Friday Dog Blogging

Doing her gopher imitation!

Internet Access is Back

The computer was down again - it rained.....so annoying. The weather here has been cool and rainy all week - so different from a normal end of July. Now through the end of August is usually the hottest time of the year around Tidy Town - the frogs are a hoping that this wet weather continues. My joints though would like to see some drier times. It's been a hell of week on my joints. I've been scaring Gertie with my early morning screamercises getting into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

The internet access is spotty and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a picture of Gertie up this afternoon or not. So I'll tell you she's had a pretty good week. She's still in her heat cycle but she should be in the last of it (I hope). Things are not quite as swollen as they were and she's much more of the puppy wanting to play. Yesterday morning a golden retriever came into the yard while she was out but I hauled her back in quickly. It was a male and did some marking of territory but I shooed it on. About an hour later I was shooing a cat out of the driveway and later Gertie spent some time chasing a couple rabbits. I'm beginning to think that it's Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom around here!

Rainy Days in Tidy Town

Yesterday and today have been rainy days here in Tidy Town. The frogs may love it but my joints sure do not. I woke up yesterday and could barely move. This morning it was a bit better only because I ended up sleeping in a chair last night. Gertie was a little miffed that she wasn't sleeping on the end of the bed last night but instead next to my feet on the floor. All that got done around the house yesterday was dishes.

I made some oven-fried chicken yesterday. It was really easy to make and quite good. And the recipe made enough so that I don't have to cook for the rest of the week! Always a plus.

Monday

I hope you had a good weekend - got outside and enjoyed some of this cooler weather we've been having here. That's what Gertie and I did. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy some of the sunshine and the temps were in the low 70's for a high. I had the windows open to air the place out a bit. Very nice. Saturday I made a St. Louis style rack of ribs - let them cook all morning. Delicious! I ate the last of them this afternoon for lunch.

I spent some time outside this afternoon inspecting the trunk of my car. I found the DVD player and I can't wait to try it out. There's also a net that runs the width of the trunk right near the front. That came in real handy this morning after I went grocery shopping. The clerk put all the fruit and vegetables into one bag that was very unstable. I plopped into the net and it held it in place and thankfully I didn't have to pick up items that had rolled around the trunk on the way home.

Gertie has been really rambunctious the last couple of days. She's hitting the end of her heat cycle and is ready to get back to being a puppy. I bought her some rawhide chews from Drs. Foster and Smith - they're rolled and about 6 inches long. She loves them until they get down to the last inch or so. Then Gertie will bring it to me and drop it in my lap - repeatedly if necessary - until I unroll the last bit so that it is a big flat piece, which she eagerly finishes up. Thank goodness they're easy to unroll at that size!

Friday Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Gertie is feeling a bit better today and wanted to spend the day playing with her new bobo. She followed me all around the house today, looking just like this picture! LOL Her heat cycle is almost over, thank goodness. Hopefully she'll be down to the vets early next month getting spayed so that we'll never have to deal with it again.

Gertie is also waiting on an appointment at the Dog House for a bath and nail trim. I've decided that it would be a good thing for her to have interaction with other people as often as possible for socialization, which is so important. Thankfully she's a bit older so she really likes people generally and I want to continue to foster that attitude. I figured this way she'd get ooh'd and ahh'd over as well as getting a bath. I bet she'll love that one - stay tuned......

Frog of the Day

McDonalds/Ty - Jumps The Frog
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

A new frog! A new frog! It's been quite a dry spell for new frogs around here but let's hope this is the start of a new trend. McDonalds has gone back to their Ty promotion after quite a few years. This little frog - called Jumps the Frog is a Teenie Beanie. They are celebrating the 30th year of the McDonald's Happy Meal. The tag has a code that you can enter at both Ty.com and at McWorld at HappyMeal.com. It says that the code will get you your own birthday party favors.

Nature's Infiltration.....

This morning around 5:30 Gertie was antsy to go out. Light was just starting to creep over the horizon as I opened the door to let her out. She made her usual run around the yard to the right of the door when all of the sudden she took off like a shot in the other direction, baring teeth and giving a little bark. It was then that I saw what she was chasing after - a small deer! It came around the corner of the house, through the side yard and then ran smack dab into a 15 lb. dog that was acting like a 150 lb. Mastiff. LOL The deer made a quick dart to the left and ran along the hibiscus hedge and down the street. That was a pretty exciting start to the day to say the least!

A Busy Start to the Week

Yesterday and today have been filled with lots of catching up of things to do from the few days I went without a car. It's amazing how behind I got in just a week. In the meantime I've started a war on boxes. It seems every day I'm receiving a box - either from something I ordered or from something someone has sent me (keep the plush items coming - I've got about 50 put away for the kids this Christmas). Each night I've grabbed 5 or 6 boxes and tear them apart and get them stacked up and tied together to take over to the recycling bin.

