Garage Sale Treasures

My husband went to get the mail this afternoon, then came back with a huge roll of about 1,000 feet of Cat5 cable and some vice grips. He said, “There’s a garage sale down the road. Maybe you can find a vase.”

We jumped into the truck and went to the same house that hosted a garage sale some months back. They greeted my husband, and he said “He had gone back for higher authority.” :0)

 

This looks like painted wicker, but it’s metal. I’m going to use it in my art room. It reminds me of a secretary desk with all the small drawers, slots, and even hidden places….

 

I HAD to have this wonderful basket! I put it in our guest room – at least for the moment, while Amber chews everything.

 

A Willow resin piece – this one is “Healing.”

 

This cute thing is several resin snow people hinged together. This is the ‘front.’

 

This is the ‘back.’

 

This is it spread out. I love snow people. I can’t wait to display this in winter!

Yum!

“Bread Oven” – Paul Militaru Photography

Camera

Chrissie Anderson Peters

Beans & Seed Art – Take 2

I love the idea of creating art using beans and seeds of all colors, shapes and sizes. I’ve never tried it, but I know the artist must have a lot of vision and a lot of patience to create these beautiful things.

 

pinterest – artist unknown

 

 

Pinterest – Pesquisa Google

 

 

Kid Activities – Necklace made from multiple colors of pumpkin seeds.

I

Trying to Meet the Challenges of a Lab Puppy

Yesterday Amber finally got us to admit that the nice metal gate that my husband made years ago to keep our pit bull, Bambi, and our cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross, Molly, in the office with us will not meet the challenge we have before us.

Amber is fine until one of us leaves the room, she sees Molly, she sees a cat, or her toy rolls under the gate, or…. She proved yesterday morning that, unless one of us sits at the gate, like a gatekeeper, flyswatter in hand, ready to jump up, yell, “NO!” and swipe her with the swatter, the gate will not keep her in. She can still slide under it, though she won’t be able to do that much longer at the rate she’s growing. She can easily leap over it, and that will get easier as she gets larger. The gate is a joke, only making it harder for the people to get in and out.

We ordered another Carlson Walk-Thru Pet Gate from Chewy.com yesterday. We just got confirmation that it has been shipped today and we should get it Monday or Tuesday.

It comes with a couple of extensions, and we still have the ones we didn’t need for the doorway to the porch, so we think we can make this work, though our doorway is 48 inches wide.

______________

Our efforts to allow Amber to come inside with us seem to be working, albeit slowly. This morning, for example, we had Molly sit beside my husband’s chair at the table while we were eating breakfast. We brought Amber in. She ran around like a mad thing for a few moments, and then zeroed in on Molly. My husband was ready with the flyswatter, and soon Amber got the message that if she dive-bombed Molly, she got swatted. She finally decided to lie down at my feet. This worked well until Molly decided to move. We went through the whole thing again, but a shorter amount of time.

Molly is learning that Amber is not trying to hurt her and that her people are aware of the problem and are trying to make the problem go away – eventually.

I’ve been told that Amber will be in ‘puppihood’ until she is 2 years old. Some have said 4 years. I remember my mother telling my brother and me from time to time, “I’ve read all about this stage and you’re going to skip it.” It didn’t work very well for my mom, but maybe it’ll work for us…

Meanwhile, Amber showers us with love (and slobber) every time we see her. Since we see her very often during the day and evening, we’re building a good relationship. One day at a time!

Celery and Lettuce Starts

The three glasses in the foreground of this picture are celery starts. The one behind the other three is lettuce!

I bought a head of lettuce Sunday. When I was making us a sandwich, I smacked the lettuce on the counter to make the hard end pop out and suddenly thought, “Why wouldn’t growing lettuce from a head bought at the store work the same way as celery?”  (At least I don’t talk to myself aloud – at least, not very MUCH…. :0)  )

So I plonked the end in a glass and added water. If you look carefully, you can see that it’s greening up! I have no clue if this will continue to be large enough for me to put in the garden or not, but it sure will be fun to try it.

Boo Has a New Bowl

A new bowl for Boo arrived this morning!

I decided that she really didn’t have enough room to swim around much in the old bowl. I ordered a new drum-shaped 2 gallon bowl. It’s a bit harder for me when lifting it back up onto the divider, but I’ve figured out that I can fill it totally by putting the clean, empty bowl on the divider and then using the extender cable on the faucet to fill it up. :0)

 

I would like to do everything I can to keep Boo happy. She actually swims over to meet my finger – wiggling at me – when I stop and talk to her. I love her bulbous eyes and really wiggly body with all the fins.  I’m beginning to think I am unable to get a good picture of her. Here is one I found on the net that gives you a better idea of what she looks like.

