Several months ago, Tor and I fenced in a part of the back yard so that the dogs could get out and run and play. Before the fence, we just had tethers that we tied them to, and they were pretty restricted as to how much they could actually run and interact.

Like most people, we have a front door and a back door, so it was easy to tie one dog out front and one in back. But with three dogs, we had a problem.

So we decided we really needed a fence so that we could let all three dogs out together, and they could run and play and interact with each other. It's wonderful both for the dogs and for us.

But the fenced in area interfered with my bird feeders. Mollie is a notorious digger and she has taught Sherman the fine touches of dirt moving. My back yard now looks like the battlefields of WWII.

Needless to say, the poles that my bird feeders were hanging from hit the ground just a few days after the dogs were let out into their new playground. So I moved the feeders out past the fence where they would be far removed from the digging duo. Rocky has not taken up the art of digging yet, but he sure does watch the other two intently... so I am sure it's just a matter of time.

But now I have another problem. Without a good pair of binoculars, I can't see the birds that are feeding at my feeders. That was one of the pleasures that I really enjoyed, especially when working in the kitchen, watching all the different birds that visited. I had my "Texas Birds" book sitting right there so I could identify birds that were not familiar to me.

I think I will have to move the feeders to the front yard. At least I have a small front porch that I can sit on and watch my feathered friends as they come on in for lunch.

I also have some Wren boxes tacked up all around, and several of them are occupied with nesting families. There has been a Wren out front just making a racket all morning. After sitting here listening for an hour or two, I thought I had better check it out. Sure enough, there sitting in a bush, next to the house was a pair of Wrens just having a fit. I sat on the porch and watched quietly. After ten minutes or so, one of the Wrens left the bush and landed on the ground next to the house. I walked softly over to the spot where it landed and there it was, a downy feathered baby camouflaged so well that it took me a minute to distinguish it from the leaves and sticks on the ground. I would have left it there, as the parents were aware of it and feeding it, but not only do we have wild cats and snakes around that would have devoured it in minutes, but the ants are terrible and would have attacked it sometime today.

I had a Wren box nailed to the house, and I had to assume that the baby fell from this box. I gently picked it up and carried it back to the box and it eagerly climbed back into the small round hole, into the safety of it's nest.

I returned to my seat on the porch and watched for another 20 minutes, and sure enough, the parents finally returned and feed the newly retrieved baby.

I have put out some of my Hummingbird feeders and have about six Hummers visiting. Nothing like last year...at least not yet. I am sure that as the summer gets long, my visiters will increase.

The thing is, the more I feed the birds, the more birds I get. Then I go out and buy more feeders, and this only increases the amount of birds that come in to dine. I go through 50lbs of seed a week now, and my feeders are still going empty. The squirrels and deer don't help, but they are also fun to watch, and I can't deny them a free meal once in a while.

Which reminds me:

Hey Honey... we need to go back to Wal-Mart for more bird seed!!!!


 

Three day weekends..... you've got to love them, especially when two of them include the only two days that Tor has off.

You see, normally, Tor has Friday and Saturday off and I have Saturday and Sunday off . We each had one day together, and one day to ourselves. This past week, I went to a 10 hour 4 day a week work period and now have Friday, Saturday AND Sunday off.

Now having to get up at 4:30 every morning and not getting home till almost 5:00 in the afternoon is not fun, especially at the work pace we are maintaining ... but it is well worth being home with Tor for two whole days.

We get to hang out TOGETHER, do things TOGETHER, share the computer TOGETHER, keep each other from getting bored!! I thoroughly enjoyed this day we spent sharing and doing things TOGETHER, that I can't wait for tomorrow so we can do MORE things TOGETHER!!

Now I don't know the reason why Tor is sulking around the house growling and groaning about how I had a chance to work overtime today and he told me to turn it down. I called him yesterday and told him I had a chance to work 8 hours today at time and a half, but he told me NO.... that he wanted me home with him. Now he is just a bitchin about today and all the things we did together. I mean, we even went to Wal-Mart to do the shopping TOGETHER!! That was so sweet!!! He had on a pair of shorts and all his co-workers commented on his white legs, I mean, they were being so nice to him and what was he doing.... growling and sneering and trying to hide from them!! Go figure!!!

Anyway, we came home and watched Meerkat Manor on the Animal Planet. Forever had commented on this program a long time ago, but they are just now airing it here. The first two episodes were on tonight. It is amazing the family values these little critters have and how they run their lair. If you are an animal lover and can get the Animal Planet... check it out.

****

Work is going ok. As I mentioned we are working 10 hour days, but having a 3 day weekend is well worth the extra 2 hours. The only problem is that their is some positioning taking place for the Head Custodian job and the one gal who is in the lead is also in charge right now. Of course, she wants to look good to the head honchos, and is pushing the envelope as to what we get done on a daily basis. Now I don't mind hard work at all. In fact, I would rather be working than just bumming around since it makes the day go by faster.... but she is way beyond hard work. In the first week, she just about ran us all into the ground. I understand why she is doing this, and I realize she doesn't realize what she is doing, as all she sees is the good pat on the back she will get from her supervisor for a job well done. And it should lock her in for the position. But in the mean time, she is killing all the rest of us. Oh well, only eight more weeks to go, then we will be back to our regular routines.

