PLEASE BEAR WITH ME....I am typing this one-handed. It's a real drag for someone who has typed two-handed since my mom taped up the keys of our old Remington when I was 7 years old. I'm sure it was more because I wanted to do anything she could do and it was one way to keep me occupied. Regardless of her intent, I did learn to type without looking at thr keys. Well, mostly anyways.

So how did I break my wrist? Three guesses and the first two don't count. You guessed it.....Baron. If you haven't experienced it, traininh a puppy to the leash is not easy. First of all, you give them freedom from most restraints when you bring them home and let them sniff and explore all the new sights and sounds of their new home. So, when you decide the time gas come for them to learn how to behave on a leash so you can takr them places where dogs are allowed on a leash, they ususlly don't like the loss of freedom, A puppy is nothing less than a happy explorer of new smrlls, plants and the odd piece of flotsam that they see.

I made two mistakes on my walk. I set a brisk pace (more for myself because it looked lik rain) anf I had the lrash shortened and looped around my hand. Well, the pup wanted to yakr his time and smell all the flowers and dogshit from other digs walked around our circle and was straining at the leash off-and-on, I dropped a loop of the leash, which was automatically detected by the pup who darted in front of me and between my legs. Needlesstosay, I took a header, threw my left arm out to break my fall, turned my head and hit the pavement, I knew the wrist was broken
as I cradled it and tried not to pass out. When I could get up off the ground, I also knew my face was bleeding and saw my reading glasses had flown off my head and dpwn the road a piece. Yes. scratched

i got the Beast to take me to Emergency Care where it was confirmed and a rigid brace and sling put on me. So
here I am, painkillers and all, waiting to hear from my doctor about an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon since I
might need a pin put in my wrist. I will let you know what happens,

Love ya.

I woke up this morning feeling great and not the least bit embarrassed at the time (8:30 am) because it's one of the pleasures of a Sunday morning for me. Imagine my shock when my hubby, the Beast, told me it was great it was my sleep-in Sunday since it was Monday morning.

I actually argued with him that he was mistaken but went and checked on my computer to be sure. I was totally shocked and could NOT figure out how I lost a whole day in my mind. That's when I decided that I must have lost it (my mind) on one of the walks with the pup. I checked for it on my walk this morning but didn't find it. If you see it, would you send it back, please?

I bought the Beast a two person swing complete with awning from Wally World the other day and we put it together yesterday. Talk about a nightmare puzzle to put together. I only wanted a swing, not a hobby. But we finally got it all together and carried it from the garage out to the back and set it under the trees at the back of the property. It looks nice and is really comfy. Later on in the day, I looked out back and there was the Beast on the swing with the pup curled up on the seat with him just relaxed and enjoying the gentle swinging. I had to laugh at the sight because he (Baron) looked so thoroughly content.

The Beast couldn't figure out why the pup will get into his kennel for me and he has to struggle to get him to go in at night. I just walk over and tell him to *Come* and he comes over and goes into it. But he caught on how I do it last night when he noticed my give the dog a treat after he was in the cage. He said to the dog (like he understood what he was saying) *That'll teach you to trust a woman with a treat in her hands*

The Beast finally took some pictures of the pup to send to some family and friends that were curious about him. He wanted to wait until the bandages were off the dog's ears. We took them off yesterday (I DO remember that) and were surprised to see how well they are standing after just two weeks. The vet told us to take the bandages off and leave them until we see how they stand. He wanted the bandages off for a couple days anyway but said if the ears show signs of drooping to wrap them up again. So far, so good and the ears look great. However, the adhesive from the tape has taken a lot of hair off the ears and they almost look sore but apparantly aren't. They just look awful (to me) so I am hoping the ears will stand, at the very least, for a few more days. Better yet, I hope we don't have to tape them up again but only time will tell.

I got angry with the Beast because he's been promising to install the card reader he has for MY computer because he has a printer that incorporates a card reader in it. He lies. I finally told him that I was going to buy my OWN card reader the next time I go out shopping because that seems to be the only way I will ever get one. He thinks I am blugging but HA! He's got a surprise coming. I am tired of his procrastinations. And I thought *I* was bad that way.

My aunt starts her radiation therapy tomorrow and I am prayng hard for her. It can be so tough on your system and she's very spry but is 82 years old and has had a lot of problems of late. If something happens to her, I will miss her greatly.