 

Black Moor Goldfish – Pinterest

Beads & Seeds Art – Take 1

Bean Mosaic – Bean Balls – Taylor Tinkerings

I love the 3-D quality and texture these artists get with beads and seeds!

 

Beverly Herman – Marina Alexandrova – http://www.galiotis.com

 

 

 

 

First Palette

Sweet, Innocent Puppy…

Amber – 15 weeks

You might be saying, “Awwwwww! What a sweet puppy!”

I’m sporting a new bandaid on the index finger of my right hand from an innocent game of tug of war with her rope. The thing is, you’re playing, having a good time, and suddenly, she cheats, biting YOUR end of the rope – and my finger in the process…. The lesson is that if you’re not the one with the sharp teeth, you’d better pay better closer attention.

This morning my husband was letting Amber have a time in the living room with him. He routinely keeps the retractable leash on her, giving her lots of room to play with her toys, and sitting on the part you usually hold. He then reads a magazine. This morning, all of a sudden Amber was free! He was still sitting on the end of the leash, so – Amber had quietly chewed through the end of the leash that goes to the part you clip on her collar ring. The clipping part was still hanging on the ring – minus the leash. My husband tied the end of the leash around the clipping end so we can still use it, but now we know we can’t depend on that keeping her corralled.

When we returned from Lunch Bunch and errands, I immediately took Amber out to do her business. That accomplished, my plan was to put her in the office behind the gate, refill my coffee cup, and spend some time with her. In the time it took me to get to the kitchen, Amber was out, wagging her tail at me. (She had jumped over the gate.)  Thankfully, my husband picked her up and deposited her over the gate into the office again. I climbed over and went to my chair. Happily enough, she is content (for the moment) to take a nap right beside the wheels of my chair.  I’ll remember not to move my chair…

It might sound like I’m griping, and that would be true – at least on the surface. Amber is definitely a handful. She needs constant care and/or supervision, lots of attention and love, lots of play time and exercise, AND lessons on entertaining herself with hopefully approved activities, AND the idea that it’s OKAY to take a nap and rest at least a little bit every once in a  while. Gradually, we’re adapting to each other. I held Molly in my lap last night while Amber cavorted around, trying to get Molly to play with her, diving at her face, leaping around the room. Molly wasn’t happy with the situation, but she’s beginning to realize that Amber is a big, lumbering puppy who means her no harm. Annoying, yes, but dangerous to her, maybe not so much.

We’re managing to have some quiet times during the day, where everyone takes a deep breath and gets a bit of rest. Then one of us goes out to play or walk Amber, maybe bring her inside for a bit, feed her, etc. Over and over again, until late at night when it’s crate time. It’s going to work out. I’m still looking for good sugar-free energy drinks…

 

 

I Love YouTube

I just found a good video of a man trimming his fairly early tomato plants. He pinched off the lower branches that touched the soil, saying that you can stop a lot of disease if you do this. He was also pinching off the sucker (he’s pointing to one here) early on to make the main part of the plant sturdier.

He said he waits until mid July to pinch off suckers that are about 6 inches long and then plants them in soil for his fall crop. I think I may be too early in my efforts, so I’ll wait and try to follow the things he showed me.

Meanwhile, I got a different style thermometer (doesn’t use alcohol) and will put in into the greenhouse later. Hopefully, this style will live through the heat.

I’ve decided to try planting some more spaghetti squash seeds, since we still have a good amount of time for them to grow over the summer. Wish me luck?

Right now, the heat index is 103 degrees, lethally hot for old folks like me. We have a 60% chance of rain this afternoon and evening, but I’m afraid it will only be momentary relief.  I may take Amber to stand out in the rain with me, thankful for at least a short reprieve.

3-D Paper Sculpture – Take 3

Calvin Nicholls

 

 

Calvin Nicholls

These Extraordinary 3D Animal Sculptures Are Made From Carefully Cut Layers Of Paper by Calvin Nicholls.

By Emily Davis, Trendingly

 

Calvin Nicholls

“Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has been a full-time paper sculpture artist since the mid 80s. He creates these amazing 3D animal sculptures from multiple layers of paper, with each piece taking anywhere from 4 weeks to 2 years to complete.”

