Flowers that make missing loved ones a lot less difficult

The first Siberian

All the pretty little Siberians, blowing in the sweet summer breeze

Black Magic

Blooms six, seven & eight

The first Cream & Sugar

The largest of my Bearded Irises

The ninth & final Black Magic

I know I griped a lot during the winter about the cold and so on… now if I could only take that and combine it with the sweltering conditions currently moving its way through the Not-So-Great-White-North!

I haven’t been able to leave my house for a couple of days. My car has air conditioning but it also uses a lot more gas if I use it. Which, combined with the gas prices… well, you get the picture. Day before yesterday we hit 94 degrees with a heat index of 99 because of the 91% humidity!

See… that’s the reason I didn’t want to move to Florida! Oh wait… I’m not in Florida!

Cripes.

I’m surviving. The new windows that were put in a year ago have paid for themselves and then some. I paid an average of $26 less a month in heating costs. I expect the same will be reflected in the ac costs this summer. I also am able to use most of my energy usage in the off peak hours.

Guess it’s a perk of not sleeping during the night. I wash clothes, dishes and run the ac mostly during the night. The other day though I had my ac on through the day. A rarity. Mostly because the humidity makes my breathing incredibly difficult.

On the flip side… I wake up breathing so that’s so much better than the alternative! I have finally finished up the last of the 50th wedding anniversary invitations and all that jazz. My Aunt is very happy with the end result. My Uncle was thrilled when he saw his parents wedding picture on the invite. I was so happy to surprise him with that!

So now all we have to do is wait until the big day and have a great time! I’m thinking that won’t be a problem! The whole family is stoked for it. My Mom’s side of the family hasn’t been together in awhile and a celebration of 50 years sure is a lot better than the usual venues of saying good-bye to yet another family member, as has happened in the past.

My irises were spectacular this year and I was thrilled. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was Grandma saying hello. Mom’s 8th Celestial Birthday was last week. I can’t believe it’s been that long. Some days it feels like it was last week. Nine months from now it will be Grandma’s 9th. How did that happen?!

I guess when you love someone so deeply and completely, your heart tries to convince you they are still near, and you never stop missing them. You just forget the days and years because you only remember the happiness and love you shared with them.

Am I sad? Yes, there are some days that are worse than others. If I’m alive 20 years from now, I doubt it will feel any different. Love never dies… it just becomes another form of beauty. I look at my flowers, the humming birds zipping about my yard, by Dad’s… I firmly believe it’s Mom‘s way of telling us she is in a better realm.

Of course the flowers? The flowers are definitely in Grandma’s hands! She could grow a flawless rose that she stuck in an old coffee can and set out by the porch! No joke! She had the touch, no doubt about it. This year my Black Magic iris had 9 blooms! Nine! Phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. Thanks Grandma… you given me the opportunity to at least look like I know what I’m doing!

The lilies are on the verge of bursting forth. My Tiger Lilies have already opened with tons of pods, the Oriental lilies are close behind as the day lilies are getting ready to commence blooming any day now. With this weather, I’ve done something I never did before. I watered! Which is of course why it rained most of the day. Go figure.

But even so, it was a lovely, all day soaker rain that we really needed. Especially the area farmers. It means the next farmers market on the square should have some awesome vegetables this coming weekend. I about killed myself with fresh strawberries. Gees O’ Pete’s… those things are like the old potato chips commercial… you just can’t eat just one! What can I say? Every now and again it doesn’t hurt to get lots of sweet tasting fiber to cleanse your system out!

Well, it’s been a long day and I’m ready to crash, I thought I’d share some flower pictures. As the lilies begin to open I’ll be posting them too. What I’m really excited about is the area of plants that I planted from seeds from my Alaska trips.

They’re really filling in and are very pretty and beautiful shades of green. I just wish I knew what they are going to turn out to be! I had the seed packets pasted on sticks in the beds. But the howling winds we had in the early spring blew them away. Ah, what the heck… I love surprises!

Be well my friends!

The Wedding...

There is love....

This Kiss...

Just a quick posting on the fly... a relative is coming to visit so my house needs to be 'white glove' clean!

The silly, silly bride and groom thought that because the plates and cups were not glass, (I think they're called Melmac?!) but back to the subject, they thought they'd be able to thwart the tradition of kissing every time someone began to clink glassware.

They were wrong, we managed.

Then they made the ruling that the only way they'd do it, was if you sang a song with the word "love" in it.

It didn't stay quiet long.

But this kiss? Now this kiss brought down the house. The bridesmaids and the groomsmen belted out, "My baloney has a first name it's O-s-c-a-r, my baloney has a second name... of course you're all familiar with one of the next lines... "I love to eat it everyday..."

