tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321927412024-03-05T08:58:48.646-05:00Hot-Flashed FunkJoin me as I blog about life in the Sandwich Generation.TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.comBlogger508125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-33653177933284441502012-10-27T20:41:00.000-04:002012-10-27T20:41:05.409-04:00We've Moved!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Maybe it's the season of the year but I've decided that I've been in a "Hot-Flashed Funk" long enough. It's time to turn over a new leaf. So.....I've renamed my blog and moved it to a new website. You can find all of my past posts and read my new posts at <a href="http://www.purlingpundit.com/" target="_blank">The Purling Pundit</a> . Come on over and join me. The coffee is always on (and cake or donuts are usually on the table).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-60426652387900255662012-10-25T10:57:00.000-04:002012-10-25T10:57:20.028-04:00A Tough Lesson Learned<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been debating with myself about how to write this post. Actually, I haven't wanted to say anything but felt I couldn't leave you all just hanging, wondering what had happened. It's been a tough two weeks trying to adjust to having a new puppy in our home. I thought I could do it but it turns out that I couldn't. Auggie has a new home now.<br />
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Here are some tough lessons that I learned through this process:<br />
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1. <b>You can never expect a new dog to replace a dog that you've lost.</b> I have desperately missed Fresca the Wonder Dog who was my constant companion for almost 15 years. I thought that a new puppy would fill that gap and take up where she left off. Auggie will make his new owner a wonderful companion but he will never be Fresca. It was unrealistic to expect that and unfair to him to put that expectation on him.<br />
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2. <b>Consider your lifestyle long and hard before committing to a pet.</b> I've known this but somehow that went out the window in the excitement of the moment. I'm a sedentary person. I thrive on HOURS spent at the computer or in a recliner curled up with a book or my knitting. This is hardly the personality of a person who is a good match for an energetic little puppy.<br />
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<b>3. Be honest about your personality needs. </b>I have never been a person who has a lot of <b>patience</b>. The only time I am patient is when I'm engrossed in a clerical task. When I was raising my children, it was the Commander who would step in when I was becoming unraveled. He is a very steady person. He'd take over and give me a chance to regroup and calm down and then I'd be back in the thick of things. With a new dog or puppy, you need a lot of patience. I thought by being home all day, I'd have an easier time training a puppy. Instead I had more time to be frustrated. I also need LOTS of <b>structure/order</b> to my day. I can't handle chaos or a bunch of things happening at once. I have to assess one thing at a time, deal with it, and then go on to the next item of business. When I'm rushed or stressed, I fall apart. I don't think puppies read that manual. They are, by definition, chaos with a tail. I've been in a perpetual state of stress since Auggie came home.<br />
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<b>4. Do you have other demands for your time?</b> Do you work all day? Getting a dog is going to be tough. You'll need to make arrangements for a dog walker or someone to come over during the day. In my case, I'm called down to Texas frequently to help out with the grandchildren. I knew this beforehand but had blithely told the Commander that I'd just take the dog with me. Reality hit home when I saw Auggie in action and realized that it would be some time before I could comfortably take this little guy down to a house of toddlers. For one, he'd eat most of their toys. Two, he'd chew up their house. Three, he'd probably pee all over it. And four, he was firmly in the nipping stage and they were too young to understand being careful around sharp, little puppy teeth. With time and training, these behaviors would disappear but I don't have time. My next Texas trip is December.<br />
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<b>5. Do you have a support network? </b>I've often been envious over the years of friends who have family living near them who can "pet sit" for them when they travel. I've never had that luxury since we've been a military family living far from family. Luckily, with Fresca, I had friends with a dog who was Fresca's best friend. We ended up trading dogsitting duties with each other when we'd go on vacations. I certainly couldn't ask them to watch a puppy who wasn't housebroken and still had a puppy's destructive behavior patterns for 2-3 weeks at a stretch. <br />
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To make a long story short, I was fast reaching the point where I was exhausted and almost starting to hate this little puppy. I felt like I couldn't let my guard down more than 1-2 minutes at a time and then I'd have to rush him outdoors or rush to clean up after another mistake. I knew that I'd made a terrible mistake and I didn't want sweet little Auggie to suffer from my lack of good judgement. Luckily, I have a terrific friend. She had one of his littermates and she stepped in to take him until she could find him a good home. <br />
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Auggie now has a new mom. He has gone to live with a lady who is a widow who had also lost her dog awhile ago. This lady is experienced with puppies. Indeed, she fostered six Labrador puppies not too long ago. She understands the challenges. She also lives on acreage so he'll have room to romp and run. His new mom has a friend who is a dog trainer and has offered to be available to help if she encounters any special challenges. She has grown children nearby who love dogs and quite a few grandchildren who adore Auggie. I'm so happy for him. <br />
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I will admit that I'm still very emotional over the whole thing. I've cried many a tear over this decision but I know that it is for the best for all of us. I'm not used to failing at things and I do feel like I failed Auggie but yet, in my heart, I know I made the right decision. Hopefully by being honest about this difficult time, those of you who are considering adding a dog or puppy to your home can learn from my errors.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-26002111371225650802012-10-22T16:11:00.000-04:002012-10-22T16:11:14.084-04:00It Sure Isn't Mac and Cheese!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We drove down to Frederick, MD last weekend to have a late-birthday celebration with our daughter, Laura. She had asked if we could have lunch at an award-winning restaurant in Frederick. The chef had been named "Chef of the Year" several years ago by the Restaurant Association of Maryland and has won other awards and his menus are works of art. Well, we're pretty much plain farm-fare folks or Tex-Mex aficionados but it was her birthday, after all, so we said, "yes."<br />
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We took little Auggie down to meet his cousins, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and he was really happy to play with them. In fact, he was SO happy that he spent the first 10 minutes chasing Sadie Ann all over their yard. She finally ran up a tall flight of steps to their upper deck so we all retired into the house. We hadn't even been inside more than 2 minutes when we heard a big "thud." Sadie had ran down a half flight of steps to go to their lower level and Auggie had launched himself after her, not realizing that he didn't know how to go down steps yet. He had fallen down the flight and was at the bottom. True to his little "tough guy" persona, he shook himself and went to the top of the next flight to look down at Sadie. We retrieved him before he could repeat his performance.<br />
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Soon it was time to crate the dogs and head off to the restaurant. We had chosen a 3-course lunch. You had to pick two courses of regular food and then a dessert. I chose goat-cheese ravioli for my first course. Here is what arrived. I took one look at the plate and my first thought was "Someone spit on my food." When the waitress left us, I said to Laura, "Who slimed my food?" She laughed and told me that this was called "foam air" and it apparently is all the rage in haute cuisine. Alrighty then! Don't ask me what the rest of the stuff was. It looked like some clover leaves and some seaweed bulbs but Laura said it was fennel and I forget what the green stuff drizzled over the raviolis was. It did taste ok, though.<br />
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The Commander got something with avocado in it. This is what it looked like. That green log was avocado paste. Don't ask me what the rest was. Our son-in-law got something that looked like twigs but it had dried apple in it. I have no idea what the rest was.<br />
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Laura assured me we needed to order an order of maple bacon glazed donuts so we did. They were fine but I had to butter my bites. They were a little dry but maybe it was because we weren't seated until the 2 p.m. seating and they'd been out for awhile. <br />
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For the main course, I had a lobster omelet with hen's eggs. I was a little leery of ordering this when the emphasis seemed to be on HEN EGG. I wondered what was the catch. Maybe this was code for some weird type of egg but my son-in-law assured me that the eggs were from regular chickens. OK, it sounded safe enough. It came with stuff drizzled over it and was bland but I was afraid to ask for salt and pepper. I didn't want to insult the chef seeing as how there were no condiments on the table. I guess they figured his food should be expertly seasoned. Well, maybe for an expert palate.<br />
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None of the dessert choices looked particularly appealing but Laura said to go for the one that had the words "chocolate" and "Marshmallow" in it. I did. this is what they brought out. Words failed me. That tan smear on the side of the bowl was the marshmallow. The brownish stuff was very chocolately ice cream that had been freeze-dried (flash-dried?). Then there was some lacy chocolate thing stuck in a dollop of some unidentifiable ice cream. It wasn't DQ!<br />
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The Commander opted for a cheese sampler plate for dessert. I kept smelling stinky cheese as I chipped away at my chocolate ice cream. The fusion of smell and taste was NOT very compatible. When he was finished with it, I told him, "You're not kissing me with THAT cheese breath."<br />
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They brought us individually-wrapped mini loaves of coffee-cake bread with the bill. Let's just say that I could have bought a Coach handbag for what this meal cost us. After we returned back to PA, the Commander said to me, "I don't think I've ever spent that much on a meal." It was an experience I don't think we'll ever repeat. I, for one, would have enjoyed a $1 box of Kraft mac and cheese much more but it wouldn't have been much to blog about, eh?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-50011833231895533732012-10-18T16:53:00.000-04:002012-10-18T16:53:50.789-04:00New Pups and Feelings of Disloyalty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I wonder if other folks who get a new puppy after a beloved dog passes away go through a period where they feel rather disloyal to their deceased dog? Our Fresca the Wonder Dog passed away in the Spring and Auggie joined our home this pass week. Call me crazy but I've been on an emotional roller coaster for several days as different little things that Auggie does remind me of Fresca and then I'm hit with waves of sadness as I think of how much I miss my "girl." <br />