****

The puppies are doing great. As I mentioned in Forever's blog, we are waking up to only one or two landmines in the house now. Little by little, they are holding it all in until I get up. But now I won't guarantee that their won't be a magazine or a book tore up and strewed about the house, or a misplaced shoe or sock.

We did wake up to a non-working computer and phone. Sure enough, somehow, someway... they got back behind the desk and chewed the phone line up.... AGAIN!! Thank goodness I had one more extra phone cord that I could use, but that is the last of them.

Why they prowl and seek out stuff like this, I will never understand. There are dozens of toys laying about the living room floor. Chew toys, nylabones, kongs, stuffed toys, squeaky toys, ropes... you name it, they have it. But NO... they want magazines, shoes and phone cords.
Oh well, nothing new..... I am just now getting Tor housebroke and he has finally quit chewing up things... well, most things that is.

Rocky now has one ear up.... the stages of ear development on the German Shepherd is so fun to watch. They start out with hanging ears, then they stick out to the side, then they finally start to come up. One, then the other. Some days they will be straight up, some days they will be bent over. Some times they will be up but criss-cross over the top of his head. You never know what will greet you in the morning, when it comes to ears.

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Oh, his registered name will be “Baron Rockford von Livingston” Rocky for short!




 

Richard and Lindsey were to renew their marriage vows on Saturday afternoon in Boldt Castle on Heart Island. Here is a link if you want to check it out http://www.boldtcastle.com/

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I arrived in Watertown, NY around 11pm Thursday night and called the hotel to come pick me up. My son offered, but they lived about 1/2 hour away and I told them it was useless for them to drive all that way, just to drop me off at the hotel which was about 5 minutes from the airport, then have to turn around and drive all the way home.

I was originally going to stay with them, they have an extra bedroom. But I knew that the house would be full of young folks... a lot of their friends from high school were coming and camping out in the living room, in tents in the back yard and where ever they could find a spot. Richard and Lindsey only have ONE bathroom. I figured there would be approximately 12 people there.... half of them young women. No way was I going to try to stay there!!!!!!

It was just so much easier to stay at the hotel along with all the other 'older' guest like Lindsey's father and stepmother, her aunts and uncles. Plus, my nephew, Jeff (who is more like a brother to me) and his wife were staying there, so we could spend some quality time catching up on things.

First thing Friday morning, Lindsey and her best friend Jana came to pick me up to do some shopping. I didn't have an outfit yet to wear to the ceremony. It didn't take long at all to find a nice dress and we spent the rest of the morning getting our nails beautiful and having a great pedicure/massage done. This young (rather good looking guy) sat me down in a chair that had various controls to shake, shimmy and just plain make you feel plum good!! Then while you laid back in the massaging chair, the (good looking, young man) massaged your legs and feet and proceeded to pamper your feet and dress your nails. It was wonderful!! From there, Lindsey drove us to Fort Drum and we went to the commissary to do some shopping.

Friday afternoon was spent running around sight seeing and then a rehearsal in the nearby park overlooking the city and Lake Ontario. After rehearsal, we all went out to dinner in a quaint little restaurant with a lot of charm and atmosphere. It was an all you could eat pizza and wings dinner with both white and red wines. The pizza was superb, along with a great salad and the chicken wings came in mild, medium and fiery hot!! Very yummy and tasty! I think we had about 35 people and had a blast. It was close to midnight when we finally left and headed back to the hotel.

We woke up Saturday morning with the cold, damp weather we had been having all along. It never really poured rain, but would just drizzle on and off all day long. Jeff and I ran out to the Army surplus store where I found a real nice trench coat with a zip out liner that I bought for Tor for $14.00. It's a good thing I found it, as I needed it to wear out to the Island as the temperatures were dropping. We caravanned up to Alexandria Bay were we caught the 3:30 ferry over to Heart Island.

Originally, the ceremony was to take place out in the gardens, but because of the weather, it was moved indoors. I think it turned out real nice, since the castle is just beautiful inside. We got to use the formal dining room just off the main staircase. Even the tourist were taking pictures of the bride and groom. Richard was wearing his Army dress uniform and Lindsey was in a simple, but beautiful gown.

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Richard wanted to do the march through the swords.... that's where twelve of his Army buddies would have stood in their dress uniforms with swords raised up touching, creating a tunnel for Richard and Lindsey to walk through. But they have to be officers, and Richard couldn't come up with twelve of them as they were all over in Iraq or Afghanistan. So he just had two who escorted Lindsey's stepmom and myself to our seats. I felt proud to take the arm of this young officer and be escorted by him.

The ceremony was beautiful with both Lindsey and Richard repeating their vows that they had written to each other. Lindsey's was emotional and heartfelt whereas Richard's was more short and sweet!!

Then we gathered out on the various verandas for pictures and got to roam around the castle for an hour or so before having to catch the 6pm ferry back to the mainland. We all met back on base at the officers club for a wonderful reception full of music and dancing. The longer the night went on, the more merry it got as the drinks were flowing. They had planned for this and had a couple of vans ready to take people back to the hotel afterwards so no one would have to drive after drinking.

The only bump to the whole thing was the fact that I was paired up with my ex-husband the whole time. We had to sit together during the ceremony and they has us seated next to each other at the reception. It was alright, we were civil to each other, talking and such. But as soon as the opportunity lent itself, I moved over to where Jeff and Ivon were sitting.

