I Got My Wish :-/ Sort of

Sometimes you wish for something that you don't really want, say… something like snow. Why wish for snow you ask? Well, it started last night at bedtime. Carm picked up something from the carpet in the bedroom and went into the bathroom to throw it out. I hear him calling from the bathroom "Laura... come and look at this... what do you think it is?". Oh bother - okay - and as soon as I saw it I knew right away that it was a disgusting, bloated, engorged TICK. Yes, a tick from the bedroom floor. It had obviously fallen off one of the dogs (having been stuck on him/her for days - ewwww - remember that cuddling on the futon I talked about yesterday - ewwww). After disposing of the vile creature (did you know they sink like a stone when dropped into the toilet?) we gave the dogs a quick going over. We didn't see anymore but...... the rest of my night was spent awake feeling creepy crawlies making itchies on my skin. I had to get out of bed a few times to look for ticks in the bed. I could feel them crawling all over me. Of course there were none, but I swear if I found a giant engorged tick attached to me I would go insane. (btw - itchies are still happening – maybe I’ve already gone insane!).

And how does the snow wish come about? Well, my reasoning is that if it were cold enough for snow there wouldn't be any ticks. Reasonable (isn't it?). So I woke up this morning (yes I did get to sleep a few times) to the sight of snow on the ground and more of the white stuff falling from the sky. How lucky to have my wishes granted :-/  The good/bad news is that it was already melting by noon and was gone all together by 3pm.

We've gone years here with only a few ticks found. It makes me wonder how many were missed. I've included a url and another of two very informative sites that talk about ticks and Lyme disease - they have some good photos as well. I didn't know that they started off so small. And in fact seeing the photos I'm pretty sure I've seen some of those tiny creatures in the house over the years. I think next year the dogs will be on full time flea and tick medication just to be on the safe side. I generally try to avoid unnecessary chemicals and drugs, but perhaps the risk of getting Lyme disease outweighs the risks of drug exposure. 

Idle pleasures today? Walking in the snow ; making cookies using my mix master (is that what it’s called?) – this machine makes easy work of any baking task ; tasting the cookie dough (shortbread - why does it always taste so great before it’s cooked) ; going for a little walk outside and coming back to warm bread fresh from the oven (yeah I know it’s a repeat!) ; getting out a little table that I bought a while back at Princess Auto – it turns out to be the perfect height for my tea when I’m sitting on the loveseat (the picture below is from that same loveseat, it’s a favourite place to sit during the day) ; a hot bubble bath with candles instead of lights and some nice music playing – heaven.

Happy Tails Trails