The pup and I took our half mile walk again this morning but I stopped along the route to take a look at the progress of the latest house being built on our circle. It looked like it was going to be a bigger house than mine is but it isn't and that surprised me. They don't have any steps up to the patio yet and the pup had a bit of a time getting up into it but got brave when we came out and jumped lightly off it. I've seen a lot of progress in his attitude towards new adventures in the week-and-a-half that we've had him. It's amazing. He's gotten housebroken in just two days and doesn't run and hide at new sounds. He's learned to go down stairs by himself and even ventures out into our yard by himself. He's learned to play (he didn't have a clue when we first brought him home) and now even chases a ball and brings it back. He also likes to chase a stick now and then but HE has to chose the stick (doesn't every dog?)

I was a bit surprised that he didn't bark or even try to leap at the hummingbirds when he finally noticed them. He just watched them and then seemed bored by it all. I never get tired of watching them and their antics. They seem to delight lately in seeing how close they can buzz by our heads. They show no fear of us and will even continue feeding when we open the screen door to come out on the deck. We have six regular feeders and several that come and go. We don't always see the *strangers* so they must have other feeders they visit in the area that they haven't told *our* hummingbirds about.

At least the Beast is feeling better today. He only took two hour long naps this morning but was perky this afternoon so I guess the worst is over for him. We still have no clue what was wrong with him but I don't think that's so unusual these days. At least he recovered without having to go to the doctor. He's got his first appointment with a local doctor this Thursday. I can relax then because I was worried about that. He would wait until the last moment (when he needs refills on his meds) if I didn't just go ahead and make the appointment for him.

Well, I am tired now and am going to go to bed early since I would like to get up early enough to see the eclipse of the moon before it sets here. It's going to be seen in our area around 5:50 or so (that's in the AM) so I should make it up then if I get my butt to bed now.

Have a great day on Tuesday and I hope your life is full of good things tomorrow and always. Love ya'll.

We had a great rain yesterday but, since we have satellite for the internet, it means we were down the better part of the day. We also have satellite TV so I was going through my DVD's and watching some favorites while I crocheted.
Baron does not like rain so we had to wait for the rain to ease up and rush him out to do his thing and he ran back to the door as fast as his big paws could take him

We decided to fence the back yard and had several people out to give us estimates. The company we chose was a small one run by a family. Not the greatest salespeople in the world but their pricing was very good and so was their guarantee. They start on it this Wednesday unless it's raining. No one seems to ever work in the rain we noticed. Not even house builders even if the roof is on and the workers protected. Go figure. I can understand the fence guys because they have to cement the posts in and it's not real smart to do that while it's raining. I'm hoping we have a good rain or two before then so the ground is easier for them to dig. The Beast and I have tried it a time or two for some of our plantings and it is why we got the rototiller finally. We know what we are and are not capable of doing. And, lets face it, at our age, why would we WANT to knock ourselves out? Do it the easiest way possible and get it over with is my motto.

I told you our next door neighbor put up a fence while we were in Chicago for the family reunion. We had seen her dad putting up the guidelines for it so it wasn't a surprise. What did surprise us was the fence is wood at the front and the sides but chainlink at the back. It only makes sense since that way what view you have isn't cut off. But why she only put up a 4 ft. chainlink fence back there DOES puzzle me. She has a chocolate lab and he will easily clear it when he decides he wants OUT.

The Beast took Baron for a walk out back and over to the chainlink fence thinking to introduce the pup to the bigger pup (he's almost a year old now but labs take forever to *grow up*). Well, it did NOT go the way the Beast imagined it would. He had visions of *Bozo* (my nickname for him) being so excited about having a playmate and the two dogs just becoming instant buddies. It was not meant to be.

Bozo took one look at Baron and came on a dead run, barking and growling and snarling. If he could have gotten to Baron, I have no doubt he would have killed him, it was THAT bad. Baron saw this huge dog coming towards him and hightailed it away from there and onto the deck with the funniest *yip, yip, yip, yip, yip* all the way back to home base. He was afraid that dog could get at him and he wanted NO part of THAT. I'm proud of the fact that he now realizes the dog can't get out of the yard and ignores him even when walking near the fence. Bozo has also stopped his useless barking and growling at Baron just because there is no reaction to it. But I will not let Baron outside when our neighbor lets him out on her days off. I am not going looking for trouble.

