Blog Archives
There’s nothing like clean, sweet smelling dogs
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Gavin has a vet appointment today so yesterday was bath day. There’s no way I was taking Mr. Stinky in without a bath first. Patty’s appointment is the second so she’s clean too. I don’t bathe them as often as I should because they don’t make it easy.
DH was taking a nap when I hauled Patty up the stairs first. She wasn’t happy about going up there because she’d seen me take the dog towels up earlier. She knew what I had on my mind. A little coaxing and a cookie tossed in the tub soothed her for a bit. Then I turned on the water. Patty froze. Actually, I’m glad she did, bathing the brindle statue was easy. A soap and rinse later she was out of the tub and covered in towels loving the rubbing. She bounded down the stairs never once thinking of anything but another cookie and some drying time in her crate.
I took a short break.
Oh, boy it was Gavin’s turn. Getting him upstairs and into the tub, no problem, he jumped in right after the cookie I tossed onto the mat. Water on.
“Oh, no you don’t, Mom.” He backed into the far corner.
The tub is six feet long, the doors, the way I had them set, block four feet, and I was straining to reach him. I got him wet, soaped, rinsed. He kept shaking and got me wet, soaped, wet, and a ring on his bath collar hit me in the knuckle breaking a vein. Out of the tub, covered in towels, he managed to shake once more, soaking the entire bathroom and me again.
I took a long break before I went back up and cleaned the bathroom.
Nope, there’s never a dull moment around here.
Posted in Dog related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Dog days don’t mean hot days around here
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Today Both Gavin and Patty were acting as though they’d regressed to their childhoods. Bully runs and wrestling matches dominated the day, all day. Insanity was the word of the day. When they weren’t busy being silly dogs they zonked out on the furniture.
Due to cooler weather and low humidity, they were feeling good. I can relate to it too because I certainly enjoyed not having the house closed up and the AC on.
Knowing the two of them tomorrow will be more of the same. At least they tire themselves out and sleep well. The cooler weather has also had an effect on their appetites. They can’t wait for us to feed them.
When we get their food ready, Gavin wags his tail and scolds while Patty prances about. DH said that in the morning they almost ran him over to get to their dishes.
Posted in Dog related
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Sudden stink sends rat terrier scurrying
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’d smelled a skunk a few hours ago. I had to close up the house the odor was so strong so the skunk had to have been nearby. After the stink dissipated, I reopened the windows and inside doors. The breeze from front to back was glorious. It’s so nice to have seasonal weather back.
It was about then when I heard my next-door neighbor come home. I hailed her from my door and we talked for a few minutes.
As she went inside, I warned her not to let her dog out without looking in the yard first but… The next thing I knew I heard the dog bark, bark, YIPE! I closed my windows and doors again.
The skunk didn’t get the little dog. She is quite fast, but from what I understand it was a narrow escape. I am surprised she had the good sense to retreat. Had it been either one of mine they wouldn’t have backed off or I’d be bathing them about now…
Posted in Dog related, Misc
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Home and Garden, Hydrogen peroxide, Life, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Odor, Pets, Rat Terrier, Rescue Dogs, Skunk, Writer, Writing
Miss Patty hides
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We crate the pups when we aren’t here to supervise during the day. They enjoy getting into things too much to leave them to their own devices. Today I thought Mr. Houdini dog taught baby sister Patty how to open her crate door. It wasn’t so. It seems that DH hadn’t latched her door properly.
DH had gone upstairs for a nap while I was outside working in the gardens. He’d crated the dogs. When I came in Gavin was snoozing in his crate but Patty was nowhere to be found. Then I heard her thunder down the stairs. She zoomed around the corner at the bottom of the steps and about jumped out of her skin to see me standing there.
She dove into her crate and hid in the back. Her guilt was so palpable I thought I’d better go see what she’d been doing upstairs. She hadn’t touched anything in the bathroom. DH had his room’s door closed. The laundry basket waiting to have clothes unloaded had the back room door blocked. That left the bedroom.
Oh yeah, she’d been in there. She had used the bed for a trampoline. Pillows were scattered, some on the floor, and the bedspread was askew.
Posted in Dog related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Recreation, Rescue Dogs, Stairway, Writer, Writing
Maybe one of these nights I’ll get some non-stop writing in
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Finding a quiet time to write isn’t easy around here. If I sit down to write when DH is taking his afternoon nap invariably both dogs decide it’s time to go out. It’d be nice if I could open the door and let them go out on their own but around here, it isn’t a wise thing to do.
Then there are phone calls and people dropping by. Therefore, I write late at night when the phone is quiet, no one drops by, and the dogs and DH are sound asleep…well, most of time they are. For quite a while, DH was having trouble sleeping and would wander down about an hour after I’d get started on whatever writing I planned to do. There’s no writing when DH wants to talk. It looks as though a new mattress has that problem solved for now.
However, Gavin has decided that he needs an extra out in the wee hours of the morning. Patty, hearing that he has gone out, wants a turn too. Out I schlep with the dogs.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Gavin and the dreaded E-collar
Posted by doggonedmysteries
You try sleeping in this thing!
I am listening to a dog whining and shaking an E-collar against the sides of his crate as I sit here writing. Yep, Gavin’s ear started to act up again. He’s not happy with me right now. I’m not happy with his ear. I thought we’d finally beaten it. We were in the process of weaning him off his prednisone. Guess we won’t do that right away.