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Perhaps I should chalk it up to "new puppy mom hormones." Or maybe it's just all part of the grieving process that pet owners go through who chose to add another animal to their home. Here's an example.<br />
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One of Fresca's favorite toys was this stuffed cow that "moo's." It is the only thing of hers that I kept after she passed away.<br />
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Auggie loves this toy. He bounces around the living room with it, attacking its ears and horns and happily chomping on its belly.<br />
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Auggie has VERY sharp puppy teeth. I suspect Fresca's cow won't last long if Auggie continues at the pace he has been going with this toy.<br />
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So I have a confession to make. I can't bear the thought of that toy being ripped to shreds. It's my last physical link to Fresca. I swiped it from Auggie when he was distracted with another toy and I'm going to put it up where he can't get it. I still need to be able to give the cow a quick hug on the days when I'm particularly missing my Wonder Dog.<br />
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It's been a day of "firsts" for Auggie. He had his first nail trim and did pretty darn well. He got his first dog license. Although, when the clerk asked me if I'd ever registered another dog with the township, I found myself telling her about Fresca and how she had passed away and I almost found myself crying at the counter. Sheesh.....get a grip!<br />
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Auggie also had his first "play date" with his sister, Kinzie and Kinzie's big sister, Sadie. Wow, Kinzie is no longer acting like a little princess. She was getting the best of Auggie for the first half of their play date and then the tides turned. Suddenly Auggie had her number figured out and was a lot more successful in pinning her down and knocking her over.<br />
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I'll leave you with this picture of Auggie and I sleeping last night after our show finished up on TV. The sneaky Commander snapped it while we slept. We seem to have similar expressions. Oy!<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-31963397114813826012012-10-15T20:02:00.000-04:002012-10-15T20:03:04.932-04:00Not Quite on the Same Page Yet!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day Three with Auggie our Westie and we're still trying to learn each other's rhythms. So far we've discovered that the little guy likes to watch TV. He's quite enthralled with what goes on on the big screen and will settle down on your lap for a good long stretch.<br />
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We've learned that keeping him in the big crate on one floor while we sleep on the other floor at night isn't working because he didn't make a fuss to let us know that he needed to go out. Instead he wet in his crate while letting me sleep through the night until 5. I'm a light sleeper and was awake off and on all that first night expecting him to bark or whine when he needed to go out but I didn't hear a peep out of him. We had the crate divider in, too, so he would have a small space. The prevailing theory is that a dog won't soil their sleeping space/den. Uh-huh. We now have him in the small portable kennel and are putting him next to my side of the bed and I'm setting my alarm for the wee hours of the morning to get up and take him out. It worked last night. He kept things dry and he stirred and woke me up again at 5 a.m. to let him out again.<br />
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I've read so many books on how to potty train/crate train/stop biting and nipping/etc. that I'm going cross-eyed. Apparently Auggie hasn't read those same books. I mean, the prevailing wisdom is that a puppy will need to relieve itself 15 minutes or so after eating. Auggie interrupts his meal to walk into the middle of the kitchen and let loose. And how the heck do you distinguish the difference between sniffing for a spot to "go" and just exploring the scents of new surroundings? Our little guy doesn't do the circling thing that my other dogs would do when they were ready to go. He just lets loose. Consequently, I'm spending LOTS of time running out with him to the dog yard.<br />
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Speaking of our dog yard........Auggie likes to eat rocks. He also likes to stick his nose down and tunnel through the mulch. He likes to dig in the mulch too and it doesn't take long before he is down to the landscape mat covering. Oy! He has also discovered our heat pump and all the wires and hoses leading out from it and is determined to chew on those. No matter how I redirect him, he goes right back to it. So I'm now having to take him out on a leash and stand out there holding the leash so he can't bother the pump and cords. As for standing out there, one book said to just stand there and not interact with your dog until he goes. That's hard to do when said dog is tugging on your pant legs or chewing on your shoes or biting your socks (and thus, your legs). I read in another book that you could try spraying mouthwash spray slightly ahead of his muzzle when he tugs on your pants and this should cure him. The Commander was out shopping tonight so I asked him to bring some back. He couldn't find any. I had to laugh when he asked if I thought the air freshener spray up in the bathroom would work just as well. <br />
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This is my first time trying crate training/potty training. Before we always set up a wired enclosure in our kitchen lined with newspapers and then would take the puppy out from that. This crate stuff is hard to figure out. It sounds like they are to be out only when you are watching them every second or if they just went potty outside. Then you can reward them with some play time. You have to potty them after a nap, after eating, after playing, and if a certain length of time has gone by. If they go, you can reward them with some play time. But wait, doesn't that mean then that you have to take them out again? Oy, maybe I should build a temporary little hut in the dog yard for myself. I'm out there enough, eh?<br />
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I just ordered one of those leashes that snap around your waist so you can tether the dog to you as you go about your daily activities. This way, he can't bounce off (and he moves fast) and get under furniture. He thinks he's made up a new game called "Hide and Go Seek and Make Mommy's Knees Creak." <br />
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Auggie does seem to have some tendencies that I think we could make work for us. The other day he grabbed a rubber broom and headed out of the kitchen with it. Now this is a tiny puppy and it was a big broom but he managed to grab it and drag it through the doorway and down into the living room. When we grabbed it from him, he streaked back into the kitchen and came bouncing out with the dustpan.<br />
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Butter my biscuits, if he didn't go around the room trying to scoop up his toys with the dustpan. Now if we could take those cleaning tendencies and develop them, maybe we could get him to wield a dust rag, too.<br />
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Guess where the broom and dustpan are now being temporarily stored? His nice, new dog bed is sitting on one of our living room chairs because he tried to rip it to shreds. Our living room curtains are draped over the Florida shutters since he also tried to eat those. Maybe he's part shark. Well, gotta go and finish reading some more of those training books. Baby's napping!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-62939934713656325912012-10-14T09:33:00.000-04:002012-10-14T09:33:46.112-04:00Meet Auggie MacDuff!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Meet the newest member of our family - our little 9-week old West Highland White Terrier, Auggie MacDuff! We headed up to midstate PA yesterday on a gorgeous, crisp day with my friend, Judy and two of her grandchildren and Judy's dog, Sadie, to pick up our puppies. Judy was getting a littermate of Auggie's - a little girl Westie.<br />
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The Commander had picked out Auggie from the litter when he was 5 weeks old when I was in Texas so I had never met him. I was a tad nervous wondering how I'd feel about the little guy. Well it was love at first sight. Here is a picture of our first moments together. I think the feelings were mutual.<br />
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Judy and her little Kinzie got along well, too. Kinzie was so funny to watch compared to Auggie. Auggie is all boy and Kinzie was such a little princess.<br />
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The two puppies shadowed Sadie all over the room, pouncing on her and pestering her. Of course, she retaliated by "sliming" them - licking them all over.<br />
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This is Sadie and her new little sister, Kinzie. I think they're going to have LOTS of fun together, don't you?<br />
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Judy and her granddaughter tried to help me get a shot of the puppies where they aren't a blur of motion. Kinzie is saying, "Be sure you photograph my best side." Auggie is saying, "Ma, Ma......what's she doing? Let me down. I've got places to go." His little feet were a blur of motion.<br />
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Towards the end of our time at the breeder's, little Kinzie conked out. You'd think that Auggie would have been tuckered out, too, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong.<br />
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He had swiped Judy's camera case and was making off with it before she realized what had happened and was able to retrieve it from his little jaws.<br />
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We got some last minute instruction from our breeder along with some paperwork before it was time to make the 4-hour drive back home. At this point, Auggie settled right down to sleep contentedly in my lap. I told the gang that Auggie's philosophy must be "party hardy and then collapse and sleep."<br />
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We are now beginning the slippery negotiating of crate/potty training. It's amazing how much I've forgotten and it's also amazing how different each dog is when it comes to the "signs" they give when they have to "go." I'm confident that Auggie and I will both figure it out. In the meantime, I foresee a LOT of fresh air in my future.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-72851962060513129232012-10-11T17:03:00.001-04:002012-10-11T17:03:32.455-04:00Fall and Leafy Sweaters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been knitting up a storm these past few weeks knowing that I might not have the luxury of spending undivided attention on what's on my needles the next few weeks with a new puppy in the house. I'm rather hoping that he will want to snuggle on my lap but NOT want to attack my yarn but I'll let you know if my hope and the reality happen to coincide.<br />
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Anyway, with the leaves turning colors here in Pennsylvania, what better project to finish then a nice comfy garter-stitch sweater? If you aren't a knitter, I'll give you fair warning. Most of the rest of this post is going to be about knitting. You have my permission to wander off, make yourself a nice cup of coffee and cuddle with your furry friend(s) or your honey. As I was saying, this particular pattern is called <b><i>Lily</i></b> and it is from the book <u style="font-weight: bold;">Essentially Feminine Knits.</u> It features easy-peasy garter-stitch knitting until you get up to the yoke of the garment and then a very easy lace pattern.<br />