Sunday morning we all met for breakfast at the hotel, although not a lot of people were actually eating, mainly drinking juice and coffee to offset the hangovers. Then Richard took us to the airstrip on base and let us climb around in his helicopters for a while. He is flying Hueys with USAAAD (US Army Air Ambulance Detachment )right now at Fort Drum. He normally flies Blackhawks.

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After a sightseeing trip around base, we headed back to the hotel so I could pack up my stuff. Most of the kids were leaving that afternoon, and I was going to spend the last night there at Richard and Lindsey's house.

We sat up til I don't know what time talking and yakking. We watched old home movies and looked through picture albums. My ex (Richard's dad) did all the video taping for the ceremony and was working on the computer putting some of it together.

Monday morning they drove me to the airport and I caught my flight back to Houston and my dear husband. It was so nice to lay my head on his shoulder that night when I crawled into our bed. I missed that so much!!! The trip was great, it was fun to see everyone, but there really is no place like home!

 

Last month, I took a little trip to Upstate New York. My son and his wife renewed their wedding vows at Boldt Castle on Heart Island. Heart Island sits in the middle of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the land of 1000 Islands. It was a beautiful ceremony in spite of the overcast, cold and wet weather.

Tor was to go with me, but for reasons beyond my control (he hates to fly and almost got us arrested the last time we flew together), he decided to stay home and take care of the puppies. It's a good thing he did.

My itinerary had me scheduled to fly from Houston to Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. That flight was a piece of cake, no problems at all. Then from Dulles I had to fly to Pittsburgh on this small twin prop sardine can that held 24 people. Other than being noisy, that flight went rather well. Then from Pittsburgh I flew to Watertown, NY on this little two prop piece of tin that held a grand total of 16 people. Eight people on either side of the plane, with this little narrow isle between us. Two young guys piloted the plane and I was lucky enough to get the number one seat, right behind them! There was a little curtain that separated the cockpit from the cabin, and they left it open throughout the whole flight. Now this was really interesting, to be able to sit there and watch these two fly. The flight was at night, so the whole cockpit was lit up like a Christmas tree, lights and dials everywhere. I could actually read the altimeter and see at what altitude we were flying at... which varied the whole time from 11500 feet to 12500 feet.

I always thought that ground control gave you a altitude to fly at, keeping planes separated by 1000 feet... or is it 500 feet? All I know is that while I was watching these two fly, the plane would start to drift up.. 12000, 12100, 12200, 12300.... etc. Then the pilot would reach down and adjust the throttle a bit and the plane would start a very slow decent... 12400, 12300, 12000, 11900, 11700... etc. Then the pilot would reach down and again adjust the throttle... and up we would drift again. This went on the whole hour and a half it took us to fly to Watertown. Up and Down..... a gentle rollercoaster of a ride!!

Oh, then at one point, the pilot reached up and started tapping on one of the dials. The Co-pilot reached over and looked and he tapped it also. If there are any pilots out there, just remember this one thing......NOW DON'T DO THAT... NOT IN FRONT OF YOUR PASSENGERS!!! Then they talked and looked again and then dismissed the subject and went about their other business. Every once in a while the co-pilot would turn around and ask all if us if we were doing ok. I felt like replying... yeah, except I am a bit worried about that dial over there!!!

Do any of you remember the program on TV called "Wings"? This is what this flight was like. The terminal at Watertown is just a small building sitting at the end of this little runway. We landed and zoomed around the corner and up to the building where the brakes were applied and we came to a screeching halt. The pilot and co-pilot jumped out and one of them ran in and started up the John Deer lawn mower with a little trailer attached. They brought it out to the plane and threw the few pieces of luggage into the trailer and brought it up to the door and tossed them inside to us. Then they parked the lawnmower, climbed back into the plane and zoomed back out to the runway, and took off towards the next small town.

It was the same when I headed back home. They drove the little plane like a sports car and we were all hanging on to our seats as they took the curves on one wheel then sped off down the runway to a quick lift-off.

On the way home, I got held hostage in Charlotte by an errant bridge (you know that thing that snakes out to the plane so you can get off of it?). It got stuck about 9 feet from the plane and they had to call out the mechanics to fix it. Finally after about 20 minutes, they announced that it was fixed and to get ready to disembark. Then a minute later, they told us all to sit back down, the thing got stuck again 3 feet from the plane and it took another 25 minutes to fix it again. I was ok, as I had about a 2 hour layover between flights, but many folks missed their connections because of the delay. Other than that, the whole trip was great.

I will blog tomorrow about the castle and the ceremony and the visit with Richard and Lindsey, my nephew Jeff and his wife, my ex and all of Lindsey's family.

 

It's been a long time since I have posted a blog, but I have been reading all my favorite bloggers every day. I will try to start commenting again, that is if I can drag Tor away from the computer long enough to sign in under my name!!

*****

I usually work afternoons, leaving the house at 12:30 and not getting home until close to 10pm. I have my alarm set for 5am so I can get Tor up and off to work. He walks out the door around 6:15 and I feed the dogs, pick up the house, maybe put a load of laundry in to wash and then Mollie, Rocky, Sherman and I all head back to bed. They know the routine and the minute I head toward the bedroom, they all race down the hall beating me to the door. They all relish this opportunity since we have made the decision that they will NOT sleep with us at night as there is just not enough room in our King size bed for all of us.

