Kitty Deschanel

My Thanksgiving, 2020 blog post ended up being one of the most popular on my site this year (thank you!), so here's a quick Christmas Eve update, filled with photos.  Christmas, 2020 hasn't looked like it has in previous years... My younger self (with  braces !) was excited to wear that purple flower pin, which had been recently purchased at a consignment shop. My old lady self questions my previous sense of fashion while simultaneously wondering whatever happened to that purple flower pin. Though, to be fair, our Christmas celebrations often seem a bit untraditional. There's certainly no snow for Santa's sleigh when your family lives in Arizona. I'd had a light jacket, but it was so sunny and warm in Scottsdale the year we visited Frank Lloyd Wright's  Taliesin West. It would just be SN and I for the holidays this year. No homemade lasagna, no tamale brunch, and no Christmas cookies. Imagine my surprise when I received a card from my aunt saying to enjoy the p

Embark Coupon : Save $40 on an  Embark Breed + Health Kit  (Update: It seems Embark doesn't actually want anyone to use their referral program, as the referral codes constantly expire and reach a maximum limit of referrals and other silly nonsense. If you have any trouble with the coupon, please send me an email at kittydeschanel@gmail.com and I'll email you an Embark coupon that works.) What is Embark? You know those weird people who have DNA testing done on their dog? I haven't even bought a DNA kit for myself, but our dog DNA test results for Olive are ready! The Embark Breed + Health Kit was our Christmas present from my parents. They love their little granddoggy. And how could they not? Just look at that face: Olive is so cool in her Harley-Davidson jacket. Don't tell her I nabbed it off a stuffed animal. Dog DNA Test Can you picture me swabbing her cheek to get the DNA sample? I felt a bit ridiculous. Olive wasn't too happy about it either, as I figu

SN and I were watching TV two nights ago when we heard a strange sound coming from the living room. It was Biscuit . She was on her side, yelping nonstop with her eyes wide open, foaming at the mouth. The foam had soaked all the way through her bed. Panicked, we tried to revive her, but she was like a zombie, just stuck on her side and barking, staring at nothing. It seemed like this went on forever, but I think it was probably about 3 minutes. When Biscuit finally came to, she tried to stand but kept falling over. She didn't seem to know where she was or even who we were. She was growling at us.  Finally, we got her calmed down and resting, but she would occasionally let out a yowl, eyes closed. We couldn't tell if she was having a nightmare or was in pain.  Later, it was like her mind was gone - she could walk, but only in circles around the perimeter of the room. She was not responding to anything we said or did. She still seemed not to know us. 

Want to  foster a dog ? Tips at the end of this post. Remember the other day when I shared that I'm a  Bernadette Peters  fan? Meet our silly goofball, Bernadette. Three dogs?! To be fair, one is only a foster dog...except we love her so much that we're adopting her!  Top: Bernadette's fearful "Before" photo, taken at the shelter Bottom: Bernadette's cheerful "After" photo, taken the day we brought her home Bernadette, originally named Tulip, had arrived at the shelter as a stray. She was so fearful that I was not able to pet her even once during the two hours we spent in her large pen at the Bernalillo County, NM shelter.  Her ears were down and her tail was tucked between her legs. She was exhausted from pacing in circles nonstop. The shelter gave us handfuls of treats to offer, but even these weren't enough to coax her to come near. SN and I both wondered if fostering her was a mistake. So what changed our mind? H