 

Calvin Nicholls

Tomato Plants From Suckers – Take 1

These two tomatoes were ready to be harvested this morning. We have one harvested a couple of days ago, so we’ll feast on sliced tomatoes tonight!

Yesterday I tried to plant suckers in order to grow new tomato plants.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com

“Tomato suckers, or side shoots, are the growth that appears in the crotch between the stem and a branch. (See photo above.) If left to grow, they will become another main stem with branches, flowers, fruit and more suckers of their own.”

I carefully gathered several suckers, went to my greenhouse where I had pots of Mel’s Mix ready, moistened the bottom of each sucker in water and then stuck it in rooting hormone  (shaking off the excess) and put the suckers in the pots. I then watered the pots. It was really hot in the greenhouse so I left the thermostat-controlled exhaust fan on.

 

This is what the thermometer in the greenhouse showed this morning, although it didn’t feel that bad. The exhaust fan is set to start and run when the temperature inside the greenhouse is 90 degrees F. or higher. It was off. The outside temperature is 77 right now.

 

As you can see, Trial 1 was a failure.  I chose and cut the suckers carefully. The fact that I planted in the heat of the day, rather than in the morning or right before dark may have been a factor. I read the directions on the rooting hormone and followed them carefully, so I don’t think that’s the problem. The fact that the thermometer is reading so high vs the exhaust fan being off may be a factor. I may bring the thermometer in and see if it’s working correctly. *

*It’s now about 45 minutes later. I brought the thermometer inside and my husband shook it. It has red dye now in the bottom of the package. Apparently, the temperature in the greenhouse blew its top off. We’ll hunt for a different style today while we’re out.

On a happier note – I harvested the first of the experiment to try to grow celery from the bottoms cut off stalks bought at the store.

 

 

I cut off the bottom of the stalks of celery I bought at the store and put each in a glass of water. These need to grow a bit more before they’re ready to be taken out to the garden and planted. (If you look carefully, you can see that in the glass that’s second from the left, I’ve put the end of a head of lettuce in a glass, just for giggles.)

 

The celery plants are bushy, rather than looking like what you get at the store. I cut the largest stalks, leaving the smaller ones to hopefully grow.

 

There is a LOT of greenery on each stalk. I washed everything, then cut off the stalks into usable pieces, washed them again, and then took the bowl of cut celery to my husband in the living room where we each tried one. Oddly enough, they taste like celery! :0)

I’m like a kid at Christmas. After several tries and several failures, I’m actually growing edible celery! Woo HOOOO!

“Verandah”

“Verandah” – Paul Militaru Photography

3-D Paper Sculpture – Take 2

These Extraordinary 3D Animal Sculptures Are Made From Carefully Cut Layers Of Paper by Calvin Nicholls.

By Emily Davis, Trendingly

 

“Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has been a full-time paper sculpture artist since the mid 80s. He creates these amazing 3D animal sculptures from multiple layers of paper, with each piece taking anywhere from 4 weeks to 2 years to complete.”

 

 

 

Silly Humans

My name is Amber. I came to live with the Lewises, a kind-enough couple, but kind of doofus, 5 weeks ago. I’ve been making wonderful discoveries almost every day since then.

For example, I found a squeaker with a new voice in this bright orange bone this morning! I love it!!! I walk around with it my mouth making it squeak continuously. I can drive my older sister, Molly, nuts with it. If I could smile with it in my mouth, I would. :0)

My humans put up a metal gate across the opening of the office, thinking it will make me stay in here with them. My mom went to the kitchen to let Molly in. Was she surprised when I showed up in the kitchen and jumped on Molly! The humans then finally acknowledged that the gate is a joke. Maybe they’ll leave it down now.

My dad took me out with him to the shop. I LOVE going out to the shop because he feeds me a biscuit. I even stop there when my dad ISN’T there, hoping.

My dad put me on a string and then went in and out of the shop throwing stuff into a barrel. Then he did something at the bottom and fire came out of the top of the barrel! And little bits of black stuff started sailing around, all over the yard around the barrel. One landed close to me. I immediately went to sniff it. YUCK! It smelled bad, so I jumped backwards and barked at it Then I crept up on it again, slowly, my tail wagging mightily. I then tried to bite it, even though it smelled bad, because I can’t tell what stuff is until I taste it BLECK! It tasted even worse than it smelled. I spit it out, then sneezed, and my dad laughed at me.

