A Goddamn Miracle
Sunday, November 20th, 2022 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioYou'll recall a few entries ago, when I was musing about financial puzzle peices, I was very concerned about Yvette's addiction to Good 'n Fun Dog Kabobs!
With their price skyrocketing from $9.00 to $12.00 per bag... and with her consumption of them ballooning from six bags a week, up to FOURTEEN bags a week... I had done the math and discovered to my horror, that Dad was now blowing $672.00 a month on, dog food!
But that consumption had only ballooned to two bags per day, back in September... right after Dad spent a week in the hospital, and then I started working at Grape Elementary.
Now... it should be noted that, prior to September, there had been a shortage of Good 'n Funs on the shelves.
For a good six months, they had been hard to come by... especially the Kabobs that she liked the most.
So, earlier this year, Yvette was suffering through a bit of a personal crisis where she often had to settle for other styles of Good 'n Fun that she didn't like as much... or occasionally went hungry for a night, because Dad had run out.
But then Dad was gone at the hospital for several days... which is always very hard on her, because she's got severe separation anxiety.
And right when he came back, I started working... which meant that she lost her 5PM walk with me.
You see... I had been home for almost two years, and over that time I got in the habit of taking her for two walks a day, in addition to Dad walking her in the morning. So... losing that 5PM walk was rough on her.
And of course, I had the cats now too... which was just one more upset for her do deal with.
So... I think that all of this lead to the situation in September.
The kabobs were back on the shelves again, and she was dealing with a ton of anxiety, so... she just started hoovering up two bags a day! She was binging... on comfort food. And Dad was only too happy to keep buying her more!..
...not realizing that the price had gone up to $12.00 per bag!
--<>--
I was too busy with the new job... and the goddamn fallen Mulberry tree, to pay any attention to this issue! I was just happy Dad was back to his normal routines again!
But you'll know that, in September, I very much anticipated that the extra money from my part time job would be enough to keep us afloat!
According to the math I'd been doing through June, July, and August, it really should have been!
When we hit that first, dead zone, in mid-October... where I had to beg my sisters for some money to help us make it through a week... I blamed it on that delay in starting the job... which delayed my first full paycheck by two weeks.
It wasn't until we hit another, dead zone, last week, that I realized something was desperately wrong... and finally figured out that Dad had blown over six hundred dollars on Good 'n Funs!
Half his Social Security check!... and EQUAL to his mortgage payment!
--<>--
So, for the past few days I was very aggrieved about this problem, because both Yvette and Dad are so set in their ways!
But on Friday night I explained the math to Dad and... he was genuinely shocked... which was good! He did agree we needed to do something about the problem.
I asked him to pray to Saint Francis, to send an angel, to explain to Yvette, that she needed to switch to normal dog food! XD
And he laughingly promised that he would!
--<>--
So today, being Sunday, we went out to eat, but we stopped at Pet Supplies Plus before we went to the restaurant, and I scanned the shelves for a large, bulk bag of dog food... that we could afford, and that Yvette might settle for, if forced to kick the Good 'n Fun habit.
The Kabob flavors were Chicken, Duck, and Chicken Liver. So I looked for something in that genre.
But some of those goddamn bulk bags were... seventy to a hundred ten dollars a bag! Froofy gourmet dog food... gluten free... bla bla bla... NO!.. that wouldn't do!..
But then I found a forty pound bag of Purina dog kibble... Chicken Flavor... for $31.00! Perfect!
We also got a huge stainless steel dog food bowl for $6.99.
--<>--
We went to get her one final bag of Good 'n Fun Kabobs, just to help her through what was sure to be a very disagreeable transition to the Purina.
And, lo & behold!.. the price had jumped up to $14.00 PER BAG! So we only got ONE!
------------{=0=}------------
After we got home from the restaurant, and Dad gave her his leftover corned beef, I lugged the 40lb bag into the house and filled the new bowl... putting it next to her water dish... there by the washer and the back door.
She did not seem interested in it at all!.. only that I should be taking her for a walk, if I was gonna be hanging around down here like this!
I didn't walk her right away, but later, at 5PM, we did go for a good, cold walk, as huskies like!
--<>--
Later, at 7PM, me and the cats came downstairs, and, it being laundry night, I loaded my laundry into the washer, with Snoop & Prowly orbiting near my feet... and near that new food bowl... which they investigated with curious sniffing.
Yvette was in the kitchen, by the feet of Dad, who sat at the table.
And she was eating a single Kabob, because I'd asked Dad the night before to start feeding them to her one by one, instead of dumping half a bag on the floor like he'd been doing the past month.