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The lace chart is just 38 rows and it results in a lovely border of leaves going around the sweater. What could be more perfect for Fall? And my goodness, is this sweater ever comfortable. I can already tell that it is going to be one of my "go-to" sweaters this fall and winter.<br />
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The knitting is quite easy. I only had one hiccup. I'm not terribly sure how it happened but, when you get to a certain spot on each of the garment pieces, you have to bind off a certain number of stitches on the right side and then put the remaining stitches on a holder. I did that for each piece. However, when you are ready to do the yoke, you put all the pieces together again on to one circular needle and start knitting the yoke. After a few rows, I realized that I had one spot where my garter-stitch wasn't right. It looked like I had a row of stockinette on just one section. Of course, it would be right in the front. AARGH! I ripped out a row and tried to undo and redo the offending stitches to make them be purls instead of stockinette but the end result was a raised area in the front and a small 2-row section of stockinette in the back. Hey, at least the stockinette was no longer visible on the front. I could live with the raised area. I call things like that "design elements." <br />
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Here is what I think happened. I think I bound off the number of stitches required in that section and then FINISHED KNITTING THE ROW before putting those stitches on a holder. For the rest of the sections, I must have bound off the stitches and stopped at that point and put the rest of the stitches (not yet knitted) on a holder. That is the only way it could have come out differently. So be warned if you are making this pattern. STOP after you have bound off the stitches and put the rest of the stitches on a holder.<br />
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There was one other thing that had me a bit confused. When the time came to put all of the pieces onto the one needle, I wasn't quite sure how those bound off parts were supposed to line up. There are some pictures shown but I guess I needed a "blow-out" section showing all of the pieces lined up for assembly. I took a gamble and lay it all out with bound stitches to bound stitches when laying it out flat and then took my circular needle and picked up all the stitches that were on the holders as I came to them. I STILL couldn't quite visualize how it was all going to be seamed but lo and behold, once it was finished, I just seamed up the side seams and then I seamed the sleeve seams and that left me with one obvious small seam under each arm that I seamed and everything was good. Yay!<br />
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This particular sweater was knit out of Cascade 220 yarn, a wonderful workhorse of a yarn in my all-time favorite color, which I call "Spring green."<br />
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On the dog front, my fellow "expectant puppy mom" mentioned that she had purchased a pink Bobo for her puppy. I'd heard of these Bobo toys and most of the comments about them were that dogs found them irresistible. So when I went over to the pet store today to pick up something, I decided to swing over to the toy aisle and check them out. There were quite a few in many styles. <br />
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I was looking at this one and trying to find the squeaker to check out the sound. I finally located it and boy, did it have a great squeak. Just then I heard whining. I turned around and here was a lady and her dog. The dog was going nuts. He was doing everything but crawling on his belly over to me. He was whining and looking at me with a big grin and finally he sat on his haunches and gave me a look that said, "Please, oh, please....could you toss it this way?"<br />
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"Well," I told his owner. "If THAT isn't a ringing endorsement by a doggy customer, I don't know what is. This Bobo is definitely going home with me."<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-84474300049144339922012-10-10T10:16:00.000-04:002012-10-10T10:16:44.793-04:00Waiting on a Westie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In three days, the Commander, myself, and my friend, Judy (along with her dog, Sadie) will be heading up to midstate Pennsylvania to pick up our Westie puppies. I'll be bringing home our little male puppy and Judy will be bringing home a new little sister for Sadie.<br />
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The time has gotten close enough that I'm now setting out things for our little guy. I've got a little bed set out by the fireplace with a few toys by it. I must confess that I felt rather guilty setting that bed down in the very same spot where my beloved Fresca's bed had always sat.<br />
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I've placed his main crate beside my computer. I figure since that's where I spend the majority of my time each day, writing and researching, that my little guy can crawl in there to nap and, since the side panel curtain also folds up, he can see me at all times. I can also shut the computer room door while in there and keep a close eye on him when he's outside the crate.<br />
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His dog dishes are in place beside our refrigerator in the same spot where Fresca's dishes used to stand. I have to keep reminding myself that Fresca understands and approves, looking down from doggy heaven. After all, it is a great tribute to Fresca the Wonder Dog that her love and companionship was so special to me that it has made me want to have that again with another dog.<br />
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The leashes are in place beside the front door, waiting for those walks that our new little one and I will be taking.<br />
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Today I'll be heading off to the pet store to pick up puppy food and any last-minute supplies that I don't have on hand. I'll also be picking up some fleece material from the fabric store and will be sure to handle it quite a bit between now and Saturday so that it will have my scent on it. That way it should prove comforting to our pup when I place it in his little bed in the crate at night. (I'll let you know how THAT goes.)<br />
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I'll leave you today with a glimpse of my latest desktop wallpaper - a picture of little Spud shopping for pumpkins. I figure it's the perfect wallpaper for this Fall weather.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-56039827722593863032012-10-08T11:56:00.000-04:002012-10-08T11:56:43.204-04:00On the Final Leg of the Implant Train<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Way back in February of this year I began the procedure to have a dental implant. If you haven't been following this saga on my blog, I'll recap for you. I had a tooth that had become infected up in the roots and it had reached the point where my jaw was swelling from the abscess and my dentist decided there was no other recourse but to pull the tooth. That left us with the decision of how to replace it. Because my mouth is so tiny and because I already have had eight teeth pulled over the years (wisdom teeth & those pulled to make room for straightening during braces), we decided getting a dental implant would be the best way to go.<br />
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I had no idea that the whole thing would be stretched out over so many months. The first surgery was to remove the tooth. Then my jaw had to heal for 3 months. Then I went in for Surgery #2 which was when they implanted a post into my jaw. That required another 3 months of healing. <br />
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We are FINALLY at the point where my regular dentist is ready to step in and prepare the replacement abutment and crown to go over the post. Today was my appointment to have him take impressions of my mouth and then he'll go to work making the custom abutment and the crown which will look like my natural tooth. The whole contraption will just screw onto the post. Pretty nifty, eh?<br />
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I must say that taking impressions has improved a whole lot since the last time I had it done (when I was getting braces in high school). Back then, they used a cement-like material in a metal container that you had to bite down into and then eventually you had it pried off of your teeth. This time around, they were still using metal containers but the material that they put into the container that you bit into was more of a rubbery substance. It reminded me of those rubber-like masks that the villain peels off his or her face to reveal that he is someone else entirely, not that I've ever done that, mind you.<br />
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The BEST thing about my appointment today was that the mystery of my dirty brown stains on my teeth was solved. I was apologizing to my dentist for how dirty my teeth looked. You can't see the stains much in this picture but on the tops of my molars and on the backs of my teeth, it looks fairly brown. I've NEVER had stained teeth. My hygienists over the years have always complemented me on how clean my teeth are. That's why I was absolutely mortified several months ago when I happened to peer into the mirror and notice that my teeth looked all stained with a dirty brown stain.<br />
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I told my dentist that I had gone up on the Web and looked at pictures of stained teeth and the closest to my own teeth seemed to be those of people who had been chewing tobacco for years. Yikes! What in the heck had caused that? <br />
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My dentist laughed. "It wasn't anything you did," he assured me. "Those stains are a side effect of the mouth rinse that the dental surgeon had you use after your surgeries. It does a very good job of preventing infections but it also kills all of the bacteria in your mouth and causes that type of staining. Don't worry. It will come right off with a good cleaning."<br />
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"Oh, my goodness,!" I told the dentist, "I've been mortified. I've been using whitening toothpaste and special whitening mouthwash ever since I noticed the stains. They've improved somewhat but they're still there. I even cut way back on drinking colas and coffee, thinking maybe that was doing it."<br />
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"No, no," he chuckled. "It was nothing you were doing. It was just a side effect of that rinse."<br />
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"Gosh," I sighed. "I was dreading coming in here and having you see my teeth in this state because I was afraid you'd think I wasn't brushing. And I hated the thought of what my hygienist would say. I figured she'd demote me from an 'A'-patient to a 'F'-flunkee."<br />
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"Don't you worry about that," he said. "Your teeth will be back to their normal sparkling condition at your next cleaning session. And just so you don't get all worked up about your next appointment, it isn't going to involve any shots. We'll just be screwing on the new tooth."<br />
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You've got to love a dentist that knows you so well that he can head off your fears before they even have a chance to manifest themselves. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-68053500469742128322012-10-06T12:31:00.000-04:002012-10-10T10:17:25.825-04:00A Dog Yard Remodel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our new puppy is going to be joining our household one week from today. I'm pretty excited while, at the same time, realizing that our mornings of sleeping in on the weekends and lazing about in the evenings are going to be over for awhile. Life will be assuming the tempo of "new parents." <br />