We decided after that to allow them to eat in peace, but it had us all happy and laughing and it was just one of the most beautiful days I've ever had! So what if it was only 50 degrees and rained all day? When you're at a wedding, everyone remembers that they're in love... how could it be any other way?

My first iris has bloomed!

The striking inside view

Front the front

From the side

I'm so happy! I really know that spring/summer is on it's way when one of my irises open! This is one of my favorites as the bloom is the size of my hand! There are seven other buds on the stem so it should produce some beautiful flowers!

My Cream and Sugars are beginning to show growing pods, they're considerably smaller but I just love the delicate yellow and white blooms.

My absolute favorite, the Midnight Bloom has one bud beginning to break free of the pod, with many others in line. From a distance, this iris looks black even though it is really a deepest of deep purple. I also love it as the blooms are even larger than my hand! It's awesome!

My day lilies, oriental lilies and tiger lilies are beginning to bud as well. My Siberian Iris are also beginning to break free from the pods. The current count on those is standing at 18 right now. I planted the wild Alaskan irises near them for contrast. I doubt the Alaskan irises will bloom this year but the the leaves are just as gorgeous right now with their luscious shades of greens.

Tomorrow is my nephews wedding day. Good heavens, on what planet did that happen?! He was about three years old yesterday! Cripes. Where have the last 22 years gone?!

I am praying that it is a beautiful day, filled with love and happiness. I'll probably post some pictures after the weekend.

Well, time to log off... I still have to figure out what I'm going to wear... it'll all depend on the weather. Today was sunny in the 70's... tomorrow is supposed to be 50, rainy and windy. Go figure.

Well off to bed, it's been a long day.

The seasons of the chairs and here come the gophers!

Mid-winter
Very early spring
First fresh cut spring lawn

Six fricking days later!

So it's supposed to hit 82 degrees today! It's not even 10 a.m. yet and it's already close to 70! Although it's supposed to get stormy later as another cold front pushes in. No surprise there.

My grass was cut nine days ago when it was 50's and nice, even though skies were cloudy. Then the warm weather predicted? Actually happened! Yay! Then two days later I noticed the wee... I mean grass was getting long again. Very long!

So I put in a call to my godson... problem is, school isn't out for summer yet, so it would be the weekend before he could get here. We were also supposed to be getting rain. Two full days of 70 & above temperatures, one day of all day gentle rain then another warm day...

Waiting until the weekend to mow just wasn't going to cut it. (Of course the pun is intended! HA!) Besides, by this time the grass was close to four inches high. The weeds were considerably taller.

My neighbors secretly hate me and my lack of using weed control lawn stuff. I look it as an "Oh well!" That stuff is expensive! I can think of better things to do with my meager money. Like gas since it's raised to almost $3.00 a gallon again. Their story is it's because of 'summer demand' I think it's more a case of, "How much can we stick it to them before they stop driving to destinations for vacations?"

I also refer to my neighbor guys on either side of my house as 'Carl One & Carl Two' (Remember Carl/Bill Murray in Caddyshack?) We have gophers in my neighborhood. The Carl's use every means possible in an attempt to eradicate the little rodents.

Me? It appears my yard is a Gofer Refugee Camp of sorts. This annoys the Carl's. I guess that I would understand this whole, "Gopher Quest" if their lawns were among those eligible for a six-page spread in Better Homes & Gardens. They're not. I actually have greener, thicker etc. grass than they do.

So get a grip! So what if I just mow dandelions down and not gophers? You guys use the weed killer crap on your lawns anyway! As to their blood lust for the poor rodents in question... I can't help but wonder if the whole thing is a bit of envy on their part. My lawn, lush & green... theirs are just kind of green, scraggly...

Personally... I think my lawn is just wonderfully aerated by little gopher tunnels!

Reflection...

It's pouring rain today.

It's like a crisp pulsing against the windows. Little tics of sound. Rhythmic, soothing...

Sleep comes and goes throughout the night.

A flash that skitters across the white walls of my bedroom... A rumble, low and throaty... rolling away until the tics against the window are audible again.

After I get up I gaze out the window and across my back yard, I watch a cottontail taking shelter in my carport for a few moments. I'm simply amazed at how incredibly vivid the varying greens of my yard are in the gray, overcast and rainy day.

The rain brings fond memories to mind...

Out at the 40... cheap, plastic rain ponchos so we could play outside and not drive our mothers nuts.

Ponchos that had more duct tape covering the inevitable rips than there was plastic by summer's end.

A flash that suddenly bursts inside my mind...

Hanging upside down from the old swing set to determine if the rain would go up your nose and make you sneeze...

Discovering a true test could only take place without the rain poncho on.

Discovering that hanging upside down on the old swing set was fun in the rain...
with or without the poncho.

