Little Elvis 2009 - September 27, 2024

 Little Elvis was almost 15 years old.  He was my constant companion in the Winter time, sleeping most nights at the foot of my bed.  I will miss him, he was mostly deaf and could hardly see anything...old age is hard on dogs.  BUT he had a good life! 

January 2010  Miney, Little Elvis and Chance

 

Adam and Little Elvis

May 2010 

 

Noah and Little Elvis

Chance and Little Elvis 

 

Chance, Little Elvis and Miney

Chance and Little Elvis

 

Miney, Little Elvis and Chance

Little Elvis

 

Little Elvis and Sadie 

Little Elvis has left the building.  Rest in peace little buddy.  

Little Elvis and Miney helped to cushion the loss when Chance died in 2018, Little Elvis cushioned the loss of Miney in 2021.  Now they are all mourned and missed more than ever. They were a real pack! Three of the bestest dogs ever!

Far Side

 

Gone to the Dogs

Rather the Grand dogs have come to us...to be spoiled for a bit...today they go back home.

They wake us early in the morning for their breakfast and want their supper at 5 PM but start asking for it about 4:15...just in case you were going to forget about them.  They take really long naps as they are both older dogs... Miss Miney is almost 15 years old.  Little Elvis is just over 10 years old.

Little Elvis can be a turd.  BUT he listens really good to us. Miss Miney would listen if she could hear anything... she is pretty much deaf.  We use hand signals...her eye sight is getting worse too.  She waits at the top of the step for help descending the stairs.

Last week Little Elvis stopped the LP Man from making a delivery...he has to go into the back yard...well that is Little Elvis territory...

I have been calling him Sid Vicious!  What a good watchdog!

They love to be in the kitchen when I am cooking...just in case something is dropped...either that or to keep me company.  Chance used to keep me company in the kitchen too.
Far Side

Woulda been 15

Chance would have been 15 years old today...as it is he has been dead for 13 long months.  We miss him every single day.

We are still not ready for another dog...what with the maybe someday transplant looming it would not be fair to a dog at this time.

I always took lots of photos of our Chance.

He hated the Halloween Hat and would look the other way....doing his best to ignore me.

Off with the hat!

The hat is down!

These photos were taken in 2014 when he was 10 years old.

Such a happy dog!   It is good to remember him happy.

Far Side

One year

Chance has been gone for a year now...we miss him EVERY single day.   He was a one of a kind dog ....a once in a lifetime dog.

2013 With an ever present ball

Waiting for someone to throw the ball

He seemed to prefer the color blue

Playing ball in Indiana 2014

Going for walks

Waiting patiently at his spot.  We had a mail box out by the long driveway for a number of years...he was trained to only go so far...then he would sit and wait.

His best friends sent him gifts! 

Here he is sticking out his tongue at me...he hated my camera and would often close his eyes and refuse to open them.

Recently I moved  his paw print from the kitchen window onto the table.  Later that week I went shopping and bought some scrubby yarn...didn't even look at the name of the color..I just liked all the colors.   I intended to put the paw print upstairs in the cabinet where it won't get dusty.  Maybe later today...or tomorrow I will get it there. 

We will miss Chance... possibly forever..that is how it is with a good dog. 

Border Collies need jobs.  Chances job was to play ball many times a day/night.  We played find the ball in the house on winter nights.  We went for rides every night after supper...he loved watching for deer and turkeys.  He wanted to get the mail even on Sunday.  He was a creature of habit...every morning he would get his belly scratched when Far Guy put on his socks.  He knew when 5:30 rolled around someone should be in the kitchen cooking supper and he would supervise until supper was served...even though he had food in his dish all the time he would only eat once a day when we ate supper.  He knew many words... my vehicle versus Far Guys he knew which one to go to.  He knew when we said the word ride or town he would lay down in front of the door so he would not get left behind...and on the rare occasion he was left alone he would serenade the neighborhood.  One Christmas Eve up in Fisher Minnesota at Andy and Jen's home we left him alone with Miss Miney to go to church a block away...we could hear him from the church parking lot.  That is how it is with a dog that loves you as much as you love him.

Far Side

Log Repair Project

Many years ago...like about 20 years when we built this house we used Jack Pine logs to make a covered entry.  We did it up real good.  We sunk rebar into a bucket of cement and buried them for footings...the rebar stuck up about 6 inches and the logs were set on top of the rebar...it was quite a project.  We were younger then.