After my walk, I’m back on the porch for a morning snooze. I have to tear up things on the porch before my humans come out again so they’ll feel secure…

“Surrounded by Joy”

“Surrounded by Joy” – Paul Militaru Photography

Watercolors I Love – Take 15

Pure Blinding Colour

 

 

River Otter Watercolor – Artist Unknown

 

 

 

“Smoochy Foxes” – Etsy UK

 

 

 

http://www.hannajakobsen.net

Creaky and Crispy

Write Now

Today I’m feeling twice my age –

I’ve told you that my husband got a new-to-him 45 foot ham radio tower and rotor through his ham radio club. Most of it is in a pile close to my greenhouse, but one segment of the tower plus the rotor, are in the shop. My husband is making a base for the tower out of 1/2 inch iron. This weighs a TON – give or take a few pounds.

Meanwhile, we’ve been looking for someone to come drill a 10 inch in diameter, 6 or 8 foot hole in the ground, put a pipe down in the hold and fill it with concrete. He’ll weld the heavy base on the end of the pipe. He’s contacted two drilling companies who don’t seem to be interested in such a small (for them) project. Finally, my husband remembered the name of the man who drilled our water well 30 years ago, Mr. Musgrove.

I remember him well because his first question on the phone was which side of Mt. Harmony Road we lived on. When we told him, he said, “Ok. I’ll come. There’s water there. There isn’t in any other direction.” He came with a Dousing Rod! It looked like a stick to me, but he wandered around our property with it – and either due to its working or a really good dramatic flare, the switch suddenly pointed down to the ground. He dug down and found water, plus Fool’s Gold, at 168 feet. We put some of the Fool’s Gold in a sandwich bag and hung it, plus his notes – framed – on a wall in our dining area.

Mr. Musgrove is now 85, but his sons are carrying on the business and they should be contacting us soon about the drilling we need.

This news sparked a lot of activity yesterday from us. We have a trio of large evergreen trees on one part of our property. They’re so close together we thought for a long time that they were one large tree. My husband took the ladder, a large extension cord, and the chain saw out to the trees. We worked for about an hour, taking limbs off the evergreens that are in the way of a truck driving through there to where he wants the hole drilled. He cut and I either held the cord so it didn’t cause him trouble, held the ladder still, or hauled off what he cut down. This morning he took out a barbed wire fence post that was also in the way, so we think, other than having to undo one end of Amber’s dog run, we’re fixed for the truck and equipment coming in and out.

As a result of my labors the last several days, I was stiff and sore when I went to bed last night. I woke up in the night with my back and hips hurting. I took some pain medication and slept on the heat pad. This morning I slathered on Sports Creme (I know – athletes would cringe at this old lady using their stuff) and took more meds. I’m still stiff and sore, but functional now.

We have declared that today will be a rest day. It will also be a yoga day. (I planned for this yesterday, but the branch cutting took precedence.) I MAY set up to start tomato suckers in the greenhouse today, and I MAY spray weed killer on the ground under my raised bed planters, and I MAY prune stuff in the trio of brick planters in the front yard – but I MAY just ignore these things and take a nap…

 

Shameless Plug for Chewy.com

Chewy.com

This is a shameless plug for the website Chewy.com.

I’ve bought about 6 things there since we got our new puppy.

• First, it’s easy to order from their website.
• Second, their delivery time is amazingly fast. You feel almost as if you just ordered it and it arrives.
• Third, their quality is great.
• Fourth, their customer service is outstanding. I just discovered this today.

I had ordered a collar for Amber. I meant to order a regular 1″ wide nylon collar with a snap closure. What I actually ordered was a martingale collar, which was a choke collar competitor, which wouldn’t work with our setup.

I called customer service. I got right through, didn’t have to go through a phone tree, didn’t have to press ‘1’ to continue in English. I told the man I wanted to return an item.

The man asked me, “What’s wrong with it? I told him flatly that, due to my own stupidity and sloppy reading, I had ordered the wrong thing and needed to return it. He laughed, telling me he did that all the time. He told me he would give me credit in the full amount of the item, tax, and shipping, credited to my credit card, which would take 3 to 5 business days. When I asked about returning the collar I had received, he just said, “Please give it to a charity or someone who might enjoy it.”

I sat for a moment, dumfounded. I told him that I had ordered 5 or 6 things from Chewy.com and had just found ANOTHER reason to tell people what an outstanding company it is.

If you have pets or know people who have pets, please spread the word to give Chewy.com a try. I rarely give shameless plugs for companies, but this one is outstanding.