"Oh for crying out loud!!"

"Get off that swing set! It's metal!"

Never quite grasped the concept of why we had to get off... We weren't allowed to be outside when it was lightning out anyway.

"Oh gees! Was that the camper door?!"

"We're off of it! We're gonna go play by the tree stand"

"No! By the tree stand! Not in the tree stand!"

Hmm... in the tree stand?

"Hey you guys... first one in the tree stand gets the first `smore!"

"Mom!"

"Carol fell by the tree stand!"

"Mom!" Carmen saw some blood and I think she passed out!"

"No... we were just by the tree stand!"

"Let's go skip rocks..."

"Hey! Some of those were rain!"

"No way you got ten on that throw!"

"Guess what?!" "The bat's back in the outhouse!"

"Oh hi Mom... no, I meant there's one by the outhouse."

"Dad!"

"Mom said come kill the bat in the outhouse!"

"Hey Dad? If you put it out in the rain can it still fly?"

"Wow! Look how fast it flies! Daddy, where will it go?!"

"How come we can't come fishing too?!"

"Eat your lunch and if it stops storming out you can go play outside again..."

"Just crawl into your bunks for a little while until it passes."

"No way I'm taking a nap!"

The rain taps out a cadence on the canvas and aluminum camper. My eyelids grow heavier. I look at my Mom fast asleep. I hear the boat come back to shore with my Dad and uncles. I doze... I hear them talking as they clean the fish they caught.

I roll over and snuggle deeper into my sleeping bag. The rain is coming a bit harder now. A steady beat... lulling me into a deeper sleep.

I feel my Dad come into the camper more than hear him. I am aware he is taking off his shoes and getting up on the bunk fully dressed like the rest of us, to lie down beside Mom.

I open my eyes as he snuggles next to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek and a wink for me. "Go back to sleep" he whispers.

I couldn't stay awake if I tried.

Today, I stare out my window and my heart feels so peaceful. I remember 'rain naps' in the camper... I remember listening to the rain and watching my parents sleep. I remember playing in the rain... knowing that at some point we'd be called in to nap. I remember times I didn't bother to be called in. I just came in and curled up on my bunk to listen to the rain... and fell fast asleep.

I wish I were in that camper right now... Mom and Dad... nestled together on their bunk... I remember the sounds, the smells of the forest.... I remember how safe I felt... how happy, how loved.

I'd give just about anything to be able to open my eyes and be looking across the camper, seeing my Mom curled up in my Dad's arms yet again...

It's pouring rain today... and I find myself smiling at the memory rather than crying... and that's okay. I sit in my living room with no lights on, listening to the heartbeat of the rain...

"Hey! You guys! Let's go play in the bay!... we'll be back later Mom! Love ya'!"

The Puppy

Hey! Can I chew on that?

Yes... some friends of mine got a puppy. Meet Louie the Black Lab-German Shorthair mix. Louie is a "Happy Dog". Dealing with Happy Dogs can be tough. Dealing with a Happy Dog puppy... Cripes! What was I thinking!?

Louie joins my friend's home with two feline, fur-children. Long and well-established fur children.

Lainy is in the midst of planning Louie's untimely demise.

This is Jimmi... she's helping.

So I was in charge of the little darlings for a couple days. Mostly it involved not letting Louie out of my sight. Although it didn't help all that much. Once he peed while I was walking up to him to pet him!

It's not easy to deal with an animal who's entire thought process consists of, "What's that? What's that? Gotta pee, gotta pee! What's... you get it.

It's been quite awhile since I was around a Happy Dog puppy. First and foremost you try to avoid letting them get those, 'drop-like-a-stone-and-be-dead-sound-asleep' power naps. These are bad. As a puppy wakes up from one of those dreaded naps, it's not unlike letting a rabid badger out of it's cage.

Louie was a docile little puppy the first time I saw him... sleeping all curled up on his little bed, all warm and puppy-breath-ed. He's at the coltish stage where his skin is loose, his ears seem way too big for his head, his legs seem at least six inches too long for his body and of course... paws the size of snow shovels.

Yeah... Louie crawled right inside my heart from the moment I laid eyes on him.

Big mistake.

When I first met him, he was, for the most part... uninterested in the cats. That has changed. It is simple really. They want to kill him and they want to do it soon. Poor Lainy made the mistake of jumping over the gate to come into the kitchen to eat. Louie was curled up on his crate bed. The door wasn't closed. He'd just crawled in to nap.

He opened his eyes, saw her and charged up and out like a thoroughbred out of the gate... She broke the sound barrier leaping back over the puppy gates.

Yes. War has been declared.

Later that night, I laid in bed with Jimmi at my feet and Lainy was sucking on my hair, kneading my pillow and explaining the master plan as she purred the night away.