The logs aged...and this spring we noticed the bottom part of the logs were starting to  become rotten. Some bird most likely a woodpecker had quite a time with one of the logs.

We were not quite sure how we were going to fix it.  Between Andy, Jen and Far Guy they came up with a solution.

Before:

Chance and Odda in 2015 

After:

New brick platforms for the logs to set on.  The logs were cut off and the rebar cut off and ground off to make a level surface.  This fix should last another 20 years!  It was sprinkling when I took the photos.

Miss Miney and Little Elvis July 5 2019

Many Thanks to Andy and Jen for taking time out of their vacation week to help us with this project!  We could not have done it without them.  Thanks also to my other baby brother who had a whole pile of bricks from a construction demo in his equipment yard...I had my choice of colors of bricks...I chose the grey. 

Miss Miney and Little Elvis have returned to their own home...we will miss them.  The house seems quiet without them. 

Odda still comes to visit...she was visiting yesterday...we are her safe place.

Far Side

Wild Roses

The wild roses are in bloom.

They are so fragrant!  Chance liked to eat rose hips, he would eat all the rose hips that he could reach,  so we planted a wild rose on his grave.  In a few years it may bloom.  We still miss Chance every single day.

Far Side

Gifts from friends

This was a great week for gifts!

Always fun to get something in the mail or from neighbors that stop by with a bag of gifts!

A Border Collie Table Runner and Coasters from special neighbors Leah and Jo.  The gift made us smile!  I had fun finding Border Collies that looked like our Chance...we still miss him everyday.

Soap, lotion, cuticle cream and lip balm from Araignee's Tangled Web...she has more hobbies than I do!

Yes Far Guy was woodcarving at the dining room table when I took photos.  He has a special board he uses at the table to catch chips and it also protects the top of the table.

Sheila at woodcarving shared a pattern with him...and another fellow was cleaning out his garage so we have all kinds and shapes of basswood for carving.   One of the pieces was just perfect for his project. 

We have not yet picked a Christmas Ornament for this year...we have two ideas and will see what makes the cut...so to speak.

Far Side

Sunset

My other baby brother called me late in the day December 19th…it had been sprinkling some RAIN drops and there was an awesome rainbow.  Well the sun was setting fast…by the time I made it out of the trees and down the road the rainbow was gone.  However I did enjoy a beautiful sunset.

As you can see we have very little snow…but that will probably change in the next few days.

We have been getting many Christmas cards in the mail everyday…such fun to read!   Some surprise packages have been delivered.

A battery operated candle in a beautiful holder.  The glow is from the candle.  It was such a thoughtful gift!  It made me cry. Thank you Doug and Lisa!  Lisa is a long time blog reader from Washington State…she and Far Guy share the dreaded Trigeminal Neuralgia. 

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year…from now on we gain daylight!  Sun rises at 8:03 AM and sets at 4:34 PM with a total of 8 hours and 31 minutes of daylight…less on dreary cloudy days.

Tree Accomplished

We didn’t overload the tree this year.

It is simple and sweet.

Tree Decorating 2018

We finally managed to get the downstairs tree decorated.  It was a struggle.

Neither of us looked forward to it.  But we got it done.

We seem to miss Chance more every day instead of less.  How does that work anyways?

This was the test ornament this year, before I learned how to paint plaid.  It was Chance’s ornament.

This is Chance’s carving that has his years on it 2004 – 2018 and a proper plaid.

Someday we might be able to look at all his ornaments and not cry…just not this year.

Weekend

Our youngest daughter Jen and the Granddogs came to visit.  Hockey games and Vex Robotics Tournaments on the computer were watched.  Card games have been played, craft projects worked on, walks taken, dogs enjoyed and good food eaten.

Miney is inbetween them on the couch.

Miney inherited Chance’s  red harness…it helps her get down the stairs safely.  Chance would have approved…he always shared with Miney.

Little Elvis has a spot on the other couch.  He chased squirrels and almost caught them…he got into a bunch of burrs…so he was brushed.

This is their first trip here since Chance died, they looked for him a bit and sniffed spots outside that Chance frequented.  They seem much more accepting of his absence than us humans.