Once I get under the covers and settled, they jump up and find their own special spot and within seconds, I have three happy, content dogs snoring away. They don't move an inch the whole time. In fact, I usually get up and leave them in bed while I go shower and bring cloths in, etc. Then I have to go back later in the morning and command them to get their lazy butts out of bed and head on outside for a bit before I leave for work. They unhurriedly and ever so slowly stretch and yawn and crawl slower than a dang snail to the edge of the bed where they contemplate if they really want to give up their morning snooze. I then have to reinforce my command to get their lazy butts out of bed before they finally do the final slide to the floor and mosey leisurely, stretching and yawning, to the back door to be let out.

But now our routine will change. Starting Monday, I will be working four 10 hour days having to be at work by 6am and not leaving until 4:30. No more crawling back into bed and catching a few hours of quality morning sleep. But the good thing is that I will have 3 day weekends all summer long. Other than having to actually wake up and pretend to be human every morning, I don't mind the hours at all. I would gladly give up 2 hours a day to enjoy Friday, Saturday and Sundays off every week. This gives me the opportunity to get all the household chores done on Friday and be able to relax and enjoy Saturday and Sunday.

Oh, and I get to bug Tor on his two days off every week. Now that is one chore I am really looking forward to. You see, he has Fridays and Saturdays off. Friday mornings were spent together, then I would leave for work around 12:30 and he would have the rest of the day all to himself. Peace and quiet, no giving up the remote control, no sharing of the computer, no one bugging him and bopping him when he does manly things like walking in circles and beating on his chest declaring that he is the KING of the house. All day, all afternoon, all evening... all to himself.

Well folks, those days are over for the next few months. I told him he will never get bored again on his days off. I can find things for us to do, either around the house or around town. I have all day Friday and Saturday to entertain him. But you know what the best part of this whole situation is??? He goes back to work on Sunday and I have Sunday off. The whole day to myself. The whole day to lay around in bed, play on the computer, complete control of the remote, peace and quiet, doing lady things without him growling at me!!!! The whole day planning what we will do next Friday and Saturday! hehehehe

LIFE IS GOOD!!!

*****


The puppies are growing like weeds. Sherman who weighed in at 7lbs when we brought him home in March, now weighs in at 45 lbs. He is a big clumsy goof and just as lovable as he can be. His whole goal in life is to be petted. When we took the pups to the vet this morning, Sherman loved it. He went pouncing in the door and posed in the middle of the reception area just knowing that everyone there just wanted to love on him. He just about turned himself inside out he was so happy and excited. He couldn't wait to get his shots as that meant that someone would be touching him and petting him. He wagged his tail through the whole procedure.

Rocky is now 12 weeks old and weighs in at 25lbs. But he is a big baby and whined and cried the whole time we were waiting. In fact, he was creating such an uproar with is crying, that they brought out two stuffed toys for him and made us wait in another room until it was our turn. He is a very vocal dog and it was no different when we were at the vets. At home he will talk to us all the time, coming up to us and gently yapping and talking, jumping and playing and making noise the whole time. He cried and yelped when they took his temperature. He cried when he got his shot. But he did like the treats they were feeding him to try to make it easier.

Back at home, Mollie just lays back and watches with dismay. She really is good with the puppies, putting up with their antics, playing with them when the urge hits her. But she does keep them in place, getting after them when they get to rambunctious and they honor her as Alpha dog. They quiet down immediately and tread carefully around her for a bit.

*****

Oh, my dear husband was so kind to me this weekend. I came home yesterday from work and he had cooked a delicious pot of beans. He fried two ham steaks and made a pan of cornbread to have with them. It was so nice not to have to worry about what to cook for dinner. Although I did have a messy kitchen to clean up, I didn't mind at all. Such a delicious dinner was well worth it.

Then today he put together a pot full of homemade spaghetti sauce with big homemade meatballs full of onion and garlic. It was simply scrumptious! We made garlic bread and just stuffed ourselves to the edge of pain. Well, maybe he over did it a bit as he was moaning and groaning for a while afterwards.

Tor is really a good cook. He makes a mean Burrito dish that is so good and can fry catfish with the best of them. Every once in a while he gets the urge to cook and I just stand back and let him. Now sometimes, he gets himself in trouble... if you will recall my blog about the time he tried to make a 'blooming onion' and almost set the kitchen on fire!!!

GAWD, LIFE IS GOOD!!!









 

It was 7:55pm. Tuesday and I knew that Tor would be heading for the clock anxious to punch out and head home after a long day at work. I picked up the phone and called Wal-Mart. I was right, they paged him and he answered immediately.

"Hey Hon," I said when he answered the phone.

"Hey Baby, what's up? Is there something wrong?" he said quickly.

"No" I simply said.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked.

"No," I remarked with a chuckle.

"Then why are you calling me when I am heading out the door to the comfort of my recliner?" he retorted.

"Well, I need you to stop by the school on your way home, to meet this young man. He is blonde and I think he will become my new bed partner!" I answered seriously.

Silence...............................

