Dog Feeder Project And Elephant In The Room

Sooooo.....

About that elephant in the room.

It's in my room, your room, big brothers room, all the way to the room of a remote isolated indigenous tribe in the rain forest, so I thought I'd just address that prior to sharing a project.

Bliss Ranch has very loyal, engaged, and sweet readers, and I thank you all.  And based on the amount of email I get, (which I finally checked) when you don't hear from me for an extended time via blog posts or on social media, you worry and ask if I'm alright.  I am.  But are you?

Those instant messages and emails have prompted me to acknowlege the elephant in the room; that ever big, ever present, sort of hazy gray cloud hanging over us all in everything we do right now.

And the gray cloud/elephant is not cute and cuddly like the one above.

Call it what ever pet name or official one you like, I just use coronavirus, or when typing it out in texts to my friends, CV.

For the past few weeks I haven't felt like writing anything here on the blog. What ever topic I might choose felt a bit trivial and inconsequential knowing what we really all want right now is for the elephant not to make himself comfortable on our couch for much longer.

For my family we haven't really had extra time on our hands, but there is definitely a slower pace that comes with being home more. All of my offspring as well as the man with the tools, are still able to work, which eases some of the 'what ifs'. Here at the ranch we are fitting in home improvement around our usual schedule.  The DIY we started before CV arrived is still happening, and I'm still taking pictures of the progress.  The  s  l  o  w  progress, and now that winter has subsided there is lots of outdoor work to be done since we are still allowed to play in our own yard.

We started a couple remodel projects well before masks, copious amounts of hand washing and keeping six feet apart were the new social norms. I could continue posting projects that I saved up from before life as we all knew it changed, and seeming as if all is right in your world and mine, while at the same time shooting rainbows outta my asss, but that just doesn't seem genuine.

I'm not a doomy gloomy kind of person, but I'm preserving the energy it takes to shoot rainbows for another time.  Like when I can once again leave my house, hug my friends, and easily buy the following things at the grocery store;

toilet paper
bread flour
frozen broccoli
zucchini
rice

Can someone tell me why on Gods green earth all the zucchini are being hoarded? Come summertime you can't pay people to take them from your garden.

I'm not paralyzed in any kind of fear, concerned of course, and I'm no chicken little waiting for the sky to fall, however where the blog is concerned I'm just maybe...sort of... dormant.  A little stagnant.  On sabbatical.  I mean really, what I have to say is of little importance in the bigger picture of everyone's lives anyway.

I might be able to shop online for a new refrigerator for that ongoing kitchen remodel right now, but that thought is tempered with knowing some of my readers are more concerned if they'll be able to fill their own fridge with meals for the week. That's reality. For the most part we all have the same void and lack of normalcy in our lives right now, what could I write to make you feel better in the long run.... nothing.  But a momentary distraction?.. maybe.

I'll save all the minutia of remodeling for a time better suited for us both to laugh about it, because if raw plywood counters, pieced in wood flooring and two chaotic rooms stuffed with displaced items from a kitchen remodel inspires you, there is something wrong with you my friend!

Those photos will be saved for when the CV is behind us. A time when you can enjoy the inspiration or ideas that I might supply for you, and a time when I can enjoy writing about them.  And really, a time when those projects are completed.....possibly when I'm 90.

Life goes on even when we are asked not to go anywhere. I'm not a binge watching TV type, haven't been baking an unusual amount, not reading any books or plotting out a post virus adventure, and from the looks of things I'm not organizing and cleaning closets with the same passion as Marie Kondo. 

What I am missing is a familiar routine, seeing my family whenever I want, and having the typical worries of life, instead of the mostly irrational thoughts swirling around in my head now, of things that are out of my control.

With all that being said, I'm not just reading the news, making grocery lists, texting with my bff or playing words with friends.  Well, yes mostly that is really what I'm doing, but this week I did feel a slight creative urge when I walked by the dogs food and water bowls, so I decided it needed to be dismantled and reflect the current canine that lives here.

If you've stuck with this rambling post, then thanks.  Like you, I hope to be feeling more normal soon, and creating this project did feel like life as usual.  It was nice to put on a thinking cap and redesign Abe the Vizsla's dog feeding station.

Here is where it started..... Mo's Diner, made for Moses, the long passed away puggle. Abe didn't mind at all eating from his predecessors hand-me-down, as long as there is food in his dish he is happy.

And as far as I know Abe can't read anyway.

The pipe legs were salvaged from the original and given a coat of black paint, and a new bigger box was built from scraps in the garage.  Mo's diner was also built from what ever was laying around in the garage.

The front was an already stained piece of beadboard, that I lightly sanded and stained darker.

I had to hand paint all the letters because obviously Old Sign Stencils doesn't have anything that pertains exactly to my dog.  Although perhaps I should suggest a line of pet stencils featuring Honest Abe?

Old Sign Stencils DOES have Christmas stencils with stars, so I used those, and the popular pallet stencils lent a stamp of approval.

I'm not sure why the top looks gray in the photo, it's the same dark stain as the front of the feeder.

Abe has a special bowl that prevents him from gulping his food too fast - that boy likes his vittles.  It has a round trough in the center so he can't just lap up giant portions into his muzzle. I also have a new larger water bowl that will get cut in to the top, because he drinks a mountain more water than a chubby little puggle did.

I gave Abe some reading material in case he ever pauses to reflect while he eats in his little corner of our mudroom.

And hanging right where Abe can admire it, is the front off of Mo's hand-me-down feeder, named for an actual diner that used to be in Wisconsin.

Before I got to writing this up I also gave a couple tables makeovers, so perhaps I am seeking out things FINALLY that make life feel normal. Why it took me two months of a stay at home order to do that, I have no idea.

Life here is no more difficult than most right now, and in many ways not as problematic as for some.  I'm certainly not dealing with more than everyone else, it's an inconvenient way to live, so I adjust and wait for better days with the realization everyone might have a little different reality right now.  There are a million bloggers posting pictures of crafts, and homes that are nice to look at, and I'm happy they are because I enjoy looking at those pictures.  Right now, for me, I just can't seem to muster enough of my usual sense of humor to type out too many posts, but I'll be back, probably when the grocery stores are full of zucchini - then I'll know life is back to normal.

That elephant - he's a heavy guy.


Quick Links:
Mo's Diner Original Dog Feeder
Old Sign Stencils