Watercolors I Love – Take 14

Joe Cartwright

 

 

Karolina Kijak 2016

 

 

Mary Gibbs Art

Dog with a Ball

As Amber calms down more, she is discovering that life is really good. She’s an exuberantly happy three-and-a-half month old, fast-growing yellow labrador retriever puppy. She’s gained 20 lbs in 5 weeks. Our vet said, ‘She’s a beautiful dog.” :0)

Every day she discovers another thing she loves. So far, she loves

• jumping into her kiddie pool several times a day, walking around the perimeter and drinking water
• squeaky toys. The purple ball in her mouth makes a delicious squeak. She loves to fetch, but wants to hoard the toy when she gets it.
• shade. Every time she finds a shady, grassy spot, she dives for it, lies down, stretches out, and rolls – in Heaven.
• sticks. She rarely completes a walk without having grabbed – and many times eaten – a stick.
• butterflies. She jumps and tries to play with them.
• cats – but they don’t like her.
• Molly – but she doesn’t like her.
• people – she wants to be with us 24/7. She is learning that the better she acts, the longer she gets to stay inside with the people.
• chewing. Though many toys are provided, she wants to chew on EVERYTHING. We have to watch her like a hawk with a rolled up newspaper, a flyswatter, and a stern, “NO!!!!” with us.
• treats. She’ll do almost anything for one. She even cheats – pretending to do her business, or peeing several times in the attempt to get more treats. She watches our hands and our pockets, alert for any chance she’ll get one.
• her crate and other safe places. She readily goes into her crate each night. We got a soft bed to put in there, plus she has a couple of soft toys for snuggling. During the day she pulls out the laundry basket that holds her toys so she can sleep between it and the wall. (Kind of like me in a restaurant. I like the wall behind me.)

Each day is a new adventure. We’re adapting to each other now and things are getting into a bit more of a pattern.

3-D Animal Sculptures – Take 1

Calvin Nicholls

These Extraordinary 3D Animal Sculptures Are Made From Carefully Cut Layers Of Paper by Calvin Nicholls.

By Emily Davis, Trendingly

 

Calvin Nicholls

Canadian artist Calvin Nicholls has been a full-time paper sculpture artist since the mid 80s. He creates these amazing 3D animal sculptures from multiple layers of paper, with each piece taking anywhere from 4 weeks to 2 years to complete.

 

 

Calvin Nicholls

 

 

Calvin Nicholls

What Happens When You Read?

Rantings of a Bibliophile via Cathy Ruggiero

Poppies!

“Poppies” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

 

“Poppy on the Field” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

 

“Poppy Sighting” – Paul Militaru Photography

Nothing

Sun-Gazing.com via Cathy Ruggiero

I used to want to have ‘something to do’ each day – somewhere to go, people to see, activities. I realize that wanting the opposite is definitely a sign of old age, but I’m embracing it.

Today there are no scheduled appointments, no ‘have-to’ errands, no commitments. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

_________________

Yesterday my husband and I both worked most of the day in the hot sun.

My husband was trying to relocate a microlink to our computers in the shop. This is not a thing we HAVE to have, but it used to work and yesterday it wasn’t. In order to get it to work again, my husband had to move the equipment on the house end from the front of the house to the back and mount it on the window bars. This involved a lot of cable making, stapling inside the wall of the garage, welding and painting for the piece that mounted to the window, testing of cables, switches, and links, etc. It took my husband all day, but he got it working. Now he just has to put his tools away and cut down several branches on a tree between the house and the shop for a clearer line of sight.

In the garden, I planted two celery plants, pulled out the last of the spinach and lettuce plants, pruned the plants that were left, and weeded the raised bed planters. The only thing remaining in the garden to spray the weeds on the ground with weed killer.

I took some stuff out to the greenhouse in preparation for starting some tomato suckers, but the thermometer showed red all the way to the top – over 120 degrees – so I just put the stuff inside and came out again.

I dumped the water from the kiddie pool, washed it out, and refilled it.

I cleaned Amber’s porch up, hosed it out, then squeegeed and mopped.

I mowed the yard on the riding mower after helping my husband with the microlink several times.

By the time we finally stopped for dinner, it was almost 9:00. I cooked, we ate and watched a movie.

Whew!

____________________

There are things I’ll do today, but I’m concentrating on doing things INSIDE while the sun is at its hottest – as we SHOULD have done yesterday – and OUTSIDE when the sun is going down, with only the finishing touches on dinner to do.