We watched what I would have to call a hummingbird ballet this morning. We counted six hummingbirds that were doing a literal ballet around the feeder. They took turns and had some kind of order or understanding because you would have sworn they would run into each other at times. But it was orderly and I almost felt like they had some sort of music they were *dancing* to while buzzing around waiting for their turns. They came within inches of the Beast and my faces while this was going on. It was amazing to be a part of it for us and a memory that will stick in my mind for years to come.

A friend of ours sent us some links about dog food. Of course, we didn't own a pet when all the pet food recalls were going on but we did see some mighty empty shelves there for a while. But the end result of it seems to be a lot of information being spread around that had always been available on the internet but hadn't been LOOKED for at all until some people decided to make their own pet food and wanted good, safe recipes.

The information is shocking. I was never quite sure what animal byproducts were but I was absolutely horrified when I found out. I also was shocked to find out that euthanized dogs, cats and road kill animals were all being sold to rendering plants all over the country and the rendering plants turn them into the main ingredients in most dog and cat foods on the market today. The dog food companies may not add any bad things to this gruel but OMG..it even includes the plastic from the bags the animals are packed in.

Here are a couple sites to consider and read. http://www.dogtrainingzone.com/dogfood.html

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?

http://www.apt4animals.org/facts?

The end result of my reading (and I read much more than this) is that I spent most of today cooking up chicken livers, chicken gizzards, chicken both on the bone and boneless, rice, carrots, potatoes, straining broth and they are all in separate containers to be mixed up with some of the dry puppy food that several articles told us did NOT contain any of the carcinogenic materials I read about. They were real meat, grain and vegetable food.

I found several recipes for making doggie *treats* and the Beast and I are going to try our hand at some of those just to see how the dog likes them. What is funny is I spent the whole day cooking and nothing I made was for people so I had to stop and think of something to eat for US. It just struck me as funny. I finally made up some ham the Beast had bought for us along with some baked beans, crusty rolls, green beans from my bush bean plants and some rice pudding for dessert. The day didn't end too bad but I may not be able to look at chicken for a while.

When I fed the pup this evening, he really LOVED what I mixed up for him. He licked the bowl so clean that it looks like I just pulled it out of the dishwasher. Even the Beast was surprised because Baron didn't wolf it down but acted like he was savoring every bite.

My two boys are sound asleep so I got to get this done without interruptions for once. But I need to get to bed now because I will probably be the one to get up with the dog when he has to pee and take him out. I hate having all this interrupted sleep because it makes me feel as tired as I was when I had a new baby in the house. It's been a lot of years since THAT happened !!!

Goodnight one and all and have a wonderful day tomorrow. Say a prayer for my Aunt Bernice if you don't mind. She started radiation therapy after having a cancerous tumor removed from her uterus. She's 82 years old but a spry, active woman I love dearly.

Love you all.

Baron finally got brave and made it down the stairs. In fact, he did it without prodding because he wanted to get down in the grass and pee. He's really been amazing at how quickly he became housebroken. Here it is a week since we brought him home and he's only had one close call.....and that was our fault because we just didn't move fast enough. But what can you expect of old people....LOL

I couldn't do a daily posting because the Beast has been sick. That left only me to walk, feed and play with the pup as will as tending to the Beast. He's seldom been sick enough to spend most of his day in bed so I knew this wasn't his usual *overdo* type thing. He's done very little this week so that should have been my first clue. He hasn't even heard the pup's whining during the night for the last two nights and he usually hears him way before I do.

If I have a few more nights like these past couple, we will both need nurses....LOL. I really need more sleep than I have been getting and any restorative granny napping just isn't happening. It's either the Beast, the pup or the damn phone interfering.

Baron continues to tickle me with some of his antics. He was given a plastic pot that is like a planter to play with. It actually held stuff for starting green pepper plants but was never used since I had plenty of real ones around here to use. Mostly he carried it around and shook it or rolled it and barked at it. Yesterday he dropped it down the stairs (I left it where it fell because I do NOT fetch for any pup or you know where that leads). When he first braved the stairs to retrieve it, he actually stepped on it and caused it to cave in the side. It no longer resembles what he carried around so he kept going to lift it up in his mouth, then dropping it, jumping back and barking at it. He finally did carry it up to the deck but while chasing it around the deck, it fell down the steps again. This time he left it there because he was done playing with it by then.

