End of Summer Update

Hi All,
It's been a while since I've posted so let me give a brief update. I'm still on the beach but since the addition of minimal "good" carbs and fruit, I've been at a standstill. It's better than nothing, but it can get discouraging. Today we had the folks over for a Labor Day bbq and I splurged with some potato chips and ice cream. But it'll be water for the rest of the day so I just need to move on.

Our Baby Dog (Moxie) was finally able to be spayed after several aborted attempts and failed blood tests. So now she's got the "flower face" with the hood thing that doesn't allow her to bite her stitches. Glad that's over. Stitches come out Tuesday.

Jeff and I received our Sleep Number Bed recently and that has been a God-send for me. I usually sleep all night now without waking up (except for the dog...another issue!) I think my back is slowly feeling better.

Dog Spa

Here are some updated pictures of the Dog Spa. The tub that we purchased from "Booster Bath" is wonderful! It makes such a difference for us and the dogs! So, now we have some landscaping left to do and we'll be all set. Take a look at our first customer.

True Water Dogs

The past few days here in NYS have been dreadfully HHH. You can see the moisture hanging in the air. Not the best weather for furry-coated PWD's. Yesterday, Jeff and I took them to the Great Sacandaga Lake off the South Shore Road for a swim and a bath. We found a place to enter the lake where there was no beach nearby, as swimmers might get testy about dog shampoo floating in the water.

The temperature was cooler and it was less humid to begin with. The place that we stopped was almost inaccessible to the water, a cliff overlooking the lake. Jeff went down with the dogs and I stayed on the ledge. I wasn't worried about getting down, it was getting back UP that I was concerned about. Between my flip-flop clad feet and my bad back, I wasn't taking chances.

So the dogs got lathered up and then retrieved the Water Wubba for about an hour. Docker, especially, LOVES the water. Moxie is getting there, too. But she is more apt to take a break and explore the shore after a few retrieves.

It was a good dog day...but when we came off the mountain and got back home, the heat was there to greet us.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

One of the benefits of being an education administrator (for me, anyway) is the 11-month job. This means that I get 1/2 of my summer to relax.

It's July 17th and the relaxing has been slim. Mothers don't get to relax, I guess. M1 has had driver's ed this summer, which requires a taxi ride to the school daily. Luckily, we have a friend in the neighborhood who is enrolled, too. So I do the ride in, and her dad does the ride home. And M2 is in Drama Camp these 2 weeks, so that's a lot of extra running too. Good thing gas is so cheap! Jeff has pitched in, too, which I appreciate!

But because of this taxi schedule, I've been working from home in the early hours and getting to the office later in the morning. What's REALLY nice about this is that Jeff wears the dogs out with a long walk and while I'm working, they're sleeping. Sleeping dogs are like sleeping babies - adorable! PwD's are not known for their relaxation qualities, so I enjoy these rare moments.

Good thing you can't see Moxie's feet in this picture. She is filthy and at 35#+, she is getting too big for the tub. Jeff and I plan on making a 3-season outdoor dog bath in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for pics as that develops. We confiscated some PVC decking material that a neighbor was throwing out, and we need to run hot water outside ("we" meaning Jeff), and go to Agway or somewhere and get some sort of galvanized cow troth or something, then create a path so that we dogs go from tub to deck without touching the dirt, grass or anything dirty. Sounds good, we'll see how we do.

Time to run...again!

Independence Day

Independence Day has never been one of my favorite holidays. For one thing, there are no gifts exchanged which is what ruined it for me as a kid. Now, though, I see that as a benefit. I've never been a "summer person" in that I hate, hate, hate being hot and fireworks have always scared me. I'm not a big fan of the noise although they are pretty. Prettier and fancier each year, as a matter of fact. I will say, though, that I love this country and celebrating our Independence is a great thing - even when politics and the state of affairs in Washington get you down - this is the best country in which to live! I also like the colors of the 4th. Red, White & Blue are comforting colors to this American girl.

Since my parents moved to their retirement home (meaning the home they've retired to...not as in "official" retirement home or "old folks home"), we've been going there for the 4th of July. They live 2 or 3 houses from the bridge in that little commuunity from which the fireworks are fired and their front lawn is THE place to watch the fireworks, just as my grandmother's lawn was THE place to watch the Memorial Day parade when I was a child.

So I suggested to Dad that he should cook some hot dogs to which he suggested that I bring the hot dogs and so I did. We also brought the Water Dogs and Moxie, who'd never been there before, was a bit loud. She was not interested in hanging out while we ate.

After the eating and the cleaning, we made our way to the front lawn and watched people park up and down the street and walk to find their positions. We, the dogs and people on the lawn, waited.

We brought Dock last year to the 'works and if I remember correctly, he barked at the first one or two but then curled up in Jeff's lap and rode out the whole show. This year, with the Baby Dog, that was not going to happen. At the first blast, Dock went crazy and Moxie started shaking so Jeff ran them into the house where he sat on the floor with them the whole time. They were fine once inside and Jeff probably enjoyed being with the dogs more than the people, so all was well.

Here are pictures of Dad & M2, Mom & Dad, and M1 (with her straight teeth) plus the dogs. I'd have included a picture of Jeff but he has a way of making faces when the camera is pointed his way, so none were flattering.

The moral of the story is that dogs shouldn't go to the fireworks. Next year, we'll leave them home where they'll miss us, but be less traumatized.

Portuguese WAFFLE Dogs

I don't know what it is with our dogs, but tonight was "Breakfast for Dinner" night and the dogs were going crazy trying to get a waffle!! Don't get me wrong - my waffles are awesome, but they are not the usual carnivore fare. When we got Moxie, she had been raised on raw chicken, so she still goes a little crazy when we have something on the grill...but this waffle obsession is bizarre!

First time for everything...

This is just like typing anything...except that it is on display for the world to see. OK, so maybe the "world" isn't interested in what I have to say or report....but it could happen.

This will be an experiment to see if I can find enough to write about to keep your attention. If nothing else...it seems blogging makes me a cool mom and really - what ELSE could I want from my life?!

Here's the dogs tonight. Enjoy!