"Just stop by the school on your way home. I will meet you out back then introduce you to him," I stated as I hung up the phone with a huge sinister smile spreading across my face.

I headed down the 5th grade hall and out the back doors of the school to wait for Tor. Sure enough, about 5 minutes later I saw headlights turn into the parking lot and speed over to where I was standing. Tor hesitated for a second before opening his door and walking over to where I was standing.

"So what is up with this younger blonde guy?" He asked quizzically.

I took his hand and walked him over to the picnic table and said, "sit down first, honey, this is important."

As he sat, I called out, "Hey Sherman, come here and meet my husband."

Sherman, in all of his blonde glory came bounding out of the bushes and ran over to us as fast as his four little legs could carry him. "Sherman, this is Tor. Tor, please meet Sherman." Eight week old puppy wiggles erupted from the 7 pounds of energetic, furry, light blonde lab as he ran up to Tor. Sharp little daggers of puppy teeth sunk into his hand as he reached down to pet the exuberant puppy.

"MELINDA, WHERE DID YOU GET THIS PUPPY?"

"Well, it's a long story......... Ok, it really was a pretty short story actually!"

I was out in the gym, which is a separate building from the school, and in walked this 10 year old boy dragging this 8 week old blond lab puppy behind him. He had a chain (not a doggie chain, but a full blown large link chain) wrapped around the puppy's neck about 4 times and then tied in a heavy knot. Attached to this makeshift collar was a clothesline rope.

I ran over to the kid and asked him it that was his puppy. The poor puppy tried to look up at me, but only managed to roll his big brown puppy eyes up as the chain was so heavy he couldn't raise his head but a few inches off the floor. The kid looked at me and said, "He's not - if you want him." He went on to say that their momma dog had 13 puppies and his dad told his sister and him, that they had to get rid of those damn puppies today. They had four left, this little male puppy he was dragging behind him, and three girls still back home.

I picked up the puppy and worked at the large knot in the chain and finally freed him from his discomfort. He was a pretty pup, but typical of the mistreatment that await a lot of pups born into this world. His belly was distended from worm infestation and his little backbone and hipbones poked through his skin. Hundreds of fleas ran up and down his body.

I held him, and he immediately snuggled into my neck and started making little puppy grunts and moans.

There was NO WAY I was going to give this puppy back to the kid.

"Yes, I will take him." I said.

"Well, there are three more at home if you want those too, " he told me.

As much as I would have loved to save them also, there was no way I could take all the puppies, but at least I could give this one a good home.

"What are you going to name him?" asked the boy.

"Sherman." I said.

I took Sherman into our break room and showed him to Dawn, my coworker. The first thing we did was grab the Dove dishwashing soap and bath the poor pup to rid him of his flea populace. He was so bitten up that the water was tinged with red from the blood left over from flea bites. After a good rub down with a dry, warm towel, we sat there and picked the remaining fleas off him one by one. The bath had killed the majority of them, and we got the rest. Sherman laid in our laps like a pro as we picked and prodded him. His fur had turned from a dirty blonde to a beautiful light blonde, almost white color.

This is where the phone call to Tor took place!!!

As much as Tor growls and mumbles about stuff, he is really a big softy when it comes to puppies. He picked Sherman up and Sherman snuggled against Tor's chest and went to sleep. I reached out to take Sherman back so Tor could head home. I had a puppy carrier back in the school that a teacher let me borrow. I was just going to keep Sherman with me and bring him home later when I got off.

"I'll just carry him in my lap as I drive home." Tor said. "No reason to make the poor pup hang out here."

So I stood there and watched as my husband, with Sherman held tightly against his chest all content and quiet, retreat towards the car and head home.


The next morning I took Sherman into our vets for a look over. Other than the obvious need for a dose of wormer, he was generally in good health. He tested negative for Parvo, got his first puppy shot and his first heartworm preventative pill.

He is really doing quiet well. He usually sleeps pressed up against Tor's back or snuggled into a ball in Tor's armpit. Mollie is still quite put out by it all and refused to acknowledge Sherman. She just completely ignores him in most cases. He has taken over all her toys and she won't even touch them now. If they have Sherman slobber on them, she wants nothing to do with them. But I do see some improvement taking place in her attitude. Every once in a while, when she thinks no one is watching, she will let Sherman walk up to her and her tail will wag just a wee little bit before she remembers that she is suppose to be mad. Then her demeanor changes and she struts off in a huff.

God, dogs can act just like children sometimes!!!!

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce you to our newest family member.

Oh.... I forgot to mention one little thing.... In 8 weeks, we will be bringing home another new addition to the family.... in fact, they were just born last night and I am headed out the door this morning to go see them. We are getting an AKC registered German Shepherd puppy.... pick of the litter. Dawn just called me and her female just had 9 puppies, 5 boys and 4 girls. The last one was a big black and tan boy she said.

We have been planning for this puppy for months now, ever since Dawn bred her female. Sherman was nowhere in the plans!!! So in a couple of months, we will have two adolescent kids running around causing Tor all kinds of TORment!!!!

I don't care how much begging Tor does, please don't offer him a spare room for the next few months.... I am afraid he just may take you up on it!!!!!! hehehe

Here are pictures of Sherman:

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Gawd, first he complains about being bored and now he is complaining about a little excitement.... what's a woman to do?????

