Alfredsson Jane

Leading up to Rainy Days

June 4, 2017 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

It’s a sleepy, rainy day. I haven’t been on for the past couple of days because mom has been in some serious pain. While she did get on WordPress, she just couldn’t fight through her flare and fibro fog to get anything written down and published! She takes Cymbalta for the nerve pain, Provigil for the EDS (and narcolepsy), and some supplements like vitamin D and B12 (recommended by her doctor). Most days she takes these and feels like a new lady. When she took them on Friday they sorta helped for a little while. Saturday was a whole new realm of pain though. Those medicines she’s been taking for almost a year now did absolutely nothing.

Vitamin D

Vitamin B12

Now while I felt horrible for my mom I still need to go for walks and play. I’m a puppy. I can’t help it. On Friday mom took us to the park but didn’t play with us again. I couldn’t figure out why since it was so BEAUTIFUL out. We cuddled on the couch for a long time but let’s face it I can only cuddle so many days in a row. I brought her my ball and she threw it across the living room. We did that for a while until she couldn’t throw well. That’s when my nose started to search around. Remember, I’m a puppy. I can’t help it. My nose found the garbage and I found a swat. It took mom a couple minutes to get up and over to me though so I did score some pretty tasty leftovers. I felt bad I made mom get up so I cuddled back up with her despite my urge to run around like a crazy-head. Mom did a lot of napping.

Saturday is mine and Zuc’s favorite day of the whole week! Dad stays home with us! He took us for our walk and mom came along. It was another BEAUTIFUL day outside! But she still didn’t play with us much. Once we got home she didn’t move for the rest of the day it seemed. She took Excedrine like it was Beggin’ Strips (I love those things). Dad got her big white thing that’s filled with rocks I think. It smells pretty, like lavender, and he heats up hot. Mom spent the day having dad heat it up and then putting it all over her body, mostly on her neck. The only time I think she got up was when we ran a bath with Camomile Epsom Salts. She soaked for a loooong time while I stood outside the tub lifeguarding. I also attacked some bubbles when she wasn’t paying attention. After that we curled up in bed until dad came in for sleeps. That was when I had to get on my own mattress and mom cuddled with dad instead.

This morning was totally different! Even the weather was different- grey, cool, and rainy. These are the days mom usually seems to feel bad but this morning she felt better than she did yesterday! We did yoga after we woke up. We do this most days except when it hurts her to do. Then mom had to clean the kitchen because dad left such a mess from having to cook for himself yesterday. I like it when dad cooks. I get all kinds of stuff that falls on the floor and then even more the next day when mom cleans. He leaves stuff everywhere on the counters! It’s the best! Now we’re just resting since it’s such a gloomy and wet day. I would looooove to splash in some puddles but mom and dad won’t let me! Maybe I can convince them later on.

Rainy Days TB — This is Tiger Balm. I hate this stuff SO much. I even tried to get rid of it once. Mom LOOOOVES it. On Saturday when she felt so bad she was covered in it. Cuddling with her was difficult.

Fibro Flares Can Hit Hard

June 1, 2017June 1, 2017 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Mom couldn’t get out of bed again today. I didn’t even try to help her wake up. She was a hot mess even while she was asleep. After dad left for work I did my best to cuddle up close to her and keep her from moving around too much. Zuc was too nervous to stay on the big bed with us so he curled up on our smaller dog mattress (yes we are totally spoiled). When she did finally wake up Zuc came back to the big bed and we both tried to make mom feel better with kisses and cuddles. I had to go bring medicine to her. After a little while she was ready to get moving. It was a late morning and I reeeeeaaaallllyy had to pee. As soon as mom opened the door I didn’t think and darted for the grass, pulling on my leash. Unfortunately mom was still in a lot of pain and I hurt her more. She cried out and I stopped dead in my tracks. She looked at me with such a mean face I was sure I’d be in trouble but instead she just walked into the grass with me and waited while I peed. Then we went for a walk. At the dog park she didn’t play with me like usual. She just occasionally threw the ball and waited by the gate. It makes me sad when mom can’t play with us.

The rest of our day was spent on the couch or laying on a blanket in the sun. I wanted to run around and sniff things but I knew mom needed me. Most of the day I laid on her legs and feet. It’s a boring life but I’ll never pass up a nice nap!

Around dinner time mom took some excedrine- surprisingly it helps sometimes. It gave her enough energy to make dinner and eat! I’m not sure she was able to pack it all up and clean though. We laid down on the couch again to cuddle. I doubt we’ll do much else today. Poor mom, if only kisses made it better.