I’m going to also take time to read more of my latest “In Death” series book by Nora Roberts while I’m relaxing.

Because my back is letting me know I overdid yesterday, I’ll try to work in a session of yoga.

 

Funny-Pics.co

AHHHHHHHH!

 

Welcome, Summer!

Askideas.com

“As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their longest summer day in December.” ~ Unknown

 

DesiComments.com

“The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun’s energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.” ~ Unknown

 

 

Heavy.com

“Perhaps the most enduring modern ties with Summer Solstice were the Druids’ celebration of the day as the “wedding of Heaven and Earth”, resulting in the present day belief of a “lucky” wedding in June.” ~ Unknown

 

 

Holiday Calendar

On The Summer Solstice … “Whatever is dreamed on this night, will come to pass.” William Shakespeare

 

 

 

International Business Times – Stonehenge

“Today, the day is still celebrated around the world – most notably in England at Stonehenge and Avebury, where thousands gather to welcome the sunrise on the Summer Solstice.”~ Unknown

HAPPY 1ST DAY OF SUMMER!

Fashion Statement?

Hotel for Dogs

Arkansas got the ‘summer memo’ about 3 weeks ago. We’ve been in the high 90’s with uncomfortable humidity since then. I have to tell you that spring and the 60s are where I am comfortable, so I visibly wilt as soon as I go outside.

We have a lot of sweat bands we keep on a special hook thingie on the back of the door to the garage. I grab two of them routinely because my husband needs one, too, but never seems to remember to get one. He wears a ham radio hat and I wear a hat that makes me look like a squashed mushroom to protect us from the direct sun.

I’m getting so that it FEELS as if I’m wearing a sweat band even when I’m not. It’s a regular part of how I look during the day and evening when we’re home working.

We grab a sweat band and head out the door. We come in, throw the sweat band in the washer, regular as clockwork.

I doubt if we’ll start a fad, though. You definitely need a sense of humor up here on top of our hill.

Today is a several-sweatband-day. I’m going to

• plant two celery plants in the square foot garden and cut stalks from the largest plant out there
• sweep the pooled water from the latest storm off the floor of the greenhouse
• prep for putting tomato suckers in water out there
• cut down some weed trees
• prune stuff in the trio of brick planters between the driveway and the front yard
• mow this evening when the sun is down a bit

I hope that you’re having a good Tuesday.

Oh, Baby!

Amber at 15 weeks today.

We just got home from taking her to the vet for her last puppy shots, a rabies vaccination, and a checkup.

We brought her home 5 weeks ago. She weighed 16 pounds. Today she weighed 36 pounds. She’s a BIG baby!

The vet checked her arm pits where the harness was chaffing her. He said they would just heal on their own. He thought she looked and acted GREAT.  She was friendly and cooperative with him. We scheduled her to be spayed at 5 months, August 7th. We got more samples of Sentinel, to protect her from Heartworm. We can’t buy any yet, because even the 3-pack wouldn’t be the right dosage as fast as she’s growing.

Amber met the vet’s dog, a grown female labradoodle named Ellie. They got along fine, both sniffing and wagging tails.

Amber didn’t fuss with any of the undignified things that happen to dogs on the table at the vet’s. She didn’t seem to even notice the shots.  The vet noticed the “Thunder” leash we were using and asked about it. He hadn’t seen it before. We explained that if she pulls on the leash, the strap around her squeezes her. Her reaction is to slow WAAAAY down, or even stop and sit. This is really a good thing when you have a big dog and you’re not as young or strong as you used to be. Since she’s growing like one of our weed trees, we feel good we found it.  She still will run around or through our legs, if we’re not paying attention, so it’s still a challenge to walk her when she’s off the beaten path of our land.

We let her stick her face out of the window, with her riding in my lap, on the way home. Suddenly, she turned around, looked at me and licked my cheek. We all laughed.

I feel relieved that her underarms are healing well.

 

Watercolors I Love – Take 13

25+ Best Ideas about Watercolor

 

 

Ann Fullerton – “Autumn Afternoon”

 

 

“Black Bear” – Dean Crouser

Books

Title Wave for Books via Cathy Ruggiero

Eyelashes

The few times that Amber is still – and I think I can count the times on one hand in the month she’s been a part of our family – I’m struck by her eyelashes.

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed a dog’s eyelashes before. I love a dog’s eyes, and I’m partial to dark noses, but I love Amber’s eyelashes. I still haven’t gotten a good picture of them, but if you look carefully, you can see that they are light, like her hair.