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One of the last things to deal with was our fenced-in dog yard. It opens up from our sunporch and is just a small portion of our total yard. We have always used it to let Fresca, the Wonder Dog go out and in to do her business. She was never left out there any longer than it took her to "sniff and go" but still, the dog yard was in terrible shape. There were bare patches where we just couldn't get grass to grow and these areas always turned into a muddy mess any time it rained. I didn't want to bring our new puppy into this mess.<br />
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I did a lot of research looking at pictures on the Web and reading the few books dealing with "pet landscaping." I finally came up with a plan of what I wanted. I basically wanted a Zen-garden look. With every marriage there are always compromises, so the Commander and I put our heads together and then consulted with our landscaper and this is what we ended up with. We decided on a combination of mulched areas and pathways of crushed stone.<br />
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The crew showed up the first day and laid the framework for the stone paths. They also covered the entire area with heavy-duty landscaping fabric and put the mulch down in the areas where we wanted mulch to go.<br />
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The next day they brought in the rock and put that in the pathways. After hauling lots of wheelbarrel-fulls of rock, they tamped it all down and watered it thoroughly. <br />
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One feature that our landscaper had suggested was to break up the path area with a small structural piece in the middle. We remembered that we had a birdbath that had been languishing in our garage for several years and told him about it. "Perfect," he said. I have to agree. I really like that feature and so do the birds.<br />
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The Commander wanted room to put our big gas grill so that it wouldn't have to be kept in the garage and pulled out into the driveway every time we grill. He got his wish. Now he can keep it in the back corner of the dog yard, I think. We'll see how it works.<br />
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Here's the view from the far corner of the dog yard looking toward the sunporch. It was late afternoon so I'm sorry about the shadows in the pictures.<br />
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So the plan is to encourage the new puppy to use the mulched area to the right of the steps when he goes outside. We're quite pleased with how it turned out, although we both agree that we wish we had installed more rock, instead of so much mulch. (Hmmph.....that WAS my original vision.) But we can always have the landscaper enlarge the paths next year, after we've had some time to watch how the dog utilizes the space.<br />
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One thing is for sure, though. It looks 100% better than it did several days ago. Now we just need to add our little guy to the picture.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-51054231032688735972012-10-04T10:03:00.000-04:002012-10-10T10:17:08.435-04:00Of Piddles, Puppies, and Poo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In ten days, the Commander and I will be picking up this little guy and he'll be joining our family. I can't wait. However, I'm not going into this with oblivious optimism either. I KNOW what is ahead. We're making a big-time commitment to our puppy to train him and help him be a responsible member of canine society, not to mention a beloved member of our family.<br />
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After fifteen years, I'm going to be potty-training a puppy once more. It's like childbirth. You kind of selectively forget those days. The big difference this time is that I'm going to be home and not working. I hope that makes it easier on all of us. I've also been reading lots of books on potty-training a dog. Hey, I'm a reader. What can I say? I've already picked out some good ideas and noticed some things that we did wrong with our Fresca the Wonder Dog. She ended up potty trained quite well (even rang bells to go outside SO successfully that I eventually had to take the darn bells and hide them) but I see where I could have made it easier on both of us. <br />
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We're also having the dog yard portion of our yard re-landscaped. It has always been a disaster. We could never get grass to grow there with any degree of success because it is in a totally shaded area. Even after Fresca passed away, grass still wouldn't grow. When it rained, it would turn into a muddy mess. Fresca shed dirt with no problem but she would track mud into the house so I was always having to wipe her paws whenever she'd go in and out to do her business. This little Westie will probably have the tendency to be a digger. It's a characteristic of the breed. I'm not going to give him a muddy playground. That's a recipe for disaster.<br />
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Consequently, we are having ALL of the grass removed. The landscapers have arrived today and are in the process of transforming the dog yard into a vision I've had all along......more of a zen garden type of place. There will be sections of mulch and crushed rock paths with a spot in the center for a bird bath. The dog will be able to go potty on the rock paths or on the mulch. I don't really care. We can replenish the mulch each year and hose off the rock and keep things cleaned easier than sloughing through muddy patches looking for poo. That's the theory, anyway. Only time will tell if I'm correct. <br />
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I'll keep you posted on how the dog yard turns out. Until then, I'm off to read about "dog socialization." Happy Yapping!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-12670793183464252562012-09-29T20:35:00.000-04:002012-09-29T20:35:00.746-04:00She's a Grand Old Dame!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mom turns 99-years-old tomorrow so we had a little Open House for her today at the nursing home. She was all dressed and ready to be wheeled down to the lounge when we got there and even had a tiara on. We had a lot of fun with that. At one point, some of the nurses that came in agreed with us that she should be declared the "Queen Mum" of the nursing home. Mom gave us all an imperial wave and some of the ladies there even curtsied.<br />
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My brother flew in from Michigan for the weekend so we've been over to the home several days already. Yesterday we read some more of the farm girl story that I've been reading to her. It was all about ironing before they had steam irons (you had to sprinkle your clothes with water and then roll them up to await ironing) and washing with the old wringer washers. We ALL remembered those times and chuckled over the memories.<br />
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John tried to get a picture of the two of them with his cellphone and Mom gave us all a regal smile. Unfortunately she couldn't see the pictures because of her eyesight but we will enjoy them as documentation of a memorable time.<br />
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Besides the nurses and staff that dropped in to say "hi" to Mom and have some food and cake, good friends Linda and Vince Joslin stopped in for a visit as well. Their little dog Schatze is a favorite of Mom's and she always enjoys a visit from them.<br />
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Then granddaughter Laura and husband Jason arrived up from Maryland to add to the fun. Mom was certainly glad to see them as well. I think my brother was delighted to have the chance to visit with Jason because both of them are hunters and gun enthusiasts and enjoy talking "shop" when they get together.<br />
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While the men discussed archery bows and hunting blinds, Laura brightened her grandmother's day, helping her to open presents and even sing some songs.<br />
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You can't hear Mom singing very well in this little clip but listen to the end when she rallies for a "BIG" finale. She still loves to sing.<br />
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Finally, while Mom was dozing off, we enjoyed looking at the lovely fish in the freshwater tank. They had some very unusual fish, including a freshwater mantis. Vince knew the names of many of them so we had fun trying to spot them and identify them all.<br />
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Then it was time to take Mom back to her room for a nap and head back to our house. We got quite a good laugh when we saw Jason and Laura's new truck parked next to the Commander's Ford Escape. My, my....I always thought the Escape was a big car but next to the truck, it looked like a puny "little brother." <br />
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Happy birthday, Mom! One more year and you'll make it on the Smuckers jelly jar on the Today Show. Hip Hip Hooray for a grand old dame!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-64655725723354828732012-09-24T17:28:00.000-04:002012-09-24T17:28:04.097-04:00Imagination is a Wonderful Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's our last day with the little ones before heading home. Hard to believe in some ways that it has been three weeks. In other ways, I'm very aware that it has been three weeks. Ha! Little Sweet Pea popped into our bedroom this morning and we watched a "Thomas the Train Engine" video on my Kindle Fire together courtesy of Netflix. Ah, technology...it's a wonderful thing.<br />
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I guess watching the Thomas video inspired her to pull out her various train engines and set up her OWN "Isle of Sodor." Mommy helped by finding a play rug with tracks and villages and other landmarks. <br />
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The trains were busily moving from one end of the play-mat to the other as our little engineer talked to herself happily. I caught strains of "chugga chugga" and "clickety-clack" and she was very happily directing all of the different engines until.....<br />
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Godzilla, in the form of little Spud, tramped right through the middle of the island, scattering engines and waving a school bus ominously in his hand.<br />
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That didn't go over real well with big sister so we stepped in to negotiate a detente which held for just a few minutes before it was time to remove and distract Spud.<br />
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First he got distracted by his daddy and PawPaw in discussion in the office. He had his little face plastered up against the glass and would occasionally bang on the panes, hoping to be let into the inner sanctum.<br />
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Then he got distracted by lunch, which contrary to this picture, was NOT his toes but he had fun pretending to eat his feet anyway.<br />
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Spud was in a much better mood after filling up on lunch and then he was ready for a new adventure which was soon taking shape.<br />
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Mommy pulled out some brown paper and some painter's tape and taped the paper on the floor. Then out came the crayons and Sweet Pea and Mommy started drawing houses, dog houses, roads, tracks, and all sorts of extra places for the trains to visit. What a lot of fun to have a customized play map for the cars and trains!<br />