If you don't know what I am talking about, you have to check out Tor's blog... or at least his version of the past few days. You have to understand though, that he has it all wrong!!!

My dear husband has been on vacation all week. It has been cold and raining most of the week, and he has been complaining religiously about it. I would call him up from work and he would whine about being bored to death, that the house was way to quiet and he wished I could be there with him.

The last straw was Tuesday night when his whining turned into a down-right wail about his boredom.

Ok, I can take care of this. Wednesday, when I went into work, I told my boss that I needed to take Thursday and Friday off. You see, I was technically still a sub at that time and could take any time off that I needed. (I have been approved for full time status, but it's not official until Monday)

When I got home that evening and told Tor that I had the next two days off, this look of shock radiated from his eyes. He just stared at me like a deer caught in the spotlight.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You have taken the rest of the week off?"

"Well yes. You said you were bored and that the house was way to quiet without me. You said that you wish I were there to spend time with. Remember?" I stated.

"Uh - Yeah" was his only reply.

"Well tomorrow it's suppose to be really nice out for a change, and I thought we could take a ride out to the lake. We can walk the trails and Mollie can romp in the water."

"Uh - Ok" He whispered painfully.

We had a great time out at the lake. We walked through the woods, followed the shoreline, took pictures of the wildlife, chased a few water moccasins around.... in general, we had a wonderful adventure!!

I did hear Tor growl a few times, something about guns and critters and work, but Mollie and I just ignored him.

Then after a nice dinner of catfish and shrimp, we made our way back home to spend the evening curled up watching TV.

Now Tor said that I 'hate' Dancing With The Stars. I don't hate the show, it's a wonderful show and I love to watch the dancers float across the floor, bodies in unison... It's the slobber that I have to clean up from Tor that I don't like. He was switching from Olympic Skating to Dancing, depending on who had the sexiest costume on at the moment.

His poor fingers were being worked to death, trying to operate the remote. So I asked him if I could dance for him, that way, his fingers could rest up a bit.

His only response was a loud growl.

Ok, so he wanted sexy costumes too. I have this bed cover that is made of a sheer tan material. It has Celtic knots and dancing horses in shades of brown decorating it. I draped it around my waist and brought it up over my shoulders, letting it flow naturally over key points of interest on my body.

I stepped out into the livingroom and started to dance!! Boy, I'm such a good wife!!!! I was only trying to alleviate Tor's boredom!! But did he appreciate this effort on my behalf? NO!!

He howled with laughter and grabbed his camera. It's a good thing that he fell out of his chair first, it gave me a chance to gather up my make-shift dress and high-tail it to the bedroom and lock the door before he could actually snap a picture. I could still hear him cackling out there, rolling on the livingroom floor while I changed into my nightgown. Gawd, the man is impossible to please!!

I tried my best to keep him from getting bored though. Everytime I saw him just sitting there, doing nothing... I made it a point to interact with him. I was trying to do him a favor, trying to keep his day bright and jolly!! It was hard work on my part, you know, to try to find things that would keep him busy.

Ice cubes down the back work great, plus a few peas shot from a straw when his attention was lacking. Then I did a bit of sculpturing on a smoked sausage that he didn't find humourous at all.... you will have to ask him about that. The man is just plain hard to please!!

Today, it was even tougher to keep his attention. It was cold and nasty out again, so I had to find things around the house to intertain him. He didn't appreciate anything I did... go figure!!! But he sure growls nice now... he's got Mollie beat by a long shot in that department.

We did go out to eat again tonight. It was a very uneventful evening if you disregard the flogging I had to give him right in the restuarant, in front of all the patrons. Then we did what everybody does in Polk County when they are bored, we went to WAL-MART!!! We almost got kicked out, but it wasn't my fault. All I wanted to do was put my hand in his pocket as we walked around. What was wrong with that??? HUH???

He kept slapping my hand away and growling at me saying things like, "Melinda, stop it!!" "Melinda, behave yourself!!" "Melinda, now cut that out!!"

I mean, what was I doing wrong???? I was just doing my job!

Oh well, MEN.... will we ever really understand them? Do we even try? hehehe

I have one more day to keep him un-bored. It's suppose to rain all day tomorrow, so I am going to have to go into my bag of goodies to come up with some interesting stuff for him.

You all take care now,







 

There are many reasons I fell in love with David... His caring ways, his honor, his gratious heart, his soul, his goodness.... and then he would send me these letters, letters that touched my very heart and soul!!

Since this is Valentines Day, I thought I would share one of the letters he wrote me, before we were married. We had been talking every day on the internet, and every evening over the phone. One evening I had a work party I had to go to, a dinner and an awards party given by the management, and when I got home, this was waiting for me:

Things My Heart Needs To Say

My dearest Melinda: You are probably at your party now and having a ball and I am happy you are with friends and enjoying the evening. I want to take this time to let my heart speak to you, now that he has found his voice after so many years. He really has become something of a blabber mouth so please bear with him, humor him as he is fairly new at this feeling thing having lain dormat for so very long. So, without further ado, I shall turn the keyboard over to my heart and let him talk to you for a bit.