Mmm I smell cake

June 1, 2017June 1, 2017 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Today was dad’s birthday! Mom woke up really late this morning. I tried to wake her up a couple times but even licking her feet did nothing! I knew it would be a struggle day so I tried my very best to be patient for her. She told me to get her medicine but I got confused because it wasn’t in the normal place. I felt really bad but she told me it was okay. We went for our normal walk and I didn’t even pull the whole time. I’m such a good puppy. Usually when we get back on days that mom doesn’t feel good she just lays back down on the couch for a while. When she walked into the kitchen and started doing things I could barely believe my nose! She was baking! She never bakes on struggle days. Normally I would run right into the kitchen when my nose starts smelling. I don’t know how it happens but my nose kind of controls my body. Today I fought the urge to follow my nose. Mom was actually staying up and doing stuff. I didn’t want to be the reason she laid down. Plus if I’m extra good she might share.

I. Smelled. Peanut Butter.

That was it. I lost control of it and my nose brought me right under moms feet. Then my whole butt started wagging and I couldn’t make it stop! She was making the biggest mess ever! I was so excited I just had to get Zuc. We licked and licked and licked until all of the cake mix was off the floors and cupboard doors. Mom didn’t even stop us. She actually thanked us by giving us peanut butter frosting! BEST DAY EVER.

I could tell it wasn’t mom’s best day ever though. She started out strong but was slowing down. I knew she was in a lot of pain. It’s just one of those things Zuc and I can sense now. We sat down at her feet under the kitchen table. She was drawing with frosting on top of cake. It was chocolate cake. I know I shouldn’t eat chocolate but I just can’t help but try to. The smell is soooo delicious. But I wasn’t just talking about cake… I think I was telling you about her pain. As she continued to frost the cake she took breaks. Her fingers and wrists must have been throbbing because she kept shaking them out. She also couldn’t seem to decide if she wanted to sit or stand. This made Zuc and I confused about whether we should sit or lay or stand. Zuc left after a while but I couldn’t leave mom to suffer by herself.

Just before dad got home mom finished the cake. It smelled magnificent. Dad must have thought so too because when he came in he gave mom a huge hug and kiss. I expected mom to just lay down for the night after all that hard work. She did, for a little bit, but then she got up and made dinner. Don’t get me wrong, mom makes dinner most nights, but tonight she was like a zombie. She rarely makes dinner when she feels this bad. I guess she had to though because a bunch of dad’s friends came over. I was in heaven. They all played with me and gave me treats! After dinner mom laid down and dad and his friends took care of things- mostly just the cake things. When everyone finally left I decided mom could use my heat and body weight. I laid down on her legs and will probably stay here until we get up to go to sleep. I hope it comes soon, I’m tired!

Long time, no bark!

May 30, 2017May 30, 2017 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Hello, my name is Alfie. I know mom started this thing about a year ago. She wasn’t herself for a long time but now she’s finally starting to be normal again! We’ve been through a whole bunch of changes since she posted on here last. Have you ever heard of fibromyalgia? It made my mom really boring and sad. She whined and complained. We didn’t even go on our normal walks! Can you believe that? I looooove those things! Dad did everything he could to help her but she just didn’t get better. Sometimes I would climb up on the couch with her and lay on her legs or back. She really liked it. We still do it sometimes when she starts to feel bad again. I like it when I can help. Right now mom keeps telling me to go get this weird little bottle with what sound like treats in them. They must be treats since she opens it up and takes one whenever I get it to her. I get treats too- not her treats, but mine smell way better than hers anyway! I think it’s a pretty cool trick since none of my friends at the dog park know how to do it. I’m such a good dog.

Well anyway, now that I’m like 2 years old and I’m totally mature now (unless I meet someone new or I see a bird or stuff like that) mom told me to take over for her. She wants the world to understand that fibromyalgia is a thing. She also wants them to realize it doesn’t have to rule your life. Mom and I spend lots of time on the computers learning about it. We also try new ways to relieve her pain and give her more energy! She’s also in nursing school now and doesn’t have tons of extra time. If I don’t post for a while again it’s because we’re spending her extra time together playing!

Birthday Glass

July 28, 2016July 22, 2016 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories, DIY Decor

This past weekend was one of my best friends’ and my boyfriend’s little sister’s 21st birthday! (Same person, not two people.) I’ve made it tradition to paint the newly 21 year old a glass for their gift. I’ve done 3 so far, my boyfriend’s, my sister’s, and now my boyfriend’s sister’s.

I love making these. I love the looks on their faces when I’ve nailed the design.