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And now we're getting ready for supper. Jason is out grilling salmon, Laura is fixing vegetables with two suddenly cranky kids (I used to call this the "witching hour" with MY kids - when the children would reach a very ornery meltdown point). Time to sign off and make myself useful.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-55920148701848371752012-09-22T22:02:00.000-04:002012-09-22T22:02:48.675-04:00Daddy and Mommy are Home!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today was a day for celebration. Last night, after the children had gone to bed and fallen asleep, Mommy returned from a LONG week of working in the ICU at the hospital. That's why the Commander and I knew that we could sleep in this morning because Mommy would be waiting to greet the children when they woke up. Indeed she was! I woke up to the babbling of little Spud who was "talking" a mile a minute out in the kitchen to his mom. Soon Sweet Pea woke up and joined the delighted reunion.<br />
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When I walked out into the kitchen, little Spud took one look at me, started wailing and skedaddled over to his mommy and grabbed her legs in a grip that said, "Oh, no, you don't. You're not leaving me so soon." I think he thought it was his mom's cue to head off to work and for me to take over as a poor substitute. Not to worry, little guy!<br />
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Then it was time for Laura and the children to head off to the airport to pick up our son, returning from his two weeks away in Canada. I don't think the kids knew quite what to do. They were just so happy to see both of their parents home.<br />
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Little Spud stuck to his daddy like glue, even giving him a hair massage and kisses. Sweet Pea wandered in and out of the tableau but she was moving so quickly that I couldn't capture her on film.<br />
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Of course, "Daddy" was eating up all the attention and SO happy to be reunited with his family again. We were happy for all of them. I can still remember the times our own kids and I stood on the pier waiting for the Commander's ship to pull into port after a long cruise and the excitement of everyone as we would finally spot our loved ones on deck.<br />
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Later in the afternoon we all went to Olive Garden to celebrate. Little Sweet Pea was happy as a clam with the breadsticks and her own set of crayons.<br />
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Spud was just happy to have Mommy and Daddy close by. Of course, he wasn't turning his nose up at the breadsticks either.<br />
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We'll be heading off in a few more days back to our own home (and Fall weather). Then I have to start working quickly on plans for a little celebration for my mom's 99th birthday. Won't be long after that when our new puppy will be arriving at our home. Guess this babysitting has been to prepare me for the days ahead with another little baby, even though he'll be a canine baby. For now though, I'm going to head to bed happy in the knowledge that our Texas family is back safe and sound under one roof.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-88041654582033108172012-09-20T12:33:00.000-04:002012-09-22T22:03:08.653-04:00Look Out Preschool! It's the "C" Team!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was our turn today to take the little ones to their preschool for Mother's Day Out. I've only gone the one other time with their maternal grandpa. But never fear. I had their lunches packed, clothes in their bags, and figured we were prepared. Their maternal grandma ("Nammy") dropped little Spud off on her way to work. They've been keeping the little guy at night this week until the weekend when their mommy is off from her residency duties and their daddy returns from Canada. (Let the rejoicing commence) We've had Sweet Pea with us.<br />
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Last night I was brave and gave Sweet Pea a bath. It has been just about 23 years since I last bathed a child so I was not too sure I was up for the task but things went pretty well. Although I've discovered that it is a darn side harder to get a newly-bathed child into pajamas than it is to get a dry kiddo into a pair of pjs. Man, I thought I'd NEVER get her arms into those sleeves and out the ends. I liberally sprayed her wet hair with the stuff that is supposed to slick it down to make the combing "tangle-free." It worked. Hooray! Then I introduced Sweet Pea to my blow dryer. I didn't want to put her to bed with wet hair. My mother taught me that this is a sure way to give a child pneumonia. At least it is in Minnesota.<br />
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Back to today! We got both children fed and left them to their own devices for a few minutes while I finished getting their bags ready. The normal squabbling was going on in the background but no one seemed to be in imminent danger so as the time to depart drew closer, I decided we'd better do one more diaper check. I had the Commander change Spud. <br />
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"I hope I remember how to do this," he said. <br />
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"You'll learn," I retorted, and continued getting the little guy's bottle ready.<br />
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Then I took over with Sweet Pea. Of course, she had a major stinkeroo waiting for me. <br />
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"I want my soft pillow," she wailed, as I hefted her on to the changing table.<br />
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"Sorry, you've got the hard one," I countered.<br />
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"I want all of my kitties," she whimpered.<br />
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"Have a dog," I said, trying not to breathe in the smell.<br />
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The diaper was swiftly changed and off we traipsed to the van to load up and head to the church school. Sweet Pea was still not too sure about the fact that her kitties had been left at the house. "Here, have Perdita," I said and gave her one of the plastic dalmatians. Spud was keeping himself occupied with undoing the Velcro straps on his shoes in the meantime.<br />
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We arrived at the school without further incident and walked down the hallway to the kiosk where you check the children in electronically. I had "kind-of" watched their grandpa do this the other day but hadn't paid very close attention. I handed the special card to the Commander and he took over. He's very good with figuring out stuff like that. <br />
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While we were studying the screen, another parent was getting impatient. "Push this button," he said.<br />
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"Sorry," I laughed. "We're the 'C' team today. We're still learning the ropes."<br />
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Their check-in sheets printed out but I was concerned that no corresponding labels printed to stick on the backs of their shirts. <br />
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"That was only for the first couple of weeks," explained the parent.<br />
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Now it was time to deposit Sweet Pea in her classroom. I found her door, alerted her teacher and turned around to usher in our girl and was greeted by the most woebegone look that I've seen in a long time. Oh, my....I can see that this child has inherited my dramatic abilities. With trembling lip, she slipped into the room.<br />
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It was Spud's turn. This could be a challenge. He was not a happy boy last school day but today he was calm and collected right up to the classroom door and then.........he lost it. Luckily his teacher took over and whisked him into class while I deposited his bag in the proper bin and his bottle into the refrigerator.<br />
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The Commander and I climbed back into the van. "Do you want to stop anywhere?" he asked me.<br />
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It was too early for Dairy Queen to be open so I opted to just go back home and enjoy the luxury of a shower. "C" team, signing out.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-58729260455957613492012-09-18T14:17:00.000-04:002012-09-22T22:03:23.150-04:00The Cavalry Has Arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The beginning of the new week, the beginning of our daughter-in-law's taxing rotation schedule, and PawPaw has arrived! Boy, am I happy about that. With this cold that I've been battling for about a week now, I'm so wiped out that I can barely see straight, let alone keep up with two very active toddlers. It was so nice to be able to collapse on one end of the couch and just listen to him reading to the little ones.<br />
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Spud was particularly delighted with pointing out the "dog" in the book to his PawPaw. If you've never seen the children's book, "Good Boy, Fergus!" by David Shannon, I'd highly recommend it. It's a very cute story of a little West Highland Terrier dog and his owner and it charmingly captures all the quirks that Westies are known for.<br />
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It was really fun to just watch the children interacting with their grandpa. They haven't seen him since April so they've changed a lot since that time.<br />
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After supper, one set of grandparents took little Spud to their house and we had Sweet Pea with us. I made her a glass of her warm "chai" (it's really just warmed up 2% milk with a tiny bit of Nestle's cocoa powder added to it) and then she and PawPaw settled down to watch a short video featuring a sing-a-long with the 101 Dalmation family. Let's see if I can get this straight...the mom is Perdita and the dad is Pongo. I already know the words to all the songs by heart. Sweet Pea gets on a kick and wants to watch the same video over and over again. Then it was time to head to the bedroom, have PawPaw read three books to her and say "goodnight."<br />
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This morning I was up bright and early, getting their lunches ready for preschool. It's "Mother's Day Out" so it is a school morning and that means bags to pack and lunches to prepare. It wasn't terribly hard at all getting Sweet Pea ready, fed, and dressed. I mentioned how much easier it seemed to be handling one child rather than two to her grandpa when he showed up with Spud to take them to school. Maybe the trick is "Divide and Conquer." I'd give it more thought but I'd rather go take a nap.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-7063846769398435422012-09-17T11:19:00.000-04:002012-09-22T22:03:38.122-04:00Gearing Up for Crunchtime!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's the beginning of the final full week of babysitting help for my grandkids. We're coming into the homestretch, although in my case, it's more like "gimping" into the homestretch. So far, I've been to the emergency room with a suspected detached retina which turned out to be a posterior vitreous detachment and I've caught a bad cold from little Spud. While he seems to be on the mend, my nose is still running like a sieve and I've been sneezing and coughing like crazy. <br />
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My daughter-in-law is starting a month of tough residency rotation duties so that she will rarely be home. Since my son doesn't return from Canada until this coming weekend and since I'm feeling so horrible (I'm censoring myself here), I decided it was time to call in the cavalry (also known as "The Commander.") Yes, my dear hubby is flying into Houston this afternoon. I can hardly wait. Laura's parents and I have also sat down and planned out our campaign strategy for surviving the next few days, figuring out who will watch the kids when throughout the days and nights.<br />