MELINDA?... Hi there lady. I am a heart. Just a simple organ that has resided inside this crusty ole cowboy for many years now. I just want to thank you for rescueing me, for giving me life once more, for saving me from shriveling up and withering away. I don't even mind that the cowboy walks around all day with a silly grin on his face. I guess he has earned the right to scare the hell outta his co-workers who are afraid that he is about to snap and go 'postal' lol, the whole grinning and pleasant thing is sooo unlike him!!! They keep waiting for him to explode! Literally!!

As for myself, believe me if I had a mouth, I would be grinning just as self-assured, and much much less afraid. You might ask of what is a simple organ afraid of? Well let me tell you, it is pain that I fear most. Pain of rejection, of loss of the total void where love should be. You have taken those fears from me and now I can step up and guide my cowboy through the rest of his life, and if I do say so myself, I would rather see him guided by a heart that knows love than one that is shriveled and blackened like I was so short a time ago.

So you see, my dear Melinda, you have done so much for this old organ, that I shall never be able to repay you, but one thing I can assure you is that I will keep the Cowboy close to you and true as long as I beat in his chest. That's the least I can do for the lady who saved us both!

ALL RIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH! Sorry my darling, but if I let him, he will talk your head off. Geeze, I never thought the battered old thing had enough life left in him to gab like that....WHAT? OH...OK!

He just told me to tell you: "I LOVE YOU AND SO DOES THE COWBOY AND UNLIKE THE COWBOY, I REMEMBER HEAVEN!"

I will let you go now, and I hope to see you online later tonight. If not, I do look forward to tomorrow. I will be up by eight if you want to call. Will be crushed if you don't.....

All my love,
David (and his heart)

********************************

Now how can you not fall in love with a fellow who can write stuff like that??????

In fact, I have been panicked for the last few months as I thought I had lost this little note. I printed it out and put it away in a safe place, then forgot where that safe place was. I have torned the house apart looking for it. Today, I pulled a box of pictures down out of the closet, and there, laying in amongst the pictures was the note!! What a wonderful Valentines Day present!!!


 

I told David this morning, when I wished him a happy birthday, that I had not gotten him anything. He said that it was alright, he didn't need anything, but if I really wanted to make his day.... to do a blog!!

I keep telling David that I am NOT a writer. I may come in here, as CC does, and fling some words down, but I am not a writer. I type what I would say to you if you were here in person, and sometimes I just don't have anything to say. If you read my Blog Description, it says that I am 'normally' a quiet person.... but sometimes I get on a roll!!!!

That is what seperates a writer from a person like me. You guys are writers!! Every day you can come in here and put words down on paper, and they are great. Everyday you manage to come up with ideas, themes, stories or something to hold the readers interest. I just can't do that.

There are days that I sit here, my mind blank and there is no way I can write. I have even done searches on the internet trying to jump-start my thought processes to no avail!!!! Now I do come in here and read all of your blogs, I wouldn't miss that for the world... but my creativity for putting words down sometimes escape me for weeks at a time.

So here I sit, trying my darndest to do a blog!!

Oh, there was one thing that did capture my attention this morning after I stepped out of the shower. David's brother and his wife came down last weekend for a visit. They brought a couple of presents for us. David's was the John Wayne movie "Rio Bravo". You see, David is a huge fan of John Wayne, so we are gathering quite a collection of his old movies.

My present was scented soaps and body spray!! So I reached up, after my shower, to use one of the body sprays that came in the package. The one I happen to grab was "Fresh Watermelon"!! Fresh Watermelon, now who in their right mind wants to smell like a stinkin Watermelon??????

So I put it back and grabbed the pretty orange bottle and looked at it. "Mango Mash" was the name of this one..... MANGO????? Dang, I don't think I have ever eaten a Mango, why in the world do I want to smell like one???

Then there was a pretty yellow bottle, do I dare check it out? Sure enough, the label said Coconut Banana!!! I guess that would be fine if I wanted to attract a bunch of monkeys.

There was one little bottle left. I might as well see what that one is. A pretty pink bottle with a picture of a flower on it. Oh wow, maybe we are getting somewhere now. I looked..... YES..... RoseWater Touched with Lillies!!!!! Alright, now we are talking.

I sprayed myself lightly and got dressed. I dried my hair and put on a touch of make-up. David was sitting at the computer finishing up his blog. I walked up and sat down beside him to read it.

He looked at me and said: "GAWD, YOU SMELL LIKE YOU JUST WALKED OUT OF A FRENCH WHOREHOUSE!!!"

We can't win can we?????

We either smell FRUITY, or we smell SLUTTY!!!! Whats a gal to do?

I guess I will go 'Ala-Natural' from now on!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HON!!!!

Oh, I told him I was going to call one of those live telegram places and have them go to Wal-Mart and sing David a birthday song, right in front of all his co-workers. Something a bit risque and fun!!! David snarled at me and said.... "DON'T YOU DARE"!!! hehehe

But he is in luck.... I have checked, we don't have such a place in this little town... but if we did...lololololol
 

My mother is the one who passed her love of nature and animals on to me. All the time I was growing up, my mother was always taking in injured or abandoned wild animals and rehabilitating them to be released back into their natural environment later.

It was not surprising to walk into our home and find a couple of raccoons wandering around, or an opossum curled up on the couch, or squirrels nestled in the folded towels in the bathroom. I taught a Great Horned Owl to hunt for mice when I was 16 years old, and had to show four Canadian Geese how to fly by throwing them into the air from the bridge that crossed our little creek beside the house.