Generally I try to keep Alfie away while I paint. She’s a white/golden dog. Colors are just attracted to her! She once ate some of my food coloring jars- the good kind- and had a green belly for almost a week.

I wanted to relax so I set up at the coffee table and sat on the couch. Alfie and Zuc are allowed to get up on the couch as they please as long as they don’t push their boundaries. Alfie got too excited over the paint. Boundaries were pushed. The carpet wore the paint. Although I really can’t blame it all on Alfie. Yes, she got excited which triggered Zuc to get excited but it was Zuc who jumped up and concurrently flipped the paint plate. It shot into the air and he freaked out and ran. If he hadn’t his head would’ve been covered in paint and not the carpet..

Even with the disaster the glass came out perfectly.

To make these I bought bulk glasses off of amazon.com: Stemless Red Wine Glass, Beer Glass, and White Wine Glass. There are also a number of other glasses you could choose and they don’t have to bought in bulk. Each of these had a maximum of 6 glasses per case. I really like each of them. They are good smooth glass to paint on and are somewhat durable. When the White Wine Glasses arrived Alfie was still a roley poley little puppy and her cardboard box obsession was only beginning. She crashed into the full box of glasses and only one of them broke. None of them shattered or anything and let me tell you what, she was a rough little ball of fur. That being said, to save money, dollar store glasses work okay too. I just don’t prefer them because they like to break and have deformities in the glass itself making it harder to paint on.

I’ve had the paint so long I don’t remember where I even got it but it’s just basic acrylic paint. Same idea for the paintbrushes and spot tools.

When I finish painting the glass I let it air dry and then bake it. Start with a cold oven place the glass on the rack and allow it to heat to full temp, I usually heat it to about 350 degrees, once at full temp I leave it about 10-15 minutes then turn the oven off and crack the door. Allow the glass to set in the oven while it cools. Once cooled I take it outside and spray it with some gloss or matte modge podge depending on the look I desire.

Also, if you’re anything like my non-crafty sister, you may not want to go through making a glass. In this case I’ve also got you covered! Just visit my Etsy site! Generally I can paint anything you could ask for, if I can’t I will always try to do the next best thing you can think of! The make wonderful gifts! Glasses Transformed

DIY Heart of Memories

July 26, 2016July 22, 2016 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories, DIY Decor

One of my favorite decorating tools are pictures. In the past I’ve had a whole wall of cork board and all of my memories (pictures, ticket stubs, ect) were pinned there. Now I have to come up with more creative ways to display them since 1) I rent and 2) I’m a broke college post grad. In my dorm I hung Christmas lights (of course) and used string to hang pictures from them. In my first apartment I had this small cut off blank wall where I hung bundles of string like a clothes line with pictures hanging out to dry on them.

I loved those ideas but the clothes line idea, no matter what changes I made just looked cheap. I don’t like to look cheap even if I am being cheap. I decided to try a wall heart made from pictures. When you don’t want to pay for expensive picture frames you build a picture out of pictures!

picture heart

First attempt I used double sided tape- seems like the perfect idea, right? Wrong. They stayed on the wall for all of 2 minutes then fell into a big sticky pile on the floor where I had to throw a bunch of them out. Not cool. At this point you’re probably wondering, where’s Alfie? Well, she’s picking up the bunched up photos and running around with them. Until she realizes there’s tape and that they aren’t coming out of her mouth because of said tape. She starts to panic. Things get destroyed..

At the last place I lived they used a paint that came off with tape so I could not use command strips and such. Well I did. I used that little trick where you stick painter’s tape to the wall first and then stick the command strip to that. Worked like a charm! So I rolled some strips of painter’s tape up and stuck them to the back of the photos.

I can’t completely take credit for the idea but I can for my design. I basically just played with the photos until they worked together. I have another large wall I’d like to use to play with other designs too!

Flash Update

July 24, 2016July 24, 2016 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Uncategorized

Yesterday in a panic I made a post Help Flash! With a decent amount of visitors I decided I should make an update post.

This morning Flash was exceptionally better! It’s decided that he had an infection in his brain, something along the lines of encephalitis or meningitis.

He is, however, equivalent to a stroke patient so he still has a long way to go. The vet sent him home with my mom today. He has a month’s worth of medication and physical therapy type instructions as well.

He’s so so so happy to be back with mom and the family. And we’re just as happy too! At this point I’d say he’s nothing short of a miracle dog.

He does still have a ridiculous amount of medical bills. If you’d like to help out please visit Flash’s Medical Bill at gofundme.com, it would truly be appreciated.