So last night was the first of the 5 night series of Torchwood on BBC. And it was good! I almost watched it again when they ran it over an hour later - excitement from start to finish and ended with a cliff hanger. I can hardly wait until tonight!

Weekend Update

It has been nice and cool here - today's high is only 70 degrees. Gertie and I are taking full advantage. Yesterday we spent the majority of the day outside enjoying a nice cool breeze. The lawn guy showed up and so everything looks really nice - except for the flower beds that are overgrown with weeds! I need to get one of those awesome augers they advertise on television and get to work.

Today I had to go run some further errands. I've been reading the instruction book on my new car - so much technology. I need to go out and see if I can find the CD changer in the trunk. That will be great for long trips. Of course everything in the car is electronic and there are more buttons everywhere than the space shuttle. Slowly I'm getting the hang of it all and just what a lot of those button do.

Tonight's television includes the final HGTV showdown and then the beginning of the Next HGTV Star. Tomorrow night starts the BBC's mini-series Torchwood. Guess for now it's time to go back outside with Gertie. I have to keep a very close eye on her while she's out because she is at the point in her heat cycle where she's the most fertile. Several neighborhood dogs start howling at her almost as soon as she steps outside. I think she enjoys the attention - as long as it isn't too much attention, if you know what I mean......

AA vs. AAA

Batteries. Every time I go shopping I walk past the battery stand and I think to myself, I need some batteries. Of course I didn't write down the size I needed so I pick up what I think is the most common size - AA. When I get home and open the drawer there is pack after pack of AA and the size that everything I own seems to use is AAA. Thankfully today, I had written down the size I needed and came home with the right size - but I hesitated for a moment and thought is that really the size I need.

I went out first thing this morning to finish up some grocery shopping and to stop by the mechanics and sign over the title for the old car so he can dispose of it. I think he'll probably cannibalize it for parts - whatever, it's his to deal with now.

I'll try to get a picture of Gertie up later, but she's right in the middle of a heat cycle and not feeling particularly well.

My New Used Car

My New Used Car
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

I know you've been waiting with baited breath to know what happened after yesterday's blog entry. This morning I've been signing my life away, but drove home with this really great 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis. It's the same color and type as my previous car - just 9 years newer. It has a ton of electronics on it including keyless entry. All in all I'm glad that I got it and hopefully all car troubles will be behind me for quite a while. Now I can rest a bit and then out to the grocery store to pick up some much needed supplies.....

Car Troubles

The car went into the garage on Monday and I finally heard yesterday that it couldn't be fixed. The frame had rusted through and it was too dangerous to drive it. I spent a lot of yesterday evening and night going through the web sites of the local dealers and hopefully I have found a replacement. I'm waiting to hear on the financing - keep your fingers crossed. The car is the same model as I have been driving for the last 11 years - a Mercury Grand Marquis. They are good cars and seem to hold their value really well. And as a friend of mine said last night, since I drive so little I'll never wear the engine out - the body will fall apart first (which is what happened to my old car).

I hope this all gets worked out today because I have no salad dressing and I had to eat a plain salad last night for dinner - yuck! I'm afraid their will be no salad tonight! Actually I have a couple red peppers Iplanned on putting under the broiler for a bit with a bit of rice.

Gertie woke me up this morning barking because of the thunder. It has been rolling all morning though and she seems to have calmed down quite a bit about it - as long as it doesn't rock the house (which the thunder here often does). I spent some time distracting her with some new toys. Yesterday afternoon I was checking my e-mail and when I turned around rabbit stuffing covered the living room floor. I took the opportunity to replace all three of her stuffed animals. She was so happy with the new ones that she doesn't seem to miss the old ones at all - the whole thing was more traumatic for me than her! LOL

Alright, I have to go pace the floor a bit more waiting for a phone call.......

The Fair is in Town!

The county fair started this last weekend and everyone in town seems to be there - well, except me. Our county fair is the agriculture fair and watching the judging of hefers and swine is not really my idea of fun. Yesterday it was a bit rainy here and I wonder how the tractor pulling contest came off in the mud. I'm sure it will be front page news tomorrow.

Gertie wasn't feeling to great this weekend, but by this morning she was her old self. As a matter of fact she woke up this morning with her tail thumping for all she was worth and it stayed that way all morning - she seemed to be so happy she couldn't contain herself. That changed when the vaccuum cleaner came out. In the past she just stays behind me, barking at it as it moves back and forth. This morning that wasn't good enough - she would run around me and bite at the housing unit that holds the brushes. Of all the things to bite at I would have suggested any of the tubing rather than the hard plastic case. I finally had to shut if off and calm her down. Not that I was complaining about having to stop vaccuuming mind you! LOL

It's been much cooler here today, making it a good day to do some housecleaning as I wait to hear from the mechanics about what is exactly wrong with my car. They came and picked it up first thing this morning - I'm afraid that the longer I wait to hear the more expensive it's going to cost me!

Friday Dog Blogging

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Captions for this picture:
"Oh My God, not that thing blinds me again!"
"Get this jingly dog tag off me right now!"
"I want my nap - NOW!"

