Outing

 We drove up North and a bit West to see Noah for his Birthday!  

He posed for the birthday photo! 

We visited and then went out to Lunch at Noah's favorite Mexican place.  The food was excellent and the company awesome...Noah, Adam, Jen and Andy.   We also had some marvelous cupcakes that Jen bought at a specialty bakery...I had the to die for Turtle Cupcake...dark chocolate with a caramel center! 

We got to meet Noah's puppy a Shiba inu/American Eskimo Mix sometimes called a Imo Inu named Aurora and Adams rescue cat Phoebe (Calico)...no photos I wanted to just meet them.  Of course we got to spend some time with Little Elvis too...he still loves us.

I finally got to hug both of my grandsons!  They have both been vaccinated!

Far Guy did okay...he helped drive...he said that is the easy part just sit and steer.  He is still not back to normal activity and is plagued with the shortness of breath.  We needed a day away...and this was a perfect outing!   We have looked forward to it for a long time! 

The old blue milk can has been transformed!  I still have all the contents of the milk can project ready to spin...someday. 

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday : 1980 something

This is a polaroid photo and Far Guy’s Dad took it at the house in Moorhead sometime about 1980-1981.

It was before we had the patio door,  the dining room had been repainted and the wainscoating was up…previously it was some kind of wall paper and navy blue paint.  This was the house we bought when the interest rate was 18 %. UFFDA

Far Guy had hair.  He kinda has his Tom Selleck look going on here.  He worked days and I worked nights.

That is good ole Pansy in the birdcage. She belonged to our oldest daughter Trica. For the life of me I cannot recall when Pansy died.

I do remember how ABC 123 died.

I have heard that when your brain is full it dumps some of the insignificant stuff memories…not that I didn’t like the little bird.  Perhaps her death was peaceful. ( For the record Far Guy doesn’t recall either.)

Pig in the pink

Our Granddaughter Paige has a Pot Bellied Pig named Sigourney.  Sigourney is friendly and you can pat her on the head.  She does not smell.  She goes outside 3 or 4 times a day to do her duties so she is house broke.  She gets along with the two resident dogs and two cats.

Sigourney in her pink sweater a gift from Maddie.  Sigourney came to greet us as soon as we walked in the door…of course we had a pumpkin pie.

Mikey likes Sigourney! (Note Mikey has an undershirt on!)

Sigourney loves apples and cleaned every bit off of the carpet.

She also likes pickles.

Paige and Sigourney

I was skeptical about this pig.  Being a “farm girl” I didn’t think a pig should be in the house.   So far as I can see Sigourney is a nice pet…but a pig is not a pet for just anyone. 

Paige: Skittles and Sigourney

Miss Paige our youngest Granddaughter got a kitten in April of 2010 for her birthday.  She named the kitten Skittles.

Skittles 2010 –2016

Skittles had a good life as a favorite kitten.  One day this summer a guest staying at the house left a door open.  Skittles was not an outside cat.  She disappeared.  We thought perhaps she would return after a few days but those few days have turned into months and Skittles has not come home.  Paige looked everywhere for her.  They live in an area with many Eagles and Owls.  RIP Skittles.

Paige was very upset, especially with the guests that left the door open.  I cannot blame her.  I figured she would get another kitten…Paige has always said “I am a cat person.”

Well Sigourney is NOT a cat.

Paige and Sigourney

Sigourney is a pot bellied pig. She even squeals like a pig.

Do pigs smile?

This pig is litter box trained and has her own room with her own cage indoors.  She ate some brussels sprouts when were were there.

I wonder how big Sigourney will get?

Wistful Wednesday:Thanksgiving 2006

When I was cleaning out and organizing some photos I found this one…it made me smile.

2006…nine years ago Thanksgiving in Elkhorn Nebraska (suburb of Omaha). Trica our oldest daughter and her husband Dick lived in Nebraska back then.

Savannah with Dakota, Paige with Daphne, Madison with Chance, Noah with Miney and Adam.  Dakota and Daphne are no longer with us.  Chance and Miney are getting older.  Well and those kids..they grew a tad.

Chance ran so hard chasing his ball on the pavement that we didn’t notice he had ripped the pads of his feet until he started limping. He spent several days on his leash laying down with goop on the pads of his feet.  Border Collies never know when to quit.

I think this was the Thanksgiving that someone did deep fried Snickers bars. A Snickers bar frozen and then covered in a batter and deep fried.  I like my Snickers bars just plain…not fried or covered in batter…but the kids thought they were great!

One time at a shopping mall parking lot someone asked Far Guy if he was the Governor of Minnesota.  Minnesota License Plates plus a bald head must equal Governor.

We really enjoyed going to Nebraska several times during the winter, it was warmer there, the grand girls were always happy to see us and there were all kinds of Train Shops and Antique Stores to visit.  We found the people in Nebraska to be very friendly folk.

Safe place

Odda came a visiting yesterday.  We have been unable to discover what scares her. ..sometimes it is gun shots, sometimes if she knows a butchering is going to happen there on the farm she runs off.  Sometimes I think she just wants to visit. Sometimes it is as if she knows we will call Jo to come and get her and she will get extra attention. We are her safe place.

She and Chance get along just fine. Putz stays at home and doesn’t follow her. She is so happy to see us, her tail wags ninety miles per hour!

Chance and Odda ( Bernese Mountain Dog)

I sat outside with her for awhile, then she came inside to visit.  I decided to take her back home and about that time Steve came to get her.  He was disgusted with her…like all dog owners he wants her to stay home.

The sun was out but the wind was cold.  Our high for the day was 21 F or –6 C eh!