No Lights? No Problem!

July 24, 2016July 22, 2016 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Shortly after we moved in I realized we had lights everywhere else in the apartment except in the biggest room. Even the hallway has TWO light fixtures in it. Our living room was dark. I don’t do dark. The living room changed in a hurry. I LOVE christmas lights. It may have something to do with my being born on Christmas but I think I’d be in love either way. I have christmas lights for my christmas tree, windows, doorways, you name it. Naturally I had a couple extra strings packed up. Well out those came!

And out the door Alfie ran! She was terrified of them, garland too. Over the course of an hour I desensitized her. Then she wore them all over, I couldn’t keep them off of her. I’m super sad I didn’t get any pictures, she was just so cute. I also didn’t want her to electrocute herself therefore it was fried puppy and pictures or happy puppy and no pictures. I think you know which I chose.

I’ve expressed my love of christmas lights, yet how do I hang them so that they don’t look cheap? I have to fill in the holes I make on my own before our lease is over so I’m trying not to make a lot of them. Command hangers just look.. bleh. So what to do?

I had a ton of clothes pins, paint, glitter, command strips, and two strings of christmas lights. Hmm..

Alfie decided they made pretty good chew toys. Yellow was flipped in the air, thrown across the room, chewed a little and then brought back to me covered in slobber. When yellow got boring she came back for more. This kept her occupied while I stuck all of the command strips along the top of the wall. In corners I had to put on each side directly next to each other.

After collecting all of my clothes pins from the jaws of slobber dog I stuck one to each command strip randomly. Now it was time to hang the lights. They had been up high out of Alfie’s reach during the preparation period but now she could grab them and run as she pleased. I ended up stringing myself up in lights just to keep her from tearing them off of the wall. It was a challenge.

Help Flash!

July 23, 2016July 23, 2016 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Uncategorized

I know I haven’t been blogging long and who knows if this will even be seen in time but Alfie’s best friend is in dire need. He’s basically on his death bed without the medical attention he needs. The vet says whatever is going on is in his brain- possibly a brain tumor.

Flash came to our family from a shelter. He battled a horrible sickness before he grew healthy enough to be adopted out. My parents picked him up as a totally out of control, life loving, half a year old puppy. He’s just over 2 years old now. This doesn’t seem like a long enough life for a dog who has always been so full of it as long as I’ve known him.

Here’s the problem: the medical bills are expensive. My parents still have 2 kids in college, another dog, and my horses at home to take care of as well. They do all they can to keep our lives happy and full. Nobody could ever have seen this coming.

I’m asking you to please, please, please help. If you click here: Anything will help. Even if all you can muster is $2. I had plans for Flash in this blog with him being such a character and Alfie’s best friend in the whole world. We’re going to pay as much of it on our own as we can but these bills are through the roof because it’s a brain issue..

I’ll also mention that in the past year and a half we lost two of our fur siblings to old age. It was extremely hard on us and Flash has filled a void in our lives.

Move-In Day

July 23, 2016July 22, 2016 by Alfredsson Jane, posted in Alfie Stories

Alright, so we’ve been living in this apartment for a couple months now. I still wanted to share this experience so I thought, why not start in the past?

This should give you a little taste of what’s in store:

My parents’ house is a big 100 year old farm house with a dog door and a large fenced yard. When we visit, Alfie has full rein. Their dogs love her. The three of them run in and out, in and out, all day long. Zuc isn’t real sociable, so he’s pretty settled. In May, we moved out of a third floor apartment with no yard, just a small fenced in pet park. Our new apartment is on the first floor with a large sliding glass door and patio. Beyond the patio is a big open yard.

Alfie loves car rides. This trip was about 5 hours long. Alfie drinks a lot and I mean a lot. We had to take water away for the trip. She and Zuc were perfect little passengers so there was no need to stop.

When they arrived, the dogs were unleashed. Alfie, being the big goon that she is, runs straight down the hallway and somehow finds the bathroom immediately. Now, the toilet is by far her favorite water dish, so naturally her whole face goes directly into the potty water. She drank almost the whole bowl in two seconds flat. In the same motion she whips out of the bathroom, toilet water flying from her face, and takes off through the kitchen. She sees the open sliding glass door, the screen was closed, and takes off for it. She slams into it and bounces of off it backward into the living room. Finally she just sits down with her tongue lolling out of her mouth and looks around at everyone and everything with sheer joy on her face. All happening in under 3 minutes. This dog is the biggest goofball I’ve ever met but I wouldn’t have her any other way.

Alfie