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Little Spud was up bright and early at 6:30 a.m. this morning. So much for my quiet time with a hot cup of coffee. I had started the dishwasher and that little bugger actually changed the washing cycle while it was running. The tyke is strong. I got him fed and clothed without waking up his sister until he found a book about animals. His exuberant animal noises finally woke up his sis.<br />
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"I'm watching you, Nana!" I heard from the end of the hallway. Sure enough, little Sweet Pea was hunkered down with all of her animals watching Spud and I playing.<br />
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I eventually persuaded her to allow me to change her and get her dressed but, because she slept so late, her PJs and bedding were pretty wet. Time to start some loads of wash. <br />
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Let's see, urine-soaked laundry, short nights, a head that feels like a bowling ball, a box of kleenex that has become my new best friend.....guess that's why, when I saw this picture of my son and some co-workers on a recent hike in the mountains of Canada, I felt like saying, "You get down from that mountain this instant. Do you hear me? You get back here. We need you......NOW!"<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-53417520344875507152012-09-13T14:04:00.000-04:002012-09-22T22:04:02.404-04:00We Aren't Even Out of the Driveway Yet!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I was supposed to take Sweet Pea and Spud to their preschool. Since I'd never been to their preschool (and since I wasn't registered as a designated "dropper-off or picker-up" person, I first was to pick up their grandpa at the tennis courts and then we'd both head over with the kiddos.<br />
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You see, the usual arrangement is that their grandpa would take them to school when their daddy is away but today he had a tennis match so he had asked me to fill in for him. He even loaned me their van and that was probably the first mistake. I am pretty hopeless with other people's cars. But he got the car seats set up and had told me that one side door had to be locked and unlocked by hand but otherwise, it should be pretty straight-forward.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spud wearing some "garden dirt" </td></tr>
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This morning I got both children dressed with only one small "time-out" when Sweet Pea decided she only wanted half of herself dressed. Both children were fed and rediapered, lunches were packed, their bags were packed with spare clothes and diapers, and I think everything was ready until I looked at the clock and realized I needed to get out the door. Oh, man....where were their shoes? And Mika was insisting on braids but she ended up with ponytails and was none the wiser.<br />
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Outside, I had my hands full with everyone's bags plus my purse and was fumbling for the door key and trying to keep an eye on the two children so they wouldn't head for the street. <br />
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"Spud, STAY!", I shouted. <br />
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He froze in place. Hey, cool! Their grandpa's set of keys had a dog whistle. I considered trying that next if they decided to make a break for it.<br />
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The next challenge were the car seats. Trying to get Spud into his car seat was a challenge. It was further over in the "half seat row" and I had to try to sling him across the floor of the van and up into the seat, which wasn't making my back feel any better. Then the straps were twisted so I had to fiddle with those and undo them until I got them right. Spud wasn't happy but we eventually got it. I rushed over to the other side of the van where Sweet Pea patiently waited. <br />
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Hmm, I remembered that this was the side that I had to manually unlock. Oh, no....the darn door thingy was missing and instead of a nice thick knob to pull up on, there was a little thin metal strip to grab. My fingers are quite weak and arthritic and I really was struggling trying to get it pulled up to unlock the door. I am hoping that both children didn't pick up on the "new vocabulary" that they might have been exposed to this morning.<br />
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Finally, I got the door open. In the carseat she went and into the driver's seat I went. Now I just had to release the parking brake and we could back out of the driveway and head out. Dang! I couldn't get the brake to release. In my van, you just press down on the brake with your foot and then let up on it and it pops right up. It wasn't happening here. I looked frantically around for some lever I should pull. I couldn't find anything. Then I spotted something on the bottom of the dash, right about where my gas cap release is. Hmmm, well, it had to release something. I hoped it wouldn't pop the hood. I pulled and yay, the brake released. Gah!<br />
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We made it to the park and of course, I pulled into the wrong parking area (employees only), had to back up and go around, went into another parking area (wrong one), stopped a jogger to ask him where the tennis courts were and then got directions from him. As we headed over to the courts, I saw a bicycler coming towards us, gesturing at me. "Get out of my way," I thought. "I'm running late." Then I realized it was their grandfather.<br />
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We got the bike in the van, switched drivers and made it to their school in time. Once we had both children deposited in their classrooms, Laura's dad decided we should get me registered as a designated person for them as long as we were there. <br />
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"We'll need to take your picture," the receptionist said.<br />
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"You're kidding," I replied. "I haven't had a shower in two days and I haven't even combed my hair yet this morning." <br />
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I smiled wanly at the camera and am now duly registered and looking like an escapee from the looney bin, I am quite sure.<br />
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This visit is teaching me a lot of things. One of them is that I can probably handle children about two hours max and then that needs to be followed by about 12-15 hours of solitude for decompression followed by retail therapy and lots of desserts. Carrot cake, carrot cake, where art thou when I need you?<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-49634188604185822942012-09-10T22:37:00.000-04:002012-09-22T22:04:11.922-04:00It's Skype Time with Daddy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey, it's Daddy! That seems to be what Spud is saying when our son Skyped from Canada yesterday. Little Spud was so happy to see his Daddy, even if it was on the "small screen."<br />
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Sweet Pea was happy, too and wandered over numerous times to chat with her papa. In the meantime, the newness of seeing Daddy seemed to have worn off on Spud so he was starting to entertain himself with his mama's iPhone.<br />
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"Daddy, you wouldn't believe all the things these women are making me do around here. If I'm not having to pick up my Cheerios, I'm getting 'time-outs' for trying to play with Sis's kitties. It's tough being the only man in the house. Come home soon."<br />
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"Hmmm, maybe I'll just purchase a ticket online to bring him home sooner. Now what was that password?"<br />
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"Daddy, Daddy....I think I can book you on the red-eye special. How fast can you get to the airport?"<br />
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"But Daddy....I didn't know there was a difference between Dubai and Denver. I can't spell yet. Are they far apart? Maybe you can catch a connecting flight on to our house?<br />
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"Don't worry, Daddy.....we're going to hide the iPhone and the credit cards from Spud from now on. But we sure do miss you!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-25467119291664509282012-09-09T22:50:00.000-04:002012-09-09T22:50:27.106-04:00Toddler Gardening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday Laura and the children decided to do some planting in their small raised bed garden in the backyard. Off they went with seed packets in hand and along I came with camera in hand to document the <strike>mayhem </strike> fun. <br />
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The first few rows of seeds went in smoothly as Laura explained what she was doing to the children. I think Sweet Pea grasped it but Spud was having more fun treating the garden as his personal sandbox.<br />
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As the planting progressed, I noticed that the children were scooping up handfuls of dirt and arranging it along the edges of the garden frame. Then the stuffed animals were assigned "guard duty."<br />
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Soon Sweet Pea was taking big clumps out of the newly-planted areas and putting them in her little containers. Hmmm, wonder how many seeds were remaining in the dirt.<br />
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When it was time to water our new garden, it was also time to hose down the children. Little Spud was quite happy to put his face to the spray.<br />
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Sweet Pea brought over some of her "personal garden" to be watered.<br />
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Time to get that hose on both of the children. Problem was that as fast as we hosed them down, they'd reach down to pick up more of the garden dirt which was getting soupier by the minute.<br />
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After a few more attempts to clean off their hands (and the rest of them) before bringing them out of the garden patch, Mom gave up and brought them over the edge and set them down for some serious hosing down.<br />
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That worked for Sweet Pea but Spud was sitting down in the mud puddles as we'd hose off his sister. You see where this is going, don't you? They finally had to be whisked straight out of their muddy outfits and into the house and to the bathroom where they were cleaned off in short order. <br />
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Laura and I are wondering what, if anything, will sprout before I head back home. Even if nothing comes up, it was certainly an entertaining way to spend the afternoon.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-85024046421227207202012-09-08T23:27:00.000-04:002012-09-22T22:04:27.735-04:00Not Exactly How I Envisioned Things Starting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm down in Texas now and ready to do "Nana babysitting" duty while my son heads off to Canada to conduct training sessions for new missionaries. I've been taking vitamins because I KNOW that I'll need all the energy I can muster to keep up with Spud and Sweet Pea. Jason has gone over their schedule with me and shown me where things are located, etc. So I thought we had everything covered. Now it was time to pose for a group picture before Daddy headed off to the airport.<br />
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Spud gave a final wave as the car headed off with his papa and I was there to document the moment on camera.<br />
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Sweet Pea had brought out her kitties to say goodbye, too, and they watched the car drive out of sight. It was time for Nana to spring into action. First, though, I thought I'd take advantage of having their mom there today and not off being "Dr. Laura" so I decided to nip into the shower before the day started in earnest.<br />