At any rate... once Yvette saw that Snoop & Prowly were sniffing at this new bowl of Purina dog kibble?... She got herself up, marched over, and began snarling at them with great menace, to scare them away from it!
I was hoping something like this might happen!
After scaring the cats away... with me still standing nearby, loading the washer... Yvette...
...ATE THREE PEICES OF THE PURINA DOG KIBBLE OUT OF THE BOWL!
--<>--
It was like a MIRACLE!
So, I put a handful of the kibble on the table for Dad to hand down to her... and there by his feet... SHE ATE SOME MORE!
After that, the more Dad gave her... the more she ate! And she would periodically get up and go back to the bowl, to defend it again from the curious cats... eating a bit more from the bowl each time!
IT WORKED!
SHE ONLY ATE ONE SINGLE KABOB TONIGHT!.. and had her fill of the Purina kibble INSTEAD!
PRAISE THE LORD!
------------{=0=}------------
So... I think, going for the chicken flavor was a good call, and the first thing I did right today!
But I think what really nailed this was the reverse psychology of allowing Snoop & Prowly to investigate the new food!
She knew that food was meant for her, because it was right next to her water bowl. But she did not CARE about it... until the kittens... her sworn enemies!.. showed interest!
She defended the kibble!.. And she ate the kibble!.. out of SPITE!
--<>--
And now that she's given it a chance and gotten a taste for it, there's no going back! She has a 40lb bag of it now, so... if the Good 'n Funs suddenly become extremely scarce... she's GONNA eat the Purina!
She'll eat it, if for no other reason than to DENY it to the cats!
And she'll relish the sweet taste of revenge in every BITE!
--<>--
SO... given that the 40lb bag will likely last a month...
$672.00 MINUS $31.00 equals...
SIX HUNDRED FORTY TWO DOLLARS PER MONTH... I just snatched back from OBLIVION!
PRAISE THE LORD!
------------{=0=}------------
Dad and I both overdrafted at the bank over this last, dead zone, last week... and I've charged up a lot on my two, emergency credit cards before making the first payment to either of them...
Also, several bills that could not get paid last week will be overdue and there will be late fees for those...
SO... There WILL be a bit more sacrifice as we catch up on all of those penalties.
BUT... moving forward, we should FINALLY be able to make ends meet from week to week!
And if I'm approved for SNAP, or get some extra scratch as a handyman, that will all be gravy, and I shouldn't have to worry about getting a disposeable second part time job!
WHEW!
I can't tell you how relieved I am tonight!
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
With their price skyrocketing from $9.00 to $12.00 per bag... and with her consumption of them ballooning from six bags a week, up to FOURTEEN bags a week... I had done the math and discovered to my horror, that Dad was now blowing $672.00 a month on, dog food!
But that consumption had only ballooned to two bags per day, back in September... right after Dad spent a week in the hospital, and then I started working at Grape Elementary.
Now... it should be noted that, prior to September, there had been a shortage of Good 'n Funs on the shelves.
For a good six months, they had been hard to come by... especially the Kabobs that she liked the most.
So, earlier this year, Yvette was suffering through a bit of a personal crisis where she often had to settle for other styles of Good 'n Fun that she didn't like as much... or occasionally went hungry for a night, because Dad had run out.
But then Dad was gone at the hospital for several days... which is always very hard on her, because she's got severe separation anxiety.
And right when he came back, I started working... which meant that she lost her 5PM walk with me.
You see... I had been home for almost two years, and over that time I got in the habit of taking her for two walks a day, in addition to Dad walking her in the morning. So... losing that 5PM walk was rough on her.
And of course, I had the cats now too... which was just one more upset for her do deal with.
So... I think that all of this lead to the situation in September.
The kabobs were back on the shelves again, and she was dealing with a ton of anxiety, so... she just started hoovering up two bags a day! She was binging... on comfort food. And Dad was only too happy to keep buying her more!..
...not realizing that the price had gone up to $12.00 per bag!
I was too busy with the new job... and the goddamn fallen Mulberry tree, to pay any attention to this issue! I was just happy Dad was back to his normal routines again!
But you'll know that, in September, I very much anticipated that the extra money from my part time job would be enough to keep us afloat!
According to the math I'd been doing through June, July, and August, it really should have been!
When we hit that first, dead zone, in mid-October... where I had to beg my sisters for some money to help us make it through a week... I blamed it on that delay in starting the job... which delayed my first full paycheck by two weeks.
It wasn't until we hit another, dead zone, last week, that I realized something was desperately wrong... and finally figured out that Dad had blown over six hundred dollars on Good 'n Funs!
Half his Social Security check!... and EQUAL to his mortgage payment!
So, for the past few days I was very aggrieved about this problem, because both Yvette and Dad are so set in their ways!
But on Friday night I explained the math to Dad and... he was genuinely shocked... which was good! He did agree we needed to do something about the problem.
I asked him to pray to Saint Francis, to send an angel, to explain to Yvette, that she needed to switch to normal dog food! XD
And he laughingly promised that he would!
So today, being Sunday, we went out to eat, but we stopped at Pet Supplies Plus before we went to the restaurant, and I scanned the shelves for a large, bulk bag of dog food... that we could afford, and that Yvette might settle for, if forced to kick the Good 'n Fun habit.
The Kabob flavors were Chicken, Duck, and Chicken Liver. So I looked for something in that genre.
But some of those goddamn bulk bags were... seventy to a hundred ten dollars a bag! Froofy gourmet dog food... gluten free... bla bla bla... NO!.. that wouldn't do!..
But then I found a forty pound bag of Purina dog kibble... Chicken Flavor... for $31.00! Perfect!
We also got a huge stainless steel dog food bowl for $6.99.
We went to get her one final bag of Good 'n Fun Kabobs, just to help her through what was sure to be a very disagreeable transition to the Purina.
And, lo & behold!.. the price had jumped up to $14.00 PER BAG! So we only got ONE!
After we got home from the restaurant, and Dad gave her his leftover corned beef, I lugged the 40lb bag into the house and filled the new bowl... putting it next to her water dish... there by the washer and the back door.
She did not seem interested in it at all!.. only that I should be taking her for a walk, if I was gonna be hanging around down here like this!
I didn't walk her right away, but later, at 5PM, we did go for a good, cold walk, as huskies like!
Later, at 7PM, me and the cats came downstairs, and, it being laundry night, I loaded my laundry into the washer, with Snoop & Prowly orbiting near my feet... and near that new food bowl... which they investigated with curious sniffing.
Yvette was in the kitchen, by the feet of Dad, who sat at the table.
And she was eating a single Kabob, because I'd asked Dad the night before to start feeding them to her one by one, instead of dumping half a bag on the floor like he'd been doing the past month.
At any rate... once Yvette saw that Snoop & Prowly were sniffing at this new bowl of Purina dog kibble?... She got herself up, marched over, and began snarling at them with great menace, to scare them away from it!
I was hoping something like this might happen!
After scaring the cats away... with me still standing nearby, loading the washer... Yvette...
...ATE THREE PEICES OF THE PURINA DOG KIBBLE OUT OF THE BOWL!
It was like a MIRACLE!
So, I put a handful of the kibble on the table for Dad to hand down to her... and there by his feet... SHE ATE SOME MORE!
After that, the more Dad gave her... the more she ate! And she would periodically get up and go back to the bowl, to defend it again from the curious cats... eating a bit more from the bowl each time!
IT WORKED!
SHE ONLY ATE ONE SINGLE KABOB TONIGHT!.. and had her fill of the Purina kibble INSTEAD!
PRAISE THE LORD!
So... I think, going for the chicken flavor was a good call, and the first thing I did right today!
But I think what really nailed this was the reverse psychology of allowing Snoop & Prowly to investigate the new food!
She knew that food was meant for her, because it was right next to her water bowl. But she did not CARE about it... until the kittens... her sworn enemies!.. showed interest!
She defended the kibble!.. And she ate the kibble!.. out of SPITE!
And now that she's given it a chance and gotten a taste for it, there's no going back! She has a 40lb bag of it now, so... if the Good 'n Funs suddenly become extremely scarce... she's GONNA eat the Purina!
She'll eat it, if for no other reason than to DENY it to the cats!
And she'll relish the sweet taste of revenge in every BITE!
SO... given that the 40lb bag will likely last a month...
$672.00 MINUS $31.00 equals...
SIX HUNDRED FORTY TWO DOLLARS PER MONTH... I just snatched back from OBLIVION!
PRAISE THE LORD!
Dad and I both overdrafted at the bank over this last, dead zone, last week... and I've charged up a lot on my two, emergency credit cards before making the first payment to either of them...
Also, several bills that could not get paid last week will be overdue and there will be late fees for those...
SO... There WILL be a bit more sacrifice as we catch up on all of those penalties.
BUT... moving forward, we should FINALLY be able to make ends meet from week to week!
And if I'm approved for SNAP, or get some extra scratch as a handyman, that will all be gravy, and I shouldn't have to worry about getting a disposeable second part time job!
WHEW!
I can't tell you how relieved I am tonight!
°¦}