Wistful Wednesday : Muggy

Dogs, each and everyone has captured our hearts.  All have been one of a kind.

Muggy came after Tiny in Far Guys family.

Here he is dressed in a sweater sitting next to the most coveted spot in the house.  That heat register was a spot where my sister in law camped out and also my children.  They would grab their blankets and hog all the heat coming out of that register.  I am not sure who bought this sweater for Muggy but it hung on the back porch for a long time after he died.

He had a good long life, what could be better than for a dog to keep you company and on your toes for many years and then succumb to old age.

The last time I saw Muggy I scratched his ears…his mind was gone and his body was failing and it was time to say goodbye.  I think my father in law sat by the cardboard box lined with blankets and towels that was Muggy’s home for days before the end came.

How do you sum up the good life of a dog?

You remember…

Far Guy remembers how Muggy slept next to him with his head across his neck.

He was Far Guys Dad’s dog and was very protective of him…if you walked by and slapped him on the knee the dog would go ballistic.

The time he pooped on my foot during a very formal dinner.

How he loved to bare his teeth and growl at me and chase me from chair to chair yapping his head off.

The story about Ray coming to the door and making the mistake of opening the door to the kitchen…Muggy lept as far as he could and hung on.

Muggy was sent to the basement the day we got married because the house was full of company.  He ripped out a toe nail and bled all over the basement..everyone was late getting to the church.

He was happy being tied out to the clothesline where he could run back and forth and bark.

He always wore a harness.  He was a tad gassy and could clear a room, and also became the scape goat for anyone else with a little gas…blame it on the dog.

No, he could not jump up on a chair by himself…someone who shall remain nameless helped him.

Muggy was a Chihuahua, very spoiled, much loved and much missed after he was gone.

Creature of Habit

I am a creature of habit.  I leave the house every morning and say the same thing “ Bye sweetie see ya later, have a good day.”  I let Chance in the house and he moves over by the step and lays down.   “Bye Chance see ya later, be a good boy.”  I drive the same road, I turn on the same street.  I open the museum and I have a routine I follow to unlock the  nine doors…at night it is the reverse.  I leave the parking lot the same way and I go down a block and see if the white cat is in the yard.

He must be a creature of habit also.  In the spring and early summer he was sitting on a car, now he enjoys the grass in the yard.  Sometimes he is scruffy and dirty looking like he just had a bath in the alley. He is usually in the yard everyday at 4:33.  I look for him, I wonder if he looks for me? 

I am not crazy about people who let their house cats out of the house.  Sooner of later, they will get hit by a car, or maimed in a fight with a bigger tougher cat, or get picked up by an Eagle or at night by an Owl…or by a coyote.  Don’t get your panties in a bunch if you have a cat and let him/her outdoors.  We have had both extremes ..Keshia who would cry mournfully if we took her out of the house, and Shadow who used the outdoors as his sandbox and had to be let out of the house just like one of the dogs, and Dawn who took off one time and was gone for 30 days..but returned thin and meowing like we were the ones that were missing, she was content to stay home for awhile after that big adventure. ( I was sure an Eagle or an Owl had gotten her.)  Cats are safer living their lives as “IN” the house pets. 

Barn cats are another story..they are used to being outdoors and usually have all their claws and hunt their own food, a necessity on a farm.

I stopped yesterday and took this photo, the white cat has one blue eye and one green eye.  He stared at me…what a grump.   I took his photo! If he was my cat I would clean out his ears..and take him into the house.  But he isn’t my cat, and no I am not getting a cat..I am way over having a cat in the house:)

Going to the Dogs

I heard of a new program that  the local Veterans Service Officer is becoming involved with.   Dogs for Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  The dog is obedience trained, and afterwards goes through a short amount of specialized training.  The dog blocks people from approaching a Veteran from the back.  The dog will lay right on top of the Veterans feet if the Veteran is getting nervous and stressed out.

Those of us with pets, either dogs or cats know how great they are as stress relievers.

Far Guy asked me to take photographs of all these military patches last weekend on one of the Eagle Staffs at the Pow Wow.

Do you see the PTSD patch?  It says P.T.S.D.  ALL WOUNDS ARE NOT VISIBLE.

I see no end to our Military involvement in other countries.  It seems to me that we police the world. It is not fair that our best and brightest young men and women go to war.   Send in some of those fancy talking politicians from Washington DC for awhile:)

Elvis??

Who can resist the puppy breath or the  extreme cuteness of a little puppy?  Well it seems my Son In Law cannot. He got a new puppy..doesn't he realize that it is really hard to potty train a puppy in the winter?  The poor little thing can't get in or out of the doggie door by himself...maybe Handy Andy will build him a ramp..then there are the stairs..maybe he will make it puppy accessible.  If I were him I would also go around the yard and make double sure that there are no tiny holes under the fence that he can squeeze out of.. I wonder what he will chew up?  I wonder when I will get to babysit?  I wonder if this puppy will love me more than Far Guy.  Miney adores Far Guy..she likes me too..and cuddles..but when she runs into our house ..she heads for him ..just like a moth to a flame.  My daughter Jen also known as The East Side Professor has posted photos over on her blog..he is a real cutie!  Go on over and meet Elvis..he joins Miney who is also a Shetland Sheepdog or a Sheltie and Chaucer ..an orange and white kitty who belongs to Noah.  I believe that this is Handy Andy's first puppy.. he and Jen share Miney..but I have a feeling that Elvis is all his.  

This was Miney when she was just little.  It was the first time she visited us ( August 2005) ..she was a real cutie too!

I guess I will have to break this new puppy news to Chance gently.  He is very sensitive:)