I've outlined Gerti's week pretty much as we've gone along. Her dog tags came in this week and she is not happy about them one bit. I now know where she is at all times by the jingle sound they make as she walks. She's tried to bite it but just can't quite reach it. I brought the camera out and she got up from her nap - although she wan't happy about it. I had wanted to snap a picture of her sleeping but she wouldn't hear of it. I no more than snapped the picture when she laid back down, all curled up and deep asleep. I tried to snap another picture of her after she went back to sleep but the minute I raised the camera she jumped right up - annoyed. So as the saying goes - let sleeping dogs lie.....

Toys

I spent a good amount of time this morning sewing on Gertie's stuffed toys. They are beginning to fall apart at the seams. Her favorite toy - the rabbit - she has ripped the tail and one ear off! She's rough with her toys but she loves the fact they squeak - once she figures out how to make the squeak she'll lay there for 5 to 10 minutes just making lots of noise.

I had an appointment downtown right around noon - the temps here have gone back up into the mid to upper 90's. I was on the way home when I stopped for a stop light (yes, even though this is a really small town we actually have 4 lights - 2 downtown and 2 out on the highway) I stepped on the brake and my foot went right to the floor. I prayed the whole way home that my car would stop where needed - it did but I was stepping on the brake pedal with all my might. Guess I'm going to have to call the mechanic tomorrow to see about getting that fixed because I don't want to have to go back to using a taxi to get around - that's really expensive!

Well, I guess with all that today has brought so far, it's time to go take a little nap - Gertie agrees as she's already curled up at my feet, sound asleep - and that sounds like the best idea at the moment.......

Shopping

I spent yesterday morning at the grocery store - ugh! After several hours it was home to get everything unpacked and put away - which of course takes a couple of hours all by itself. Finally sat down to watch my soap and it wasn't on because of "The Memorial." Another channel carried my soap later in the afternoon. The fridge and freezer are full and hopefully I won't have to do another megashop like that for a month or two! (or at least a week or two)

With all that I had to do yesterday Gertie didn't get much play time. So this morning she has been getting lots of attention - one toy after another had to be played with and tossed around. She's now found her rawhide and is happily chewing away on it. That is giving me a couple minutes to sit and blog this morning. Oops- time to play again.....

Busy Day Indeed

I've been going non-stop early this morning and it seems I've been two steps behind the whole time. I needed to grocery shopping but that is going to have to wait until tomorrow because I'm sure I'll need a couple hours at the market. I think I was so busy because I turned the television off. I've been sick of what they have to air - even the 24 hour news has been really bad lately - so I decided to spend the day doing some house cleaning and straightening up. It's like a snowball rolling down the hill - one little job leads into about 100 more! Now it's time to sit back and relax with a nice tall glass of water and play with a little puppy who is feeling a little neglected at this point......

Happy 4th of July

Gertie
Originally uploaded by KenCalvino

Gertie wanted to stop by today to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July. Although she doesn't enjoy the fireworks and is really, really happy that it's raining very heavy here today - maybe cancelling the fireworks - she knows that humans enjoy seeing the displays.

Enjoy!

Holiday Weekend!

Gertie and I were out running some errands this morning - all drive thrus were she could be oohed and aahed over. She came home with her customary bag of treats. It's like trick or treat every time we go out! Even the DQ - the new Tagalong Blizzard is great, by the way. Two girls were trying to squeeze themselves out of the drive thru window to pet her - and Gertie loves it. And of course instead of just one treat, they want to each give her one. If nothing else, she really loves going for rides now. Considering when I first got her and she was terrified to hop in the car - today I opened the door and she hopped right in and was ready to go! And just like a little kid after trick and treating, the minute we got home she wanted to go through her treat bag and eat ALL of her treats (I restricted her to one - the rest were put away for later).

Some kids down the street have gotten hold of fireworks and the last couple of night have been setting them off. I'm not too happy with it because they are really loud and interfere with whatever program I'm watching. Gertie is most definitely not o.k. with it and has to bark at it, hoping to make it go away. If only it were that easy. I'm hoping that after tomorrow they'll be all out and we'll back to a nice and quiet neighborhood.

Have a good 4th and stay safe.

July is Here!

And the last couple of days have been really busy. Stores have their Christmas in July sales - but I'm starting to plan for Christmas - with my annual fruitcake bake-off. I've been putting together the lists of ingredients and checking prices, etc. I think I've gotten everything together that I'll need. Next month the baking will begin so that everthing can be finished up and ready by the first of November. Gertie's been a bit upset with all my figuring and working - wait until she sees how much time is taken up with all the chopping of fruit and mixing and baking. She'll probably want to disown me!

The weather here as been a dream these last couple of days. Last night it dropped down to the low 60's and tonight it will be in the 50's. Great weather for opening some windows and getting some fresh air in the house. It's hard to believe that we're in July!

Oh well, on to this afternoon.......