When my mother and father aged, the nursing home for animals naturally moved to my home, and I continued the tradition while raising my son. His friends never knew what they would find sheltered at our house when they walked in.

When my father died, my mother asked me to move in with her. She had never been alone, and was afraid of the long lonely days and dark nights. It was an easy move, since I lived right across the little dirt road.

Our wild animal residents had dwindled down to just two snakes that were ready for release and a few Mallard ducks by then. Our domesticated animal population included a hedgehog, a ferret, a African Grey parrot, four Rottweilers, two cats, an Iguana and two aquariums full of fish and turtles!!! My mother didn't mind a bit! We all headed over to her house.

Both my mother and I love to feed the birds. I had a dozen bird feeders hanging in my yard and had built my mother a large platform feeder that my father had installed on the corner of their deck. My mother could sit out on the deck and the birds would fly in and settle on the feeder to feed. She would spend hours sitting there watching her feathered friends. I moved my hanging feeders over to her yard, and the birds followed.

Once we got settled, I started putting corn and peanuts out on the feeder on the deck, and sure enough, it wasn't but a few weeks later that the squirrels came. We had three that would visit on a daily basis. One black squirrel, one gray and a big old red squirrel who had a large notch taken out of the end of one ear. 'Notch' became quite tame and would wander around our legs looking for peanuts that we would toss to him. On occasion he would sit there on his haunches, right at our feet, waiting for us to share our food. 'Notch' was a huge squirrel, big and fat with a tail that would fan out and cover his whole body during a misting rain. His coat glisten a beautiful auburn in the afternoon sun.

'Notch' hung out all summer at the feeder, even peering into the kitchen window to let us know that he was out of corn or peanuts. He wasn't satisfied with just bird seed anymore!!

Fall came, and my 23 year old nephew, whom I love dearly, came down to do a bit of hunting. I don't mind hunting at all, as long as you hunt for food, and not just for the pleasure of killing something. My nephew had grown up with a love of animals also, and hunted not only for the enjoyment of the hunt, but to supplement the meat in his freezer. There were many of day he headed out early in the morning, only to return empty handed later that night to tell of the doe that walked within a few feet of him or of the rabbits and other forest creatures that failed to notice his presence and shared with him, their daily existence.

He was also a fisherman, and would come down and fish on the lake, releasing most of the Bass and Pike he caught. He only kept a few to bring in and clean and freeze for later eating. Sometimes he and I would go out and catch a mess of Bluegills and bring home to fry. Nothing taste as good as a fresh batch of cornmeal battered Bluegills along with fried potatoes and a buttery ear of sweet corn!!!!

He headed out the door that morning with his shotgun. He never hunted around the house. He would head up the road and cross over the highway to hunt on the neighbors farmland. There was 500 acres of rolling cornfields, abandoned apple orchards, stands of hardwood and pine and a creekbed to explore. He was gone most of the day, coming home empty handed but in time for dinner.

The next morning he headed out again, determined to harvest some wild game to put in his freezer.

He came home early that afternoon, unloaded his shotgun outside the house and walked in proudly displaying the product of his efforts. In his hands he held up two rabbits and a big old red squirrel.....................with a notch out of his ear!!!!

I looked at my mother, my mother looked at me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"YOU KILLED NOTCH", I yelled!!!

"YOU SHOT NOTCH", my mother cried!!!

Of course my nephew stood there flabbergasted. Usually we always ohhhed and ahhhed over his catch, remarking of his hunting abilities and how wonderful a good rabbit stew would taste this winter.

"WHY DID YOU SHOOT NOTCH????", my mother and I blasted at him.

"Who the hell is Notch?" my nephew asked, shocked by our outrageous reactions to his harvest.

"NOTCH WAS OUR SQUIRREL, THE SQUIRREL THAT WE FED, THE SQUIRREL THAT WOULD RUN UP OUR LEG TO FETCH A PEANUT FROM OUR HAND," we cried. "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM???????"

Now my nephew was getting a bit defensive by this time. We had been blasting him with condemnation for shooting "NOTCH" and he was getting a little frustrated and combative.

"What the hell was "NOTCH" doing way up across the dang highway and in the old apple orchard????" he replied. "How the hell was I to know that you guys were feeding this dang stupid squirrel????"

"YOU KILLED NOTCH", my mother and I again cried. I mean, we were laying it on pretty thick!!!

Now both my mother and I knew that my nephew had no way of knowing that he was shooting 'Notch'. We also knew that that was the law of the land. Some animals survive and some die, whether it be from the hands of a hunter or mother nature, it is just the game of life. But by this time, we were standing there reveling in watching my poor nephew squirm. Since we had lost Notch, we at least could take extreme pleasure in making my nephew fidget and feel bad!!!! We succeeded with glowing honors.

My nephew grabbed his gun, his coat, his rabbits and 'Notch' and stomped out to his truck and went home. As he drove down our road, my mother and I chuckled. Sure, we would miss 'Notch' but their were other squirrels to feed, and that big black one was getting pretty tame.

To this day, we tease him about shooting 'Notch'.

But I must say, my nephew did say that 'Notch' made one of tastiest squirrel stews he had ever eaten!!!!