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After the shower, as I was drying off, I noticed that I was seeing flashes of white light in one eye. Yikes! What was up with that? My opthamalogist has drilled into me every year that my eyes are prone to retinal detachment and that I should always be on the alert for things like flashes of white light. If I should happen to experience something like that, she said I should immediately get to a retinal specialist. Well, darn.....first of all, it's a Saturday and secondly, I'm a LONG way from home.<br />
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I finished dressing and went to find my daughter-in-law. Oh, my goodness, I sure hated to let her know what was going on but I also didn't want to lose my eyesight. She quickly bundled the kiddos up and off we went to the emergency room. Wow, let me just say that this was the friendliest emergency room I've ever been in. Faster than I could say, "I'm a coward", I was checked in and had a whole collection of bracelets for different alerts. <br />
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I was taken into a room and my family was allowed to accompany me. Sweet Pea amused herself by doing some drawing. Spud amused himself for awhile by pinching his momma's nose. He also discovered the TV remote and managed to press the emergency call button so Laura had to go out and tell the nurses that it was a false alarm.<br />
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Every so often, Sweet Pea would tell me, "You can do it, Nana!" Uh, huh! My own little cheering section. Luckily, there wasn't much to "do." I didn't have to be very brave. A nurse examined me, then a nurse practitioner examined me, and finally a doctor examined me and none of them could see anything out of the ordinary. However, none were eye doctors so there was no dilating of my eye for a more detailed examination. I've been referred to an opthamalogist on Monday.<br />
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As we waited for my discharge papers, Spud was busy trying to figure out how the gurney's rail worked. If we'd had a little more time there, I bet he would have done so.<br />
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After my discharge, we decided to head to McDonalds. The kids were getting hungry and we thought they would be able to play. I was looking particularly stylish (NOT) since I had that "wash and wear" look going and was still sporting my array of medical bracelets. Wouldn't you know that this particular McDonalds was being renovated and the play area was temporarily closed. Oh, well. We ordered anyway and sat down to eat in an out-of-the-way alcove.<br />
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We'd just settled down and tucked into our fries and chicken nuggets when a mother came around the corner with a young girl in tow. Just as she got up to us, the girl upchucked all over the floor right next to us. Oh, man! Laura and I looked at each other. <br />
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"I can't believe this," I sighed. "Jason hasn't even been gone 5 hours and I've already been to the emergency room and now we've had someone barf practically on our feet. Surely things can only get better from here."<br />
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We picked up our food and gingerly stepped over things to find another location to eat.<br />
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Final stop before home was the Dollar Store. Sweet Pea had earned the right to pick one prize for her potty training efforts. We went up and down the aisles. <br />
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"This one looks like fun," she'd say.......again and again. It was pretty funny. It has to be hard for a little one to decide on one thing in a place like that but she did finally decide on a tool kit.<br />
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We made it safely home and Sweet Pea spent time "building" things for us before we did a little gardening. The gardening will be a tale for another blog post. In the meantime, I'd appreciate your prayers that things will go well on Monday at the eye doctor's visit. I'm still having some flashes and a circular floater thing going on. Never a dull moment, eh?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-42139505488522669152012-09-07T12:17:00.000-04:002012-10-10T10:17:50.286-04:00You're Getting a What?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It seems like many of my recent conversations with friends and extended family have migrated around to the inevitable "What's new with you?" question. That's when I share our latest news. We're getting a puppy. It's been interesting to note the types of responses this elicits.<br />
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<b>1. Hey, that's great!</b> These folks seem quite happy for us. They're enthusiastic, go-with-the-flow types of folks.<br />
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<b>2. Why? </b>This response usually comes after a moment of stunned silence followed by a wide-eyed look of astonishment and the unspoken (or sometimes plainly stated) feeling of "Are you NUTS?" Often these folks are empty-nesters themselves who are now footloose and fancy-free and can't imagine why we'd voluntarily tie ourselves down to a new little one in our family.<br />
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<b>3. What kind? </b>The folks asking this question are often dog-people themselves and are naturally curious about the breed we are getting. Of course, they COULD just be nosy but hey, let's be generous here, ok? I would fall into this category. I always want to know what kind of dog a person is getting because it gives me a clue into the type of person they are. It just seems like certain personalities are drawn to certain breeds of dogs. And therein lies my dilemma.<br />
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Let me just categorically state here that I do NOT have a terrier personality. At least I don't think that I do. I have never in my entire life felt that I had to get one of the terrier breeds. I always was drawn to the herding breeds or the working breeds. I had two Shetland Sheepdogs and an Australian Shepherd. They were smart as could be.<br />
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My Eskie was very smart, too, and my personal bodyguard par excellence. I also really liked the idea of owning really big dogs. When I was a teenager, I wanted Irish Wolfhounds or Scottish Deerhounds. In college, I lusted after owning an Afghan Hound. I always thought that it would be nice to have a Bernese Mountain Dog. <br />
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Well, we're getting a West Highland White Terrier.....a Westie! I'm not quite sure how that happened. One of my friends has one and when she went up to see her breeder about getting another dog, I rode along. I had a hole in my heart after Fresca's death and apparently, it was just the right size for a Westie. <br />
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I've done my research and know that this is NOT going to be a herding dog. Westie folks (and I'll be one of them shortly) say that they are smart dogs in their own way but stubborn and that THEY have to decide they want to do something before they will do it. Hmmm, this will be different. My other dogs all lived to please me. I was the Queen Mum in their lives.<br />
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"Run an agility course? No problem, Mom. Here I go!"<br />
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" Run circles around the rest of the group in this Obedience class? Just give me the training manual, Mom, and go sit down. I'll read it myself and have it all figured out."<br />
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I can't wait to see how Puppy Kindergarten and the subsequent obedience classes will pan out with my little Westie.<br />
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I was describing our upcoming puppy to someone today. "He's a West Highland White Terrier," I told her.<br />
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"A terrier? What do they look like?" she asked.<br />
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"You know the dog that is on the front of the Caesar Dog Food containers? That's a Westie," I responded.<br />
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She looked blank so I tried again. "Do you know what a Scottie dog looks like?" I asked.<br />
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"Yes," she grinned, her face brightening.<br />
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"Well, they look kind of like a Scotty but they are all white, their faces are rounder and they tend to be a little shorter," I explained.<br />
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"Are they the ones with the long hair?" she asked.<br />
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"Oh,oh...she's thinking of a Maltese or a Lhasa Apso," I thought.<br />
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"Their hair is more wiry....like a cairn terrier's," I told her but she just looked at me blankly.<br />
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"Well, I DID want a greyhound rescue but my husband thought they were too big. They're nice, quiet couch potatoes, though," I continued.<br />
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"Aren't terriers happy little dogs that have a lot of energy?" she asked.<br />
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"Yeah, I'm going from a couch potato that just wants to sit around or eat to one that wants to run around or eat and I just hope it's not the grandkids," I laughed.<br />
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I'm getting a puppy....a terrier puppy. Batten down the hatches, hide your children, and pass the Prozac!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-48625998682966441702012-08-31T15:39:00.000-04:002012-08-31T15:39:47.159-04:00No More Monkey Business!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-LB_ECZzmSC9hhvUQYU5NaJILuekvKJFWNmHBwdABwhsMp508pZzTztJQ5p6zrpfSHTbo-pKoLHKDhGXFx62MwQBfSPWEY2swn4Zf5WxnFJYBhufw9TdXQQrZ0PIqwxVlp4ksw/s1600/Frappaccino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd-LB_ECZzmSC9hhvUQYU5NaJILuekvKJFWNmHBwdABwhsMp508pZzTztJQ5p6zrpfSHTbo-pKoLHKDhGXFx62MwQBfSPWEY2swn4Zf5WxnFJYBhufw9TdXQQrZ0PIqwxVlp4ksw/s320/Frappaccino.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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OK, scientists! Do you think you could get your act together? I was eating my heart-healthy, high-fiber English muffin this morning and reading the paper when yet another medical study caught my eye. For some years now, scientists have been noticing that rats and monkeys who eat less calories than normal (think 30 to 40 percent) might live longer than those who don't. Reports have also erupted now and again that eating a semi-starvation diet will extend your lifespan. <br />
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Now let me get this straight. Can you hear the wheels turning in my head? If I voluntarily semi-starve myself, I might have longer to live being hungry? Let's say I go with Option No. 2? If the range given in THAT study is 30-40%, I'd definitely head towards the 30% side of things. Now they didn't seem to stipulate in the article what KIND of things you had to give up to constitute that 30-40%. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if I gave up things like salads and vegetables to come up with that 30%. Could I EVEN come up with 30% of my total intake if I gave up such things? Shoot! I doubt I'd even be able to scrape up a measly 5% to give up on those terms. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdYQR4Ks-zM5kkP-M3FhIS7R36N6hQKU0WFj2Ce2fDSTh1KBx_XdELyzo6BZPyMKcNdGHIOhOIYEua6sLgUtpk5uCSyp6vCH9-B3DlOU1wxPzKJWsCyq0-AkXm18uhg3-GxZOOA/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdYQR4Ks-zM5kkP-M3FhIS7R36N6hQKU0WFj2Ce2fDSTh1KBx_XdELyzo6BZPyMKcNdGHIOhOIYEua6sLgUtpk5uCSyp6vCH9-B3DlOU1wxPzKJWsCyq0-AkXm18uhg3-GxZOOA/s320/cake.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Skimming back through the article I see the monkeys that were tracked for over twenty years on a restricted calorie diet didn't squeeze out any more years than their well-fed peers. However, they DID appear to more successfully ward off cancer. Now THAT could make a person sit up and take more notice.<br />
