2024: Beth's Year in Review
January:
I made the decision to start from seed most of the plants that I wanted in my garden. I saved so much money that way! I also found it incredibly rewarding. I started varieties and colors of plants that are not typically found here in east Texas, and mine did well. I also had plenty to share with my gardening friends at our big group plant swap later in the year.
I tried making my own fire cider, but it didn't turn out. I'm about to try again! I did learn that the reason we have indigestion, heartburn, or acid reflux is because we don't have enough acid in our digestive system. Everytime I have one of those issues I drink a little "pickle juice" and it clears up within the hour.
I joined tiktok as @thefabfurballs & started making content. Just like with all social media, I've found it hard to post regularly.
I started obedience classes with Daisy & she really, really enjoyed learning new skills. My instructor encouraged us to do Rally, so I had to look up what that was!
Avett continued to do well with his scent work classes, and I made the decision to go to a show & see what it was like. I am very shy, and have very bad stage fright, so this was a big deal for me.
February:
Daisy took her first agility classes and enjoyed most of it. She did not enjoy the teeter though!
Other than working a lot on the bandana business, that's about all we did. I did add a ton of new bandanas to the shop, but they didn't transfer over in September. I guess they will be "new" to the website in 2025, ha!
March:
Everything began to bloom, like it always does. My irises did amazing this year, but I still have not thinned them out. Maybe soon.
I did manage to get bluebonnet photos with the dogs, but we missed going to get daffodil and tulip photos. Definitely a must do this year. I will remember to have a pocket full of treats so these dogs will pose. They don't work for free! We did get Easter Bunny photos with the dogs that Pets Fur People does every year.
The Fab Furballs got to set up at Strut Your Mutt in Longview for the 2nd year in a row. It is always a super fun morning & we did well.
Daisy began taking agility classes with a different instructor. I am fairly new to adopting rescued dogs, but the transformation Daisy made this year is amazing! I have never seen a dog go from timid to absolutely bursting with confidence. She is an incredible little dog! We are working on some tricks so that she can start earning her Trick Dog titles, too. Oh and the teeter? Not as scary now.
April:
We missed being a vendor at the Strawberry Festival in Arp. It's on our must do list for 2025!
Avett earned his AKC Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) title, his first ever! He also got registered with both AKC & UKC so he could do scent/nose work shows. Now we need to sign up for ASCA. There are so many organizations that do scent detection.
All throughout the year, we gained some new Fit Furballs boarding, pet sitting, & walking clients. I continued walking some dogs that I had started walking regularly last year. Good exercise! Plus we had dogs boarding more often that not this year, which was good for the bank account & my heart. I love having a house full of doggies!
May:
We had a fantastic group plant swap with my facebook group, Tyler Garden Lovers. I swapped so many seedlings & got some great new plants!
The very next day, Avett & I went to our first scent work trial to compete. He found the odor in interior & got 3rd place that day. Seeing him have fun & do well gave me so much joy! It also encouraged me to sign up for the next show.
I had planted a wildflower patch in part of my front yard the past November. Everything came up and started blooming in May. It was so fun to walk out there and look to see what was blooming over the next few months. My favorite flowers were the different poppies. I didn't get the patch cleaned up & reseeded in the fall of 2024, but a lot of plants reseeded over the months that they were in bloom, so we will see what happens in 2025.
We participated in Pets Fur People's annual dog wash, and Dory, Daisy, and Avett were NOT thrilled to be given baths, but it made for a cute tiktok video!
Later in May, Daisy had her first professional photo shoot & had fun powder shots done. It was a neat experience and I have great photos to remember this athletic girl that I have. I have it on my to do list to get Avett & Ginger photographed this year. Dory had her photo done at the library one year.
Unfortunately this is the month that Dory was diagnosed with congestive heart failure & put on a ton of meds.
Dory wasn't doing the greatest, and I always wanted to take her to the beach because she was my little mermaid. She loved swimming! I decided we'd better do it ASAP. So we took a little 4 day trip to Galveston. Dory absolutely loved walking through the waves with her mama! Those are precious memories I won't forget. I have video of it as well.
June:
Two weeks after we got back, Dory passed away in my arms. It was traumatic to say the least, and I was heartbroken for quite a while.
After that I just kept my garden watered & kept busy preparing my bandana business for fall.
We did have fun being a vendor at the TomatoFest in Jacksonville, even though it was Texas in June HOT!
July:
I grew my own gherkin cucumbers, and canned my own pickles! I did refrigerator pickles last year, so canning some was on the to do list for 2024. I plan on doing some more this year.
I also macerated fresh locally grown blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and imported raspberries in sugar. I ended up with sweet, naturally flavored syrups I can use in tea and lemonade. It was neat watching the fruit breakdown & become syrup. I like making my own things!
August:
We had a break from agility and scent work classes, so Daisy took a Therapet 101 class. She did great with all the new things she had to experience. After she earns her CGC, we will enroll her in the skills class. She makes new people and pet friends wherever she goes!