This morning, while having my coffee after the morning walk with Baron, he noticed his * toy* was not on the deck and peered down the steps at it laying there at the bottom. He kept staring at it and barked like he expected it to jump up to the top of the stairs for him. He made a little jump and barked again at it. After crouching down and staring at it again for about 5 minutes, he decided he had better go down there and make it come up with him. He carefully picked his way down the stairs and fetched it back up to the deck where he proudly displayed his *catch* to both the Beast and me. After he was done with that, he decided to chew on his rawhide strip for a bit, then his biscuit and back to the rawhide. He kept running between the two like he couldn't make up his mind which one he really wanted or else he got tired of them quickly. He suddenly went down the stairs again, much more confidently this time and pranced over to his favorite area to relieve his bladder then trounced back up the stairs to chew on his chew things again.

This time he had a surprise. I had gone into the house to add another chewing object to his selection. I brought out a nice cold carrot (our vet had suggested it since he seems to be starting to teethe). Now he really was nutty with having three different objects to chew. I just laughed and laughed at his antics as he went frantically from one to the other for about 20 minutes. After all that exhausting chewing, he finally turned his back on all of them (literally) and flopped down under the Beast's chair and went promptly to sleep. I was a brute and woke him up to make him sleep in his crate since I really do want him to get used to using it for sleeping most of the time. He gave me a little tiny bark but went in and promptly fell over asleep again. I left the door open because I didn't want him to feel he HAD to be in it. Besides, I can see if he wakes up and starts roaming around the house from my chair out on the deck. He is, after all, still a puppy and if unsupervised, he WILL chew whatever strikes his fancy while he's in this teething mode. If we are around, he can only nibble and gets an immediate correction. I've learned since he was left inside alone while I attended watering some plants outside and found one of my sneakers missing when I went to put my shoes back on later to walk him. I knew immediately he had at least considered chewing on it and had carried it into his favorite corner to hide. I checked the shoe thoroughly and didn't find teeth marks anywhere so......I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Who knows what a dog thinks? Maybe he was just trying to trick me. It COULD happen, yes it could. Maybe.

The Beast is up and about for a bit but I know he still is not feeling well. He says he feels like he is getting a chest cold but he doesn't sound like it. He's been a bit feverish but not badly. His stomach is feeling *queasy* he says and it must be true because he just isn't eating like normal at all. He's not even snacking like he normally does. He's playing Hearts on Pogo so I figured I would take this time to bring the blog up-to-date. I might even get a game or two in myself while he's up

We got two estimates so far on fencing part of our yard and, unless this third guy has something new to offer, we have pretty much decided on whom we are using. It's a smaller company but the savings is enough for us to throw the work their way as long as they don't make us wait any longer than we were told (a week to 10 days). It will be wood towards the street and down the side (our next door neighbor has a wood fence so we really only have to put up fencing down one side of the yard) and 5 ft. chain link at the rear so our view isn't blocked. We can see over the fence from the deck so I'm not worried about that part of our *view*. At least the dog won't be able to roam at will once it's up. We DO worry about him being too curious and roaming when we know we couldn't keep up and he is still too much of a pup to obey every time. They really ARE a lot like babies, only more mobile.

Have a great evening everyone and a wonderful day tomorrow. We will be having another triple digit day (it's 102 degrees here at almost 5pm) tomorrow. It's not expected to cool down much until the end of next week. That's something else that doesn't help the Beast. He really cannot take the heat any more. He used to work in it all the time when we had our company. Not that he did much of the actual work but he was usually running around to give our employees a hand if they ran into problems at any of our commercial customers sites. The problem with having an air conditioning company is that you never really get to work in anything but heat....LOL.

Love ya'll.