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The article goes on to say that scientists aren't really sure why the monkeys on a calorie-restricted diet didn't live longer than the other monkeys but that they aren't giving up investigating because (get this) the "younger" monkeys are still alive. Duh, ya think? They DO think, though, that they probably won't find any "edge" on extending lifespan when all is said and done........unless they DO, which is always possible. Okey dokey! And maybe it's possible that I'll give up my sugar addiction and start eating totally healthy......unless I don't, but I'm not totally ruling that out. (See, I can do "scientist speak", too.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4olRkSb3gjEjYT_g8nFeopMDXr2JjHij4AhYWJiiJRFYBqwWTGQ__MuEUWbRNB28Cpo5VpS3VsUtUBFps-ROIF6VQDmiphFqoIklzlLhG7DVfYwbfDjCoGq2CO1Ht14lWf1zseQ/s1600/Mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4olRkSb3gjEjYT_g8nFeopMDXr2JjHij4AhYWJiiJRFYBqwWTGQ__MuEUWbRNB28Cpo5VpS3VsUtUBFps-ROIF6VQDmiphFqoIklzlLhG7DVfYwbfDjCoGq2CO1Ht14lWf1zseQ/s320/Mom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On an entirely different note but yet, still staying somewhat on the topic of longevity, the paper also had an article yesterday about a 100-year-old driver who thought he was backing out of a parking spot and ended up backing into a street and up onto a sidewalk and into a group of folks waiting to buy food from a vendor. <br />
I was reading this to the Commander.<br />
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"Oh, my goodness, this guy is actually turning 101 in September, " I continued.<br />
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"Introduce him to your mother," the Commander suggested. "She's a spring chicken in comparison."<br />
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Mom turns 99 in September and she never met a dessert that she didn't enjoy wholeheartedly.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-15541101128767906712012-08-30T17:46:00.001-04:002012-08-30T17:47:22.209-04:00Prehistoric Buttons for the Modern Knitter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTgaEkURSU2EWWeZhh-PeV4RWFBCYW7AREG_aQnI1dxwP57hZyl4IDwH-QknjdZuKCAEm0VvReVRRONQMcJJw2c395xcsQTXhZxz8xQpkL_mWaW1EWTsCtTG49WaMd-emSauvGQ/s1600/Petosky+Stone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTgaEkURSU2EWWeZhh-PeV4RWFBCYW7AREG_aQnI1dxwP57hZyl4IDwH-QknjdZuKCAEm0VvReVRRONQMcJJw2c395xcsQTXhZxz8xQpkL_mWaW1EWTsCtTG49WaMd-emSauvGQ/s320/Petosky+Stone.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you are a knitter, chances are that you have knit a garment at some point in your knitting career that required buttons. I don't know about you, but I am ALWAYS on the lookout for unique buttons that I think will set off projects I might have in the works.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCumkUEPHQ0Jn4ppPz-JxTMDN1gRnv4RCI8U3te1yg0bkoNXXPPqnx-2scoF6CW9VQpaN0N6gmLpLh35jOyWK2Atf6VMSTyPGFTWcpHZ4F85jbVn1kdiWYGtFqU79CK0d0pwdpLw/s1600/Petosky+Stone+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCumkUEPHQ0Jn4ppPz-JxTMDN1gRnv4RCI8U3te1yg0bkoNXXPPqnx-2scoF6CW9VQpaN0N6gmLpLh35jOyWK2Atf6VMSTyPGFTWcpHZ4F85jbVn1kdiWYGtFqU79CK0d0pwdpLw/s320/Petosky+Stone+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Recently my sister-in-law gave me a set of buttons for my birthday that were made out of Petosky Stone. If you're from Michigan, you are probably familiar with these wonderful stones. If you aren't, let me tell you a little about them. They are actually fossilized coral that are found in Michigan, often along the shores of Lake Michigan and some of the other Great Lakes. They were originally part of some great coral reefs found in the area millions of years ago. As the coral died off, it eventually fossilized and then, when the glaciers moved through the state, the glaciers dragged fragments of these frozen bits of prehistoric history around the area. Now the Petosky Stone is the official State Stone of Michigan. Seen above, it doesn't look like much, does it? Now obviously, you wouldn't be encountering it in a button shape along the beach but as a pebble or rock. It would look more like a pock-marked piece of concrete or volcanic stone unless you got it wet. That's when you see the wonders that are in that unassuming stone. (As kids, we used to search for Petosky Stones and then bring our treasures home and entertain ourselves by dipping them in a bucket of water and watch the patterns of the coral emerge.)<br />
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My sister purchased these buttons from the delightfully-named vendors called <b>Two Old Stoners </b>at a craft fair. The button on the right is how it looks before you polish it. The button on the left is how it looks after being polished. Wonderfully, they include easy-to-follow instructions on how to polish these that use three simple items....an emery board, some sandpaper, and baby oil. Piece of cake!<br />
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Here's a look at another of the buttons after I had polished them. Aren't they unique? They'll be perfect for a sweater that I have in mind and I already have the yarn in hand.
If you'd like to see more of the Petosky Stone products that these vendors are making, you can follow them on Facebook (under "Two Old Stoners"). Happy knitting!
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32192741.post-84159284413587567602012-08-28T20:44:00.003-04:002012-10-10T10:18:11.701-04:00Naming Your New DogIn my last post, I described the lessons I've learned on how NOT to come up with names for a new dog. Well, now I'm going to give you some ideas to find just the right name for that new puppy or rescue that will be joining your household. Let's get creative, shall we?<br />
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<b>1. Do you have a special hobby or activity that you are passionate about?</b> Let's say you LOVE to motorbike. Perhaps you'd like to name your dog "Harley?" Do you enjoy eating? Go do an internet search on "culinary terms" or things like "names of desserts." Maybe your new dog is a "Muffin" or a "Beignet"? Do you love that cup of coffee every morning? How about calling the pup "Starbucks?" Then there's one of my personal favorites...."Snickers." I love to read so I've been doing searches for lists of famous English authors and poets to see if there are any particular names that jump out at me. I also love music. I did a search of musical terms and found potential names like "Largo" and "Rondo." I've pulled potential names from lists of composers. You all know that I love to knit but knitting terms have been kind of a bust. "Purl" and "yarn-over" don't really thrill me. Are you a Dungeons and Dragons kind of person? Try <a href="http://www.dragonorama.com/famous/" target="_blank">Famous Dragon Names</a> and you might get lucky. <br />
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<b>2. What is your ethnic heritage?</b> I'm particularly proud of my Viking and German ancestry. Some of my name searches have centered around websites that list Viking names like <a href="http://viking.no/e/heritage/e-viking_given_names.htm" target="_blank">Viking Given Names</a> and <a href="http://www.wizardrealm.com/norse/gods.html" target="_blank">Norse Pantheon</a>. <br />
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<b>3. What is the country that your dog's breed originated in? </b>My pup's breed originated in Scotland so I've been doing internet searches for "Scottish place names", "Scottish mythology", even "Scotch whiskey" and visiting links like <a href="http://www.scotchwhisky.net/distilleries/" target="_blank">ScotchWhiskey.net</a> to check out names of distilleries. I've looked at maps of Scotland and her islands and considered names of some of the towns that might be suitable as a dog's name.<br />
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<b>4. What color is your dog? </b>Westies are white dogs. I've looked up synonyms for "white" to see if anything might click with me. I've even looked up the word "white" in different languages.<br />
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<b>5. What are your favorite movies or TV shows? </b>Are you a big fan of the "Lord of the Rings" movie? Maybe "Bilbo" or a "Gandalf" would work. Are you nuts about the Harry Potter movies? Think of all the characters in those movies. There are some dandy names in them. Wikipedia always is a quick source of names and if you type in something like "characters in the Harry Potter books" in your search engine, Wikipedia will most likely be one of your top choices that come up.<br />
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<b>6. What is your occupation? </b>My husband works in Information Technology. He's a computer whiz. I could come up with a name like "Asci" or "Spooler". I would NOT recommend "Byte" though. If you're a doctor, is there a medical term that might be fun as a name? Are you an artist? How about "Pixel" or "Dither?" Goodness, think of all the famous painters that have great names for a pet.<br />
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<b>7. Do you already have a pet? </b>Perhaps you'd like to name your new pet a name that would complement the pet you already have on hand. You can go to <a href="http://amouscouple.com/famous_couples_index.htm" target="_blank">Famous Couples</a> to get some ideas, like "Pebbles & Bam Bam" or "Bert & Ernie".<br />
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<b>8. Check out some websites set up for expectant parents looking for names. </b> There are so many websites that list page after page of boy and girl names along with their meanings and place of origin. Many also have additional lists like "German names", "French names," etc. <br />
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<b>9. Try these dog-naming sites. </b><a href="http://www.fundognames.com/" target="_blank">Fun Dog Names</a><b> </b>doesn't list just funny names. It has name lists by breed, countries, and many other categories. <a href="http://www.dognameswoof.com/" target="_blank">Dog Names Woof!</a> is another similar website. <br />
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Finally....if your dog is going to be registered with the American Kennel Club, you'll definitely want to go to their <a href="http://www.akc.org/reg/namecheck/index.cfm" target="_blank">Dog Name Check Site</a>. Here you can put in the dog breed you'll be getting, enter your name (it doesn't matter if you haven't actually got the dog in hand yet or its papers) and then just type in a name. It will tell you if it is taken or not. Don't be discouraged if your choice is already taken. You can always add a middle name and often that frees up your choice OR they might suggest you add a number after the name , i.e. "Laddie IV". Who care about the number? He'll be "Laddie" to you. As you find names that are available, you can jot them down for future reference and then you'll be all set when you DO have your dog's papers and can do a quick search to make sure your choice is still available. You can now register your dog online. Wow, I still remember the days when you sent in your name choice by mail and hoped and prayed that the name wasn't already taken. <br />
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Good luck and have fun in coming up with that perfect name for your newest canine member of the family.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p>© copyright 2012 - All rights reserved </p>
<a href="http://oh4abook.blogspot.com">Hot Flashed Funk</a></div>TXDidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10163298186083137091noreply@blogger.com0