We enjoyed being a vendor at the City of Tyler's Pawchella! I also picked up some wholesale bandana business, which is always fun.
I tried my hand at starting fall plants from seed. I've learned that fall & winter is the time of year to grow calendula in east Texas. I started shallots, violas, pansies, calendula, dianthus, & alliums. Everything is doing really well!
September:
This was a month of BIG change. I got to where I wasn't enjoying the bandana business, and realized it was because I felt like I was working for Etsy instead of myself. So I left in my busiest time of the year--after a total of 8,671 sales since 2017. It has been a little scary, but it's been a good change. I started focusing heavily on getting my website truly functional. Being on your own is a whole new ballgame, but it's so refreshing.
Daisy started scent work classes in September, and she's super enthusiastic about it!
Avett did his first 2 day show in Fruitvale, and completed his novice interior element title! We had a lot of fun searching the school!
We also were invited to be a vendor at a dog themed book signing, which was a first for us. I met an incredible watercolor artist there, and she does pet portraits! That's another goal for 2025, to start on those of all my past little furry loves. The next day we supported Pets Fur People as a vendor and of course had a blast! It was all doggies all weekend!
October:
October meant it was time for a fall group plant swap! We had some new people join us, and they were SO excited by the end of the event. It really gives me joy to see all my old and new friends come together to share plants and wisdom. If you like gardening, look for a plant swap group in your area. Or start one of your own like I did!
We supported Petsense's Adoption event in October by being a vendor. I thought I had found a new dachshund to adopt at that event, but it didn't work out. That's ok!
We did a DNA test on Daisy, and found out she's a mix of dachshund, rat terrier, and toy fox terrier. That explains her personality a lot!
The end of the month meant Avett & I got to go to our first UKC nose work trial! He did SO well, and all we need is one more qualifying run (Q) in containers and he will have his overall UKC Novice Nosework title!!! I also dressed him up like a taco for the costume contest. He was incredibly embarrassed, and kept trying to hide in everyone else's crates during the parade. So no more costume contests for Avett! Daisy likes dressing up though!
November:
We got in as a vendor at Henderson's Heritage Syrup Festival this year! We were a couple of blocks away from all the main attractions though, so I don't know if I'll do it again next year. We will see. It was a fun event with tons of vendors!
After not getting the dachshund in October, I stopped looking for a dog to adopt. This photo of this cute little blond dachshund in the Longview shelter kept popping up though, but she was a medical case tagged for rescue, so I set it aside. Then a few weeks later she pops up in Texas Star Rescue's adoptables, but missing an eye. I messaged the rescue, and they told me that she was basically blind. She was also mine if I wanted her, since they knew she'd have a great home. Dory and Daisy both came from this same rescue. So we went and got her. Her name was Zoey then. Her name is Ginger Rose now!
Daisy participated and won first place in her first Puppy Pageant benefitting a local rescue! She wore one of Midnight's dresses, Dory's pearls, and wowed the crowd with some obedience skills. She absolutely loved all the attention! She's a trick dog for sure! After that I had the idea to take her to retirement homes in the area. She loves to love on people. That's a goal for 2025.
December:
Ginger has been with us about 7 weeks, and has gained so much confidence. She knows her way around the house, yard, up and down steps, and is familiar with parts of the neighborhood. She came to us round like a tick, but has lost weight already, and gained definition in her waist for sure. Her legs are stronger going up and down steps, and her pace is quicker on walks instead of incredibly slow like at first. She needs to work on her social skills, but that will come with experience. She friendly with boarders once she realizes they aren't going to attack her. Her limited vision may be the cause for her to be a little defensive at first. She is definitely mom's baby, and the weight of her body on my chest is so comforting. She's the red wire snuggly baby girl that I was wanting, with a permanent wink! She's perfect and her not being able to see much really doesn't hold her back. I am glad I took a chance on her, and I can't wait to see all that she accomplishes!
We did a DNA test on Ginger, and found out she's a mix of dachshund, shih tzu, and lhasa apso!
I am looking into Fit Dog titles, and seeing what it takes to earn them. We walk on the regular, so I think that would be great goal for my pack in 2025.
I threw out some radish, cilantro, and nasturtium seeds this month since it's been pretty warm. After all the rain we had the last weekend of the year, everything is popping up! Caspar, the fertilizer generating bunny, is going to be so happy about that cilantro.
Avett had his last AKC trial of the year this past weekend. He only needs one more Q in containers, exterior, and buried, and he will have his overall Novice Scent Work title, yay! He has 5 Qs in novice interior, so we are going to go for 10 for that novice elite title! Can you tell he likes searching inside where there is air conditioning & heat? Haha, that's my boy! Our biggest takeaway from that weekend, is that it was pouring down rain the whole day Saturday, but the show must go on, right? Avett put on his big boy collar and found the exterior hide in the pouring rain! He is the BEST boy!!!
I just completed another revolution around the sun this past Monday. I don't feel like the number of years old I am! I guess that's a good thing. I am definitely looking forward to the good that will come in 2025!
