Blog Archives

And how was your holiday?

     Yesterday would’ve been my father’s 97th birthday if he were still with us.  I love you Dad and miss you every day!

     I made us a lovely dinner of leg of lamb, pickled beets and eggs, potato salad, and one deviled egg for both of us.  The Curmudgeon was in heaven over it.  It had to be one of his absolute favorite meals.  In fact, each component is a favorite of his so he was quite over the moon.  The deviled egg I served him made him giggle.

     Gavin and Patty sure enjoyed the tidbits of lamb he provided for them. 

     I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a good day today!

MS takes its daily toll

     Most days The Curmudgeon can barely take the dogs out and feed them in the morning.  He insists that he do it.  He is at his best in the mornings and his best is most people’s worst. 

     This won’t get better.  We know it and work hard to accept it.  His walking is poor at best.  His balance sucks. 

     As the day goes on, he can do less and less.  By one or two in the afternoon he MUST take a nap.  It’s funny, the dogs have decided that they must take a nap then too.  If I don’t close their crate doors and drop the covers down, they will sit in them and whine or Gavin will stand in front of me and bark until I do.

     The Curmudgeon gets up around four and so do the pups.  I take the pups out and then they vie for who gets to sit on The Curmudgeon.    Usually Patty wins but Gavin does get there before her sometimes.

     I think they use this to see how many times they can make The Curmudgeon laugh.

     You all have a good one!

Can we have a do over on the last couple of days?

     Bad Juju, that’s what it is, very bad Juju.   Deliver me from it.  Those that have talked to me in the last couple of days know what I am talking about.  Due to my high standards of privacy, all I can say is that there’s a certain person whom I wish Karma would take a big bite out of said person’s over-sized caboose.  ‘Nuff said.

     With that off my chest I shall endeavor to lighten the mood. 

     Lately, The Curmudgeon has been cuddling Patty in the ‘hand puppet position’…while  cuddling her thusly, he’s been telling her the world’s worst jokes.

     Most are so bad I can’t help but groan or, if worse than bad, giggle like a fool at them.  Please, please, please keep me laughing my dear, dear Curmudgeon!  If it weren’t for the laughter I’d be locked away in the funny farm.

     You all have a good one.

My garden makes me happy

I need to go out into my garden.

Relax. 

I need to release all the tensions of the day. 

Chill.

I need to enjoy the colors, textures, and sounds.

You all have a good one!

What took me hours to accomplish…

     Would take a teenager mere minutes.  Yeah, I’m back to electronics and my need to have a teenager that I can tap for his/her electronic wizardness once in a while.  It’s not that I can’t do it, it just takes me longer to figure it out than it used to–with age comes wisdom and a lesser ability to crack instructions on electronic things.

     I do have a great advantage over many people of my age in that I am willing to learn how to use all the new things that come down the pike.

     Once learned, however, I may not want to keep the electronic device in my life.  Yes, let’s take cell phones as an example–I am not a person who enjoys being connected 24/7.

     I do enjoy my now (after a few hours) well loaded MP3 player though.  I have always loved having a variety of music at my finger tips.  I am doing a happy dance to my wonderful music!

     You all have a good one!

When I don’t take my camera along…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Graureiher_-_Ardea_Cinerea.jpg

     We saw a Grey Heron while on our walk yesterday.  He was gorgeous!  You might know I’d left my camera at home sitting on my desk.  He wasn’t far from where we were walking and yet he didn’t move a muscle as we continued by him.

     A little while later two cranes flew over us and followed the course of the river by air.  I desperately wished I’d brought my camera.

     Signs posted at all our city parks.   “Dogs must be leashed at all times” and “clean up after your dog” seems pretty darned specific to me.  Does It to you?

     Three more dog walkers needed signs.  One of whom I asked if he was going to clean up after his dog, we watched him watch his dog go.  He and the other two had their dogs running loose too

     Why do some people think the law applies to everyone but them?  Those people give responsible dog owners a bad name.  It’s no wonder that I don’t take my dogs to the parks to walk.

Here’s your sign…

     While walking in the Rose Gardens last week I had finally remembered to pocket a few dog cookies for the various dogs that we see there.  Funny, we only came across three dogs this time. 

     However, while talking to one dog’s owner, whose dog was not on a leash may I add, I had to bite my tongue a few times.  He asked me if I had dogs.  I said yes and then he asked why wasn’t I walking them in the park. 

     “My female isn’t good with other dogs since one attacked her.  My male has started to back up her attitude.  I dare not walk them where people let their dogs run loose.  They are not good with other dogs.”

     He replied, “Yeah, I know what you mean a couple of big dogs attacked my dog and chased him home once.”

     No, people, he did NOT get it!!!  Here’s your sign sir.

     I hope you all have a good one!

Baby steps

     No we haven’t added any kids to the house.  I mean taking baby steps to get things back to a semblance of normal around here.  If you could ever call our household normal.

      I decided to give away a bunch of glassware this weekend.  I feel the need to pare down the clutter.  I figure that once I get the clutter down, it won’t take as much effort to clean the house. I pray that this is not wishful thinking.

     I think we might even have a yard sale this summer so I can clean out the attic and basement.  Why hold on to so much we know we’ll never drag out of there to use ever again? 

     However, before I do a yard sale I need to toss out the useless junk that has also accumulated in those areas.  I don’t think my garbage men are going to be very happy with me over the months to come.

      You all have a good one!

Patty’s turn to write

     Mom said I could write today’s blog.  She was too tired to think straight. 

     Gavin thinks I should write about food, but that’s all he ever thinks about.  I want to write about all the bullies like me that someone rescues.  Mom and Dad rescued me and I think that’s important.

     We have many friends on Facebook that are rescues.  Lil Bit and Tugg are two of them.  They had a much rougher start than I did.  We Bullies are made of tough stuff and more often than not we bounce back from the worst of circumstances. Those two certainly have.

     I was lucky.  I was what Mommy calls a dump off.  Some man had imported me from Budapest Romania so he could breed Bullies.  He got a boy Bullie from Oklahoma too.  I didn’t like the boy Bullie much and the man decided I was too much trouble.  Mom ran the Lehigh Valley Bull Terrier Club rescue at the time and he brought me to her.  She says he was supposed to bring my papers and shot records and stuff but he never did come back with them.

     At first I didn’t like Gavin very much, but he was nice to me except when I stole his bones.  Mommy says she had planned to place me in a home but since Gavin’s Auntie Sadie died, he was lonely for another Bullie and she and Dad decided that maybe I should stay.

      That was almost eight years ago and I am still happy here.  I love my Mommy and Daddy and my bratty big brother Gavin.

Love this time of year

     Definitely the strangest weather ever this year.  We hit 70+ degrees yesterday, below freezing the night before, and they are predicting snow for Saturday.  We’ve also had plenty of wind.

     The magnolia tree is now stripped of most of its flowers and the leaves are started.

     Both the tulip poplar and Sweet gum are pushing out leaves now too.  Tulips are blooming, as are the bleeding hearts now.  The lilac bush is all green and starting to bud. 

     The grass is growing so fast The Curmudgeon will have a time getting it mowed.  Thank heavens for riding mowers.

     You all have a good one!

I took my camera to the park again

I keep walking

     G doesn’t go walking in the wind since her cataract surgery.   Annie and I had a great walk in a brisk 45 degree, windy day.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I was very glad to get home to hot cup of coffee.  Gone was the warm weather of last week.

     The strong winds grabbed most of the flowers from the magnolia tree and threw them on the ground.  We’re almost knee-deep in petals now.

     The chilly weather screamed for a substantial dinner.  The Curmudgeon and I enjoyed low-fat cheese ravioli smothered in a heart smart sauce.

     Gavin and Patty seemed disappointed that yesterday wasn’t as warm as the days we’ve had lately. 

     You all have a good one!