Louie should be afraid... very afraid.

As for me? The pup's exercise time will be doubled at the very least... a tired Happy Dog puppy means I can read more than one line at a time of my book!

Okay... Napa season is over....

... and by that I mean no more whining about the weather!

Last year's Siberians

We had a glorious day, in the 80's! A single degree away from an all time high set in 1967. I spent the day hurting myself in my yard. It was worth it though. We had lots of rain the last couple days and everything has turned bright green seemingly overnight!

We did have a few tremendous thunderstorms. One dropped hail the size of marbles and up to quarters! That storm worried me some. Here in the Not-So-Great-White-North, hail is often followed up with tornadoes. I watch those storms carefully. We've had our fair share of twisters over the years.

I'm now anxiously awaiting the birth of the Alaskan flower seeds I brought back with me! I put them in last fall, and will have to make sure when they start popping up to be careful with my weeding! I don't do gardening 'rows' I do 'areas' so any weeds that shoot up will get to live long enough for me to determine if it's a new flower! HA!

I have some started in containers. Large, random container gardening is very popular around here. I have an old wash tub that was my Grandma's, some old enamelware dish pans, vintage pots and such. I also thought it would be a good way for me to start the new flowers, some I'll leave in the container until they're strong enough for transplanting, the others I'll leave in if I like the way they look.

There are a couple I want to transplant right next to my house because they get tall. It will make for a nice display of color against the dove gray siding of my house. Those seeds are assorted Iceland Poppies, so I don't know what color they'll be, but my Oriental lilies are assorted too and I love the variations of colors.


I'm also anxious to see how the wild irises look near my Siberian irises I had for years. (Pictured above) The wild ones I saw in Alaska seemed quite a bit lighter in color. The Siberians are very dark purple. I hope the new ones grow well. I'm sure there won't be any flowering this summer but I may get a surprise.

I'm hoping the Arctic Lupine flourish as well. I think they are so pretty! I also have Forget-Me-Nots, Wild Roses, Wild Columbine and Shooting Stars. So if any of them flower this summer I'll be very happy. I love flowers and I love that these can be grown here!

Here's hoping for a successful summer of flowers!

So stupidly....

...the day starts out somewhat like this. Gray, rain... even some thunder & lightning. Then Holy Cats!!! The sun's out! It's staying out! It's almost 70 degrees outside!!

... so I'm thinking, this is great! Finally spring is here to stay. So, masochist I am, I check the forecast for the weekend. It's supposed to be 82 degrees tomorrow!!

82!

With severe thunderstorms, massive amounts of rain with flood warnings because the frost isn't completely out yet. Oh yeah, then more thunderstorms as the warm air moves on with the cold front pushing in.

This would be the same cold front that is predicted to bring the temps down to the 40's by Sunday.

Oh... we're expecting snow up to 6 inches by nightfall. It was bad enough with the last snow we had, the poor Robins looked so confused. I felt sorry for them so I went to the bait shop and bought them some night crawlers... trust me, those worms never had a chance!

So, since I can't afford to move, I'm planning on going back to bed until May.
I might have to make another bait shop run first though.

I swear, I'm fricking moving!

I wanna live here.

So we finally got our spring. It got into the 50's, then the temperature teased us with 60's... then gloriously we had a weekend in the 70's! Woo - hoo!!!!!!

Then back came the 40's. The 30's. The freezing rain. The sleet. Inches of snow! (I'm talking six to ten inches to the Not-So-Distant-North!)

It rained all day yesterday.

Most of the night too.

It's raining now.

My brief flirtation with shorts, t-shirts and bare feet has transformed back into sweat pants, a t-shirt, a long sleeved flannel shirt and slippers.

Cripes.

I guess I could go do a load of laundry.

Or better still... fire up the electric blanket, crawl under it and sleep until tomorrow.

Too bad I'm already on my second pot of coffee!

I'm hoping tomorrow will be bright and dry.

What can I say?

I dare to dream....

Well this weekend just went to the dogs!

It was almost like a Dr. Seuss book... there were big dogs and little dogs, dopey dogs and funny, dopey dogs, dogs that are just way too smart, and those that you are forced to wonder about.

Sneak attack kisses, "Agh! My mouth was open!"

Cripes.

"Yes, I think it's dead. Butch did it."

Sunshine... big, floppy tongues hanging out... miniature killer dogs barking at a seriously big dog they couldn't reach. Maybe better was the fact he couldn't get to them! I'm fairly sure the seemingly amused Great Dane was probably thinking, "Ooo... snacks!"

"Give me water."

Little dogs racing around like greyhounds (impressively too!)

"No! Don't jump up on...!"

(Note to self, pre-treat little, muddy dog paw print

on shirt and jeans.)

