide if that black blob in the woods is a cold rock or a very warm bear to reroute your path to safety.

In less perilous situations, you can use one to help position your lizard terrarium or fish tank in the house to best avoid the coldest corner of the room. It may seen trivial, but certain pets do not thrive in drafty situations.

Overkill? Or do you see this as an important tool for you in the future?

Tetris worked just fine in all of its low resolution glory. Now there are numerous versions of the puzzle game, including “Funny” Tetris with cartoon characters instead of tiles, at left, and quasi-3D versions. In the past two decades, one would be very hard pressed to name a computer operating system or gaming system that does not offer the game.

The deceivingly addictive game debuted in 1984 and has been numbing minds, distracting coworkers and improving hand-eye coordination ever since. The game was so named, as every single shape consists of four (tetra) tiles. According to Wikipedia, inventor Alexey Pajitnov also loved tennis, and merged the two words together.

According to the Japan Science and Technology Agency/Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society, a study was conducted measuring the effect playing Tetris and Brain Age had on cognitive function in the elderly. The study concluded that after 4 weeks, the sample participants playing Brain Age exhibited greater cognitive function, though an additional test is needed with a larger group. However, in a separate study (Haier, Karama, Leyba and Jung,) it was reported that adolescent girls playing Tetris had developed a thicker cortex over a course of three months, as observed on an MRI. When the cortex thickens, neural pathways work faster or more efficiently.  I did not find similar studies on boys.

The difference, of course, comes down to the intellectual demands Brain Age requires when putting numbers in sequence, versus the visual and spatial skills required for playing Tetris. Of course, playing video games is no replacement for developing these areas of the brain through problem solving, interaction with others and athletics, but perhaps we are slowly learning of ways to exercise our brains in a different way. However, there is much danger in using video games as the sole or chief way to cultivate those benefits.

The next time you are watching the hours roll by, sometimes a quick game is a way to distract the mind for a minute to reboot your thinking or to definitely help with weak eye muscles, but choose your game wisely.

Universal Tub Spout with Diverter from Waterworks.com

I couldn’t quite place what the noise was. The clock was ticking, but it was something else-something somehow underneath each tick. I stilled myself as much as possible and I listened again. The little noise broke free and lost its cadence with the ticking. I creeped down the hall. That darn faucet. It was at it again. First I noticed a small yellowish ring near the drain. It wasn’t dirt from me or a dog, as it would reappear mostly when I was gone for the day. This time, since I took a shower in the evening, I caught it in the act. For several hours after the shower was over, the faucet dripped. It went unnoticed in the rush to get out the door.

All it will take is a little adjustment. Only that its plastic. Even thought it wasn’t the cheapest faucet in the world, all the inside fittings are plastic. In fact, if you tap it, the faucet itself makes a muffled thud instead of a metallic clink.  A plumber said “Just replace all the parts in there.” It’s not like the old days where everything was copper and you could just take out the wrench. If you want metal tub faucets in the past few years, you have to go high end.

Is a $175-350 faucet worth it when you can pick one up for $10-40? In the age of time being money, it could very well be worth it to have an old fashioned brass and chromed faucet that are not made of small plastic pieces. If you have a dog to bathe and a big family or if you are solo and merely like something that is low maintenance, you might find deleting trips for replacements worth your while.

Quotes from bikini bottom:

Spongebob: What do you usually do when I’m gone?
Patrick: waiting for you to come back.”

Are they sure the character of Patrick wasn’t based on my dog?

A friend of mine is a giant Schnauzer. She loves her kitties. She has a Mean Rotten kitty and a Awful Mad kitty. The kitties are covered in some sort of cotton canvas materials and are filled with stuffing. How do we know that they are a Mean Rotten and Awful Mad kitties? It says so on their belt buckles! Silly, right? Obviously that is fully for our benefit and not for the benefit of the Furry Family member, but you never know. My dog knows how to spell. T-R-E-A-T and the like. Who knows if he has the reading part nailed, but just doesn’t say anything.

Toys are clearly made more for our benefit than a pet’s sometimes. Sure the maker can tout their ability to be indestructible, the benefit the toy has on teeth and gums and play skills, but I am sure my dog really doesn’t know who Sponge Bob really is, nor care. I kid you not, despite thinking that the whole Sponge Bob phenomena is not a thing anymore, every time I open a pet supply catalog or go to the pet store — there he is. (Not to mention the forty bazillion online flash games – even opportunities to cook with spongebob. Oddly, in his world, sea creatures eat burgers?) Thank goodness it isn’t Barney.

Now you don’t see the secondary characters too much, like Squidward (sp?) and Gary, but you frequently see the spongey one, plus Patrick the starfish. (Admittedly, I didn’t “get” that he was a starfish the first time I saw the characters. It took a moment or two for the imagination to kick in. But heck, if someone can live in a pineapple, then a starfish can wear pants. I’ll go along with that. The conventions of cartoons at its finest.)

Does a dog really care if he/she is snuggling with a cartoon character? Probably not. But then again, does a dog recognize a stuffed mallard as a duck? Or a skunk as a skunk? Either way, he surely knows that ducky is his. He will go on a hunt for his best buddy, whether he views the duck as a duck or as a squishy fabric thing with colors.