I awoke at 5:30 am without any prompting. No whining or whimpering, the pup was sound asleep. I tiptoed past him and onto the deck as the sky was lightening and sat down to just enjoy watching the dawn alone. It not only gave me a chance to wake up fully but also no need to take a walk in the half-light and stumble around. Worse, have to carry down the stairs a 22 lb. *puppy* who hasn't mastered that part of using stairs just yet. I am beginning to think that Baron von KLUTZ is more appropriate than I thought. Just watching him try to run without sliding across the kitchen floor or our deck is enough to keep you laughing for a few minutes. Or, when he puts his front paws on your chair and stands on his hind legs to get his head scratched, to see his back legs slide underneath him until he lands flat on his back.....hilarious (and he doesn't get hurt, in case you are worried). I think even HE is embarrassed by his clumsiness because he will shrink under a chair for a minute or two afterwards. Their attention spans are not long nor do they think like people do, thank goodness. They live firmly in the moment and puppies moments are shorter than most.....LOL

Around 6 am, I was fully awake and became aware of the pup's whimpering to go potty so I went in and let him out of his crate. When we got out to the deck, I sat down to pick him up and carried him to the bottom of the steps. He couldn't wait to pee and I started *the walk* around the back yard, the shed (we call it the barn since that is what it resembles and is big enough to stable a horse in, possibly two), out to the front yard and across both properties we own then back towards the deck again. He was so full of himself, he kept weaving in and out of my legs and almost tripped me several times. I decided his training starts RIGHT NOW on that stuff so I corrected him the next time he did it. He dropped back on my left side and trotted along nicely for all of ten seconds and did it again ! CORRECTION.
Good behavior. Bad behavior. CORRECTION. Good behavior. This time it lasted until we got back to the deck. He clumped up the stairs behind me and then wanted scratching. I scratched and skritched (skritching is scratching against the growth of the hair....LOL) then gave him a little hugging and went to get my coffee. I was about 3/4 of the way done when I heard the Beast stirring. By that time, it was 7:30 and we had exactly 45 minutes left before we had to be on the road to the vet's office since it was an hour and a half away.

We COULD have found a vet closer to us (there are several) but since it involved removing stitches (which he did free as a part of the original cropping) and we wanted to see the ears progress and learn how to wrap them, we thought we would go ahead and use his services as long as convenient since he was familiar with the pups.

I went ahead and showered and got dressed, then went out to make the Beast get ready. He was shocked to find out how late it was (he's used to being up before I am and much earlier than he was this morning) but we were ready to leave at the appointed time, complete with the dog's bed on the rear seat in our car. Being a good *mommy*, I had fed him lightly after our walk and removed both dishes. I took a bowl and a bottle of water with us because I knew he would need it after the vet visit was over. We stopped midway on our journey, picked up some coffee at Mickey D's and walked the pup. He needed that walk and it kept the car dry.

Our GPS, nicknamed *Louise* by my sister *D*, screwed up and took us about a mile further than she should have but we managed to retrace our steps and found the office. We walked in right on time and barely had time to fill out the forms before being taken into the office.

Now some vets have great personalities as well as a way with animals. This vet has a way with animals but is not great on personality but.....he was very good and thorough on explaining everything we asked about as well as some things we hadn't but needed to know. I can do without personality as long as he's good, he's thorough and he tells you what you need to know. I had to hold Baron's snout while the doctor removed the stitches since the sound of the scissors *clicking* made him jerk away and the vet was concerned that he might accidentally get stabbed with the sharp tips. He also started sliding on the top of the stainless steel table and made us all laugh because he looked so surprised that he was doing that.

I'll tell you one thing, those ears STANK to high heaven when he took the tape off. He went and got some antiseptic cleaner to clean the ears before retaping it and explained that it couldn't be helped because there was seepage while the ears were healing and that is why they used an absorbent core for holding the ears in place with the tape. The one thing that he did differently was in how he *wrapped* the ear around the core before taping it. It seemed to make the difference on how the ears were already standing pretty well although he said they would probably droop in a day or two because they really weren't ready to stay untaped for long. However, even he was surprised at how well the ears stood and said he might only need one more taping after this one. We have to remove the tape in five days and observe how they do. If or when they start to droop, we can just bring the dog in to have him retape it or we can try it on our own using the steps he showed us.

We had the implant put into the pup and the vet used some Frontline on him at my request. He prefers Frontline because of it's water-resistance and said we can bathe him within two days if we need or want to do so. We also bought some Heartgard to start protecting him against several different kind of worms but primarily heartworm since it's so devastating to a dog and we DO have some mosquitoes out here in the country to worry about. The baby is now protected against fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and worms. In two to three weeks, he gets his second set of puppy shots and then the last set a month after that. Then we only have to worry about rabies and booster shots once a year afterwards. I can live with that.