Big dogs chasing sticks, then chewing them to bits so that each throw had less stick each time.

"Yuck! How can you possibly get that much spit on this in under 15 feet away!?"

Coulda' used the Chuck-it... Although it's rather a unique experience to see a dog roll his eyes at your completely inadequate throwing skills.

I got even though... as the stick got shorter, I'd fake 'em out, they'd run looking for it and I'd just toss it off the porch a ways and then tell them to "Hunt it up!" Kept them busy for a few minutes each time!

"She's by the stove, think she'll drop something?" "She's klutzy, so yeah... maybe."

Of course there was lots of hugging & loving....

"Oh man! You know that wood tick stuff works for you guys, but it's really just a mass transit system for the damn things to get on me!" (Yeah, that left me feeling 'crawly" for a couple hours...)

"What is...? OH! Give me that!"

"Hey! Harley! Oh man.... (Note to self... pre-treat large, muddy paw print on shirt.)

"Will you guys be quiet! It's just a squirrel!"

"JAX! I'm on to you blondie... STICK AROUND!"

"Oh! Poor Butchie! Did she take your bone?"

"Hi! Yeah... it's really a beautiful day! Don't mind them, they think they're Dobermans."

I have decided one thing though... Butch and Miss Sunny are no longer considered "small dogs" Their personalities are far too large. They are now just big dogs that shrunk when washed in my book!

Butch & Sunny sleep off their dog racing imitation.

Close encounters of the weekend of "Dogs that chase parked cars"

I rest my case.

So this past weekend was a first for me. I was chosen to take care of a pair of pugs for a friend. Now, most of you know I'm not a "small dog" person, but from my first encounter, I was thrilled because they are pretty much big dogs, just in smaller packages.

They settle down, they play hard and (this is the one that I like the best) they know they are lap dogs. This is especially nice as I didn't have to deal with dogs over 80 lbs that cannot grasp that concept!

They were put in a unique position this weekend. Mom left. Without them! Then there's was me. Gees! What's going on here! But I got them comforted, got them interested in something other than the strange turn of events... and was then sorry. (Kidding!)

I'm just going to ignore you. On the other hand... I'm watching you!

When I agreed to care for them I was a little worried. Would they behave? Would they band together as a "pack" and kill me as I slept? Would they eat their treats? (This was a yes on the doggie snacks and no on the carrots. No, seriously! They love carrots and I actually saw them eat them!) Would they pee on me? (Don't laugh... it's happened before!)

After about the first half hour or so it appeared that it would be okay. This was a great relief as I had been quite concerned about their well-being. Once they discovered I was really a pushover... all was well. One of the first issues addressed was jealousy. Just like kids, a "Oh you're just such a pretty girl!" brought about a quick jump on my lap by Butch the Bully as he nosed Ms. Sunny out of the way.

Men.

It was around this time that Sunny discovered an interesting phenomenon... they are used to sleeping on the tops of the couch cushions. As you can see below...

Well, Sunny decided she wanted to be closer to me. Well... it was probably more along the lines of, "I'm tired of sleeping on this cushion." So she proceeded to walk to the one on the other side of me.

She accomplished this by heading to the other cushion... and simply walking across the top of my boobs as if they were just a convenient way to get there. She seemed to think this was pretty cool and couldn't wait to share the info with Butch.

While it had me laughing hysterically, I now sport the bruises to prove it! It became a game. They tag-teamed me, I swear! Sunny would get on my lap, snuggling and being just too darn cute, when suddenly my face is full of the side of a Pug fur.

"Hey Butch, how's it goin'?"

I understand that while I have an ample chest (and admittedly my chest is pretty soft and squishy much like the sofa cushions) it was a point of contention. Mostly because these "small dogs" aren't really all that small!

I did get "even" for the lack of a better term... their schedule is much tighter than some of my other, average 'Happy Dog' schedules. These guys are usually asleep before 9:00 p.m. and up around 5:30 A.M.!!!

Cripes! WHEN is she going to go to bed!?

Me? I watched DVD's, I read, and I took them outside to do their thing around 1:00 a.m. (Confusion reigned let me assure you.) The good thing came when they didn't get up until just after 6 a.m. I questioned if they'd have gotten up that early at all but I had to go, so they did too. Being oddly fogged (because we were all out of our normal routines) was never so apparent as when I opened the blinds on the patio doors and pulled them aside.

Snow! I swear... I looked outside, they looked outside... I looked down at them, they looked back up at me and we came to the conclusion. Living in The-Not-So-Great-White-North does on occasion... really suck.

Cripes. The first weekend of April and two & a half inches of snow!

Is this still payback for the 6 a.m. wake-up call?

We were more than content to go back to bed and forget the weather. All things considered, this isn't exactly something we're not used to. It's mostly just really annoying.

So we all survived our first weekend together, I'll be going back soon and I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure it'll go just as smoothly. All I have to know now is whether or not I can take them for a car ride.

I have to find out from their Mom as to whether or not they curl up on the seat and snooze until we stop... or if they're the type of dogs that will want to help me drive.

I try to avoid the latter, as most law enforcement agencies frown upon canine assistance at 55 mph.

Of course, one of the funniest moments of the weekend came when I took them for their daily walk. It just so happened that Momma called to check-in on how it was going while we were out walking.

I asked her how long she usually walked them. It was around 15 minutes.

Oops.

We'd already been out about 45 minutes and by the time we returned home it had been nearly an hour! We had started out with them basically taking me for a drag!

By the time we turned around to head for home they were walking behind me. I even picked up Miss Sunny to give her a bit of a break. They happily ate a small treat once we were home and then proceeded to sleep the walk off. How can you tell if a Pug is really tired?

Their sweet little corkscrew tails uncurl!

The wonder of weather...

What a day. Gray, cold.
Pouring rain.
Sleet.
Snow.
As I sit here I hear the rain falling.
I can almost feel it flowing down the glass of my windows.
Then it changes.
There are tiny ticks against the glass. It's freezing.
Rain again.
Now, soft plops.
I gaze out at the huge wet, white snowflakes as they splash onto the glass.
As the day progresses, so does the wetness.
It has frozen quickly.
I open my front door and pitch a penny out onto my sidewalk from my porch.
It skims along on the newly formed ice like a puck.
It's quite dark now.
The street light on the corner shows clearly the ice coating the bare branches.
It is expected to rain and freeze throughout the night.
As the ice begins to thicken I wonder if it will start snapping branches.
It sounds like rifles when the limbs give way.
Worse, if it begins bringing power lines down.
It happens when the ice begins to grow heavy.
I wonder if I will still have power by morning.

I guess it's time to go to bed.

Tomorrow could be an interesting day.

Spring is here... No it's not... Yes it... Whatever.

About two weeks ago...

About two days ago...

So we've been dealing with a wet, heavy, nasty snowfall, rain, freezing rain, sleet and also temperatures reaching into the 50's and bright sunshine.

Then... gray, damp days.

They say variety is the spice of life. They're wrong. It's just annoying.

On one of the days it got to above 50 or so degrees, everybody is doing stuff outside, wearing just long-sleeve shirts, or light jackets... or even (like me) just t-shirts and jeans. Woo hoo! How nice is this?!

Then Dad says, "It's funny... every body's so happy with the weather right now... but last October when it only got up to the 50's... we were complaining and pulling out jackets and long sleeved clothes to wear!

When you think about it, he's absolutely right! (As all Dad's usually are!) What a difference a few months make, eh? Personally, I hate the damp, gray days because of how I hurt. But a lot of it is also the lack of sunshine. It's just so much easier to remain upbeat when the sun is out. (Duh, huh?)

So I'm on the computer with bright lights on, waiting for the pepper steak to be done cooking. (The smell is fabulous!) Then it's off the computer, in the car and down to Dad's for a few days.

Heard it's supposed to get warm and sunny in the next couple of days...

Yeah.

I'll believe it when I see it!

Yeah... somedays are just like this...

Now, if only I wasn't already there.

Cripes.

Home...

It's been a few days since I left dear Jax, it's been quite an adjustment. I find myself waking and listening for the tinkle of his tags. Then I become aware and remember I'm back home.

It's so very quiet without him in close proximity.

I make my way to the coffee pot and start my first pot of the day.

I look out my kitchen window at the dirty, icky, ice gray snowbanks, 30 feet from my next door neighbor. Wishing I was looking out over the lake.

Looking at the snow covered trees, their branches bowed with the weight of fresh snow.

I sigh.

I pour my first cup of coffee and wonder what Jax is doing right now.

Why do you look like a Shar Pai?!

My sweet pre-lumpy faced boy!

It started out just your typical Northwood’s day. Let the dog out. Let the dog in. Let the dog out… read your ninth book, wean yourself off the TV… let the dog in. Let the dog out. Go with him and play so he gets tired. Come in the house, alternately snooze and/or read while sitting in the recliner, next to the toasty fireplace. Listen to the dog sigh and moan as he scratches himself while lying on his doggie bed.

Let the dusk come… softly there is a pink cast to the sky. The shadows grow deeper, the fire's just embers… the book forgotten in your lap as you watch evening fall out across the white expanse that is the lake.

Make note of the fact that the dog is rubbing his muzzle on his front legs… and the dog bed. Get up, turn the lights on and hone in on the dog’s face!

OH MY GOD!!!!!

Just call me Lumpy.

The sweet yellow lab has transformed himself into a Shar Pai! What the hell!?!
I turn on more lights and study him closely. His poor face is lumpy with what I can only assume are hives!

Cripes.

Quick… call the vet! I glance at the clock… 5:30! Great!

What time do they close on Fridays? Figures, as I listen to the recording, I learn their day ended an hour and a half ago.

I jot down the emergency contact number and call it. I explain the problem to the vet and she instructs me to wash him and give him Benadryl. After determining there isn’t any in the house I run to the store. All they have is the children’s. Same thing but it compounds the problem as I will have to effectively double the amount I have to get down him.

Yay.

I wisely think to buy an infant’s dosing syringe as I’m pretty certain I won’t be able to just convince him to knock back a shot. (Although since I noticed a bottle of Southern Comfort in the house, I’m considering one) So arriving back home the first thing I have to do is wash him. Yeah… he was really not a Happy Dog during that. In actuality, he just kept looking at me with those deep brown eyes, begging me to explain why I was tormenting him so.

The affliction at its worst.

He was so good through it all! Well… the washing part. The Benadryl was another matter. It wasn’t easy but I managed to get a loading dose into him, while my tears are landing on his poor, misshapen muzzle. He resisted of course, but took it in like a trooper. I had to resort to squirting about a quarter of the last of it onto on the top of his paw. Which he then dutifully licked off, giving him the entire dose.

I laid next to him on his bed, waiting to see if he would become drowsy or hyperactive. Much like children, many medications cause the opposite reactions to the doses. We lucked out when his response was to fall asleep. A few hours later after a second dose there was massive improvement and by the next evening there were hardly any indications he’d had an allergic reaction.

On the mend

I never was able to figure out what he’d gotten into. Considering his excavation activities… it’s not surprising he came across something that didn’t agree with him. I was just very happy that it turned out okay!

Back to normal!

Adventures in the Northwoods

Look carefully, this is Jax's second favorite thing to do outside. He rolls on his back and wiggles. This accomplishes two things. His back gets scratched and he gets completely soaked so I can share the lovely essence of Eau de Wet Dog.

So the blonde thing has started sleeping next to the bed. This doesn’t bother me. Except when he wakes me up by licking me from chin to eyebrows! Thank God my mouth was closed! At any rate, it brings me quickly into a heightened state of awareness.

Later when we're playing outside. The heavy snow from a couple days before is still around and sticky, it’s sunny and Not-So-Great-White-North warm. I discovered that the Chuck-it is really great for something other than slinging tennis balls.

It’s like a melon-baller with punchy, snowman making snow! Yes… I was about to mess with the Jaxsters mind. First… the ball. He snags it, starts to return but pulls up short… What’s this he wonders? She’s ready to fling another ball!

The real ball hits the driveway and I send the snowball flying. He fell for it and I then stood there and laughed manically while he tried desperately to find the snowball. In the meantime, I retrieved the tennis ball, got his attention… and well, you can imagine the rest.

To his credit, he did finally figure out that some weren’t real balls (He’s not so dumb… he realized the real ones bounce, the snowballs don’t! Not a bad catch on his part!) But soon, the sun is going down and the warmth was fading quickly. I also figured if I let him catch anymore, he was probably going to have a stroke or something.

So the sun went down, the temperature followed and the melt water on the driveway froze. This is not conjecture, not a maybe… thin coatings of water on blacktop turns to ice up here. I know this.

We went inside and both napped after our fresh air romp. Even though he’d worked a whole lot more than me, I was pretty tired too. It was about four hours later that he wants to go outside.

I open the door and he bounded out… then he starts jumping around wanting to play again. I tell him it’s not happening and he needs to just go potty. He rejects this option. I close the door. He stays on the porch.

Barking. Like, a hound from hell type of barking.

It’s giving me a headache so I open the door, he foolishly comes back in. A little while later we are repeating the entire process. This time however, I refuse to open the door to let him back in, and I stand in the unlit office watching to see if he goes potty. While hoping desperately that no one nearby will be able to pinpoint the location of this rabid mutt’s frenzied barking!

He doesn’t but rather continues his loud, obnoxious barking. I let him back in and devise a plan. He follows me through the house and I let him out the garage door. This works. He goes to do his thing, I close the garage door.

Cool… problem solved.

I hear the hound from hell wind up again. Now I’m starting to wonder what a stroke feels like as I open the front door and tell him to get inside. Well… he decided that just wasn’t happening. He’s barking, running up and down the driveway, yipping, bouncing and doing everything in his power to get me to throw that damn ball.

I decide that I’m going to try the garage door business again, while I nonchalantly also make him aware that I just happen to have a treat in my hand. It was a good plan in hindsight. It would have worked perfectly.

If not for the fact that I was guilty of being “blond” myself when I walked out of the garage, completely and totally without caution stepping onto the now frozen melt water on the driveway.

To quote Robin Williams, “Gravity works.”

In that instant I knew I was going down, I pushed my legs out to the side to change the backward fall into a forwards fall while crossing my arms in front of my face to absorb the brunt of the fall.

I hit, and what was a puddle earlier is now slush. This is pertinent because I am practically prone in it. Barefoot, wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt.

I’ve had better days.

There was only one thing at this point to make it worse. The dog that I had been playing with daily on my hands and knees in the house went, “Woo-hoo! Playtime! He then proceeded to jump on me, over me, under me (he was checking to see if I had his baby under me which is how we play inside) I’m trying to stand up, he’s trying to play with me and I am cold, wet and crabby.

I finally make it to my feet and into the house. At least he came inside with me. I proceed to tally the damage my little adventure caused. First, I strip off my soaking wet clothes and jam on socks and wrap a towel around my wet hair.

It could have been worse I guess. The ice scraped my arms from wrist to elbow, my knees are scraped as well and yay… I chipped a tooth. Out come the flannel jammies, and I inform my blond counterpart that it’s time for bed.

The next day the bruises that have formed are monstrous but I bruise easily so that’s not really a concern. I am however very stiff and sore.

Jax is the same Happy Dog as always and I let him go outside. I watch him as he steps off the porch, then he nearly decapitates himself swinging his head around. Why, you might ask?

He smelled and discovered the dog treat I’d had in my hand the night before. I’d forgotten all about it. He snagged it and then spent most of the day with his nose to the ground every time I let him outside. Ever hopeful…

Cripes.

A blond ran down the road...

Jax loves to visit the neighbors and it is allowed. So one day I figure it’s time for him to come in, and I go to the door and call for him. I see him pop his head up from a snow bank down the road.

I call to him again, thinking he’d probably just come through the woods. Nope. He flies down their driveway and hell bent down the side of the road.

Missing his driveway by about 30 feet. His hips are almost up around his ears as he skids to a halt, turns around and comes tearing up the driveway.

Me?

I’m standing in the doorway, crossing my legs to keep from wetting my pants because I had to go so badly!

Animals are such cheap entertainment.

The fireplace vs. Norman Rockwell

My first attempt at a Norman Rockwell-esque snowy winter evening didn’t go as well as planned. First, there was little kindling and only big honking logs. I managed but I knew that if I was going to try again, I needed some seriously mid-range size logs. I was thinking about getting one of those fake logs hoping it would burn long enough to get the big log burning, but wasn't sure if that would work.

Then, on a trip to a nearby town, I caught a glimpse of what looked like bundled wood outside of a live-bait shop. I went around the block to double check…. SCORE! It was just what I was looking for! I bought two bags. (Then got three or four more later!)

The scene was definitely Norman Rockwell. Toasty fire… flames dancing behind the glass, feet propped on the mantel, cozy chair, a great book and a sweet yellow lab sleeping next to the chair. (Add long contented sigh here)

Then something popped in the fire, and it sounded like a rifle shot.

The dog came unglued alternately trying to both get away from the source of the sound and barking like he was rabid because he didn’t know what it was.

On the other hand, I wasn’t a whole lot better. I jumped so hard that the book went flying (sadly landing behind the dog which did not help the situation) my heart was racing as it lodged firmly in my throat…

Cripes.

Even though the entire incident probably took place within the span of maybe four seconds, I looked at him, he looked at me… we were shaky, freaked out and gasping for breath.

We decided we’d watch TV. With the sound on loud!

Outdoor adventures

So Jax was having a lot of fun once I got the hang of throwing his ball more than six feet at a time. (I’m serious! That dog has the ability to roll his eyes!) It's kind of cute when he plops down on the top of a snow bank to take a break. I never thought I’d be able to wear him out!

Without a doubt, watching this dog flip his tennis ball into the snow, pouncing on it with his front feet to push it deeper, then begin digging a four foot deep hole to retrieve it again was hilarious!

Sadly, I was only able to catch his antics on my cell phone and I can’t get the pictures to transfer! (It’s so annoying!) Just picture if you will… a big bank of pristine snow, an insane yellow lab digging with such fury that there is a rooster tail of “snow-wake” behind him as he disappears. The deepest he got was when only his back haunches and tail were visible from the snow bank next to the driveway.

What makes this absolutely the funniest thing ever is that moment when he suddenly reemerges with the soggy and ice crusted ball in his mouth, his face covered with snow… he literally looks like the happiest dog on earth.

This dog is a lot of things… but his ability to entertain while at the same time making simple troubles seem a lot clearer… what does the commercial say? Oh yeah… priceless.