At last, he has settled down to sleep. I hope he sleeps through the night. Tomorrow I’ll make another appointment with the vet and once again, he won’t get his shots because his ear is causing problems that will require more antibiotics. Sigh. I swear he knows when we’re going to take him for shots and he starts digging his ears so he won’t get them. He hates going to the vet. He’s the first dog we ever had that hated going there.
We did have a cat who hated it. My old Siamese played Jekyll and Hyde. She was the sweetest cat in the world until she was on that exam table. You’d swear the devil had taken possession of her as soon as the vet walked into the room.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pets, Writer, Writing
Dogs and cameras
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Did you ever sit there and think; “Now there are several minutes of my life that I won’t get back” I did tonight. I wanted to put up a new picture of Patty but she wasn’t cooperating. One of her best tricks is ‘stick ‘em up’ I wanted a shot of that. Twenty minutes later and I still didn’t have a picture.
Did you know that it is impossible to take a picture and work a dog at the same time? You also need to be quick on the button to catch the dog doing the trick. I wasn’t. Butt shots as she walked out of the picture didn’t work.
Tomorrow, I’ll ask DH to have her do the trick while I attempt to snap a good picture. I’m certain Patty will do better when she has her Daddy asking her to do her trick. She’ll do anything for him.
The next problem will be to keep Gavin from trying to hog the shutter time. He likes the camera. He never enjoyed the show ring but he certainly enjoys getting his picture taken. I can’t pick it up without having him try to get my attention. “Look at me, I’ll give my paw.”
Posted in Dog related, hobbies, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, digital photography, digital photos, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, photo ops missed, photograhy, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Days of record-breaking triple-digit temperatures
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We need rain. We haven’t had any for weeks. The heat is making my garden produce like crazy. However, it wouldn’t be doing that if I didn’t water every day.
So far, I’ve harvested nine banana peppers, five Hungarian sweets, a large patty pan squash, and one lovely cucumber that I shared with G. I’m keeping my eye on two sugar baby watermelons that are growing rapidly. I’m also hoping that two won’t be all I get from the vines.
We finally have a couple of tiny cantaloupes going and the tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes. The tomato plants in the back garden are taller than I am.
I have two very AC spoiled dogs. They only want to go out when they absolutely have to go. I can’t say that I blame them this heat has been miserable. DH, the dogs, and I have stayed indoors as much as possible. I hate this because I normally spend my summer outside as much as possible.
When they coined the saying, “the South shall rise again,” I don’t think this is what they meant. This heat can go back down south where it came from.
Posted in My blog, my garden, Weather related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Food, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
A little flag waving in honor of yesterday
Posted by doggonedmysteries
After a day loaded with food, fireworks, and military band music, it was nice to take time to remember why we celebrate the 4th of July.
The freedoms we have are precious gifts given to us by those visionaries who fought hard to achieve the birth of a great nation. What an amazing accomplishment. Do not let their dream fade in apathy.
Hang tightly to those freedoms and be proud of who we are as a nation.
This is a great country. It is my country and I’m proud of it. I am grateful to be a citizen.
Posted in Holidays
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Jewelry, Life, Love, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Necklaces, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Hot weather, painting, and a new houseguest
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The heat is back on. Darn it, the past few days were wonderful. The temperatures were perfect. We had mid to upper 70’s during the day and mid 60’s at night. With no humidity to speak of, what could be better.
The neighbor’s son came through and the painting of the shed has begun. It will be nice when it’s finished. We did have to exchange most of the spray paint for brush on and change the color of the roof. The hammered copper didn’t look nice. How disappointing. At least this will give the shed several more years of life.
The rising heat has already started up Gavin’s itching. He looks forward to his daily dose of Benadryl…of course that could be because he gets it with peanut butter.
Somehow, we’ve acquired a new houseguest of the rodent type. It probably got in one of the many times when DH left the back door opened while he had the dogs outside. Both DH and Gavin saw it run under the couch yesterday. The traps are set. I’m hoping we’ll rid ourselves of it in quick order.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, Weather related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
The old dog needs a new trick
Posted by doggonedmysteries
DH points a finger gun at the dogs. “Stick ‘em up.”
Patty’s paws shoot for the ceiling and she balances perfectly. She gets a cookie. Gavin raises one paw and gives a bit of hop with the other. That’s the best he’s going to give DH. He’s not fond of the trick since he can’t sit up and hold his balance. He gets a cookie anyway.
DH is bored. The dogs are bored. The hot weather is keeping DH in the house. TV sucks there’s nothing on worth watching during the day. DH wants to teach them a new trick.
I told DH to try teaching them to roll over because Gavin excels at lying down. He’s not getting any younger. Gavin will be nine in November. The poor dog is beginning to show his age a bit. His bully runs are not as frequent nor do they last as long. He not only takes naps but the dog goes to bed at seven in the evening.
This should be interesting. Patty is smart and quick on the uptake. Gavin figures if it isn’t give paw, down, or kennel up, it’s not worth learning but then again there is that promise of a cookie…
Posted in Dog related, hobbies, Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, dog tricks, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Surprise! A new look.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I thought it was time for a change. I hope you like it. One thing I noticed was the print is larger, which I like. However, it is lighter, which I don’t like.
I may have to play a little.
The Blogrolls are now on the bottom of the page along with everything else that isn’t a post. Not sure if I like that, but we’ll see.
This is going to take some getting used to. I hope you all like the changes. If not, let me know. I do want your opinions.
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Fish, Food, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pennwriters, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
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