Where have I been?

I thought that I would throw some words in here to let everyone know that I'm still alive.

Winter is fast approaching and, for some reason, I think that it will be a good one.

My sister and I were on the phone expounding on how we have 5 grandchildren all in the same year! We are planning to have grandma camp sometime in the future. (Just for 2 days, though, lol).

Trudy & Grace re. The Twins

You knew that I had to include MY babies in this wonderful event:

The Twins

They are finally here! They are absolutely gorgeous. I went to help my daughter for a week after their arrival. The week flew by. She was doing great by the end of the week and I knew that it was time for me to leave them. (sigh).

Tired Tired and Dreary Dreary

February is my least favorite month. Any tolerance to the cold that I might have developed has been replaced with a dogged dread everytime I must venture outside the door.

Everything is black and gray for too long. I just want to curl up and sleep until the croci sproup - or better yet - the daffodils.

My 3rd Grandbaby!

This little tyke is already dancing - Jazz hands and all.

I'm amazed at the family resemblance to my other two grandbabies! They could be cousins.

Jack and I are thinking ahead. We are going to have t-shirts made up saying "Camp Erwin - Where kids and dogs can be kids and dogs". Jack is remembering all kind of cop stories to tell them (not too violent) and I'll have to build a studio filled with lots of "newsprint" paper, crayons, markers, and finger paints. They will know everything about horses and dogs and, maybe, even learn to handle an agility course. We'll attach the wagon to the lawn tractor and Jack will make a squiggly track through the tall grass in the meadow. Jack will teach them the difference between a white pine and a red pine and an ash from a poplar.

Keep in mind, the grandbabies are just an excuse for us to finally do this! Yeay!

Psychotic Break

I'm usually pretty mild mannered, but...

I lost it on Saturday evening when I tried to accommodate and was confronted with hate . (ahem that rhymes - sort of like "If it doesn't fit, you must equit.")

This has happened about 3 times during the past 12 years. I pretty much have to feel like I have no recourse in order to compress and explode like that .

In retrospect, I could have handled the situation much more gracefully (the whole damn restaurant was staring at me when we finally left-sheeesh!), but when you lose it you lose it!

Sorry for the shock.

God - I'm Old!

These birthdays just keep coming faster and faster. A few more years (minus the pipe, but plus the shotgun and a couple more huntin' dogs) this will be me.

Just have to make sure my grand babies like dogs, apple cider and corn bread.

Simply Grace - Our New Addition.

Yes, everybody, I have yet another dog.

We really weren't looking for another dog yet, but things come up and you wonder whether it is "meant to be". She is Grace. She's very careful and respectful with Socko (Socks totally approves of Grace - still gets ticked off at Trudy for being such a punk. I should have called her Mischief) and she's also young and fit enough to deal with the Trude with out getting aggressive. She is absolutely a sweet, gentle love and has attached herself to me already. I think that she likes that there are rules in the house. It makes her feel comfortable knowing where she fits it. (no beds, no furniture, except the chair and bench on the porch, eating from only your bowl at "foody time", no jumping, no begging.)

Trudy will always be my baby brat, sparkly star, and probably, when Socks passes away, The Boss, but Gracey is an exceptionally sweet dog.

She is only 2 years old. When she was found, she was 10 lbs less than she is in this picture. She had puppies! They don't know what happened to her puppies and she, apparently was very distressed about the loss of them. She has been spayed since and she is UTD on all her shots and worming. They also microchipped her.

She was total Velcro when she first came, but is gaining confidence and happiness every day.

We've discovered that clicker training works well with Grace. We are working on 1. recognizing her name, 2. follow me off lead, 3. come, 4. sit & 5. shake. This is a lot for her to work on, but we keep it at short and fun training sessions with lots of goodies. Trudy is the know-it-all teacher's pet and Socks is the principle.

The only flaw I can find, so far, is that she is not completely housebroken. We are working on that.