We gave the pup about a cup of water before heading home. He made himself comfortable in the back seat and slept like the baby he is all the way home, only changing position twice and immediately going soundly asleep. He got a walk before coming into the house where he headed straight to his crate to grab his rawhide bone but I surprised him with....food. As soon as he heard it hit his dish, he came running and slide halfway down the kitchen floor and just missed his bowl.

He did spend about a half hour gnawing on his rawhide bone (about the size of a taquito) and is now sound asleep again. I just have paperwork to do now. Send in the registration for the implant (along with money, of course) and fill out the AKC registration (along with money, ditto) and then my part is done for a while. At least it's done until we drive the scooter past him a few more times until he gets used to the sound and doesn't try to hide when he hears it. Otherwise, he's going to get his treadmill a lot earlier than planned.

Well, it's time for me to relax for a bit so I am going to go outside on the deck, raise the umbrella over the table and crochet for a bit until the hummingbirds are feeding again. Actually, a couple of them feed off and on all day long but I love it when they are competing for their turns. It's really cute to watch them dive bombing each other and taking their turns.

Ya'll have a great day, a restful night and great tomorrow. Don't forget to tell the people you love that you do every chance you get. You just never know how long they will be around. So much is happening in the world today and there are bad drivers everywhere you go. Never part in angry words or go to bed angry without plotting revenge (just kidding).

The baby seems to be housebroken already. He's taken to whining at night when he needs to pee and we are more than happy to oblige him. We started taking up his water dish around 6 or 7pm and the food dish too. We figure it isn't fair to expect his little bladder to wait all night to pee if we just let him keep drinking water. Since he's kenneled at night, they do NOT want to piddle where they sleep so he would be very frustrated. Better than he whines to let us know he's got to go.

He is still having a problem getting down the stairs from the deck so we carry him down (while we can) and he will immediately pee. I walked him around the yard a bit last night and he did his business, too, so we were both very happy about that. After he cavorted around for about 10 minutes, he clumped up the stairs and waited for me to sit down so he could crawl (and this is a real feat and quite a sight ) into my lap. He won't be able to do this for too long since he already is bigger than my lap. I'm actually amazed at how he can curve himself into a circle to go to sleep.

He is still enough of a puppy that it doesn't take much activity to wear him out. He will plop down and go to sleep but is full of piss and vinegar when he wakes up. He will start running around, wanting to play. We have a rope toy that he's come to like and will play tug-of-war, complete with his puppy growls. He will now chase a ball, too. He just looked at it like some strange thing when we first tried to get him to chase it. NOW he gets it and will chase it, bark at it and his mouth just fits around it. After a couple *chases* though, it's covered in saliva.

We were talking about what we will do once winter hits here because Baron will still need a lot of exercise and it won't be feasable for the Beast to exercise him with the scooter. Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, suggests a treadmill (and uses it on his personal *pack* and for dog rehabilitation) for high energy dogs. We decided that we would get one in a couple months and put it here in my office. There is nothing worse than a dog that needs exercise and isn't getting it. They get frustrated and that starts some serious problems for the pet owner. Better to meet the problem head-on and avoid it.

He did start some whining last night after we first went to bed but a loud, firm SHHHHHHHHHH shut him right up and he settled in to sleep. We had gone to bed fairly early (8:30) but had already walked the dog and made sure he did what he needed to do beforehand. He slept until about 3 am before he started his *pee* whine so I got up to take him out. He could barely wait until I set him in the grass before he got into position and you would almost see the relief on his face. The Beast joined me outside and we sat and had a cigarette before heading back to bed. Baron settled in and we all slept until 7 am this morning. We took him outside and he took care of business then wanted to play.

I went in to make coffee while the Beast did the rope tug and ball rolling with the baby. By the time I brought our coffee outside, he was ready to crawl in Mama's lap but I wouldn't let him so he sulked for about 5 minutes. His attention span isn't that long so he was back wanting to play in no time.

I love to watch the hummingbirds playing and eating at the feeder in the morning. They will feed pretty much all day long and I think it's because the severe draught here has killed off the flowers they normally would prefer to feed on.
Even the morning glorys, which are pretty much a pest and grow like weeds, have died off. Our five regulars were here this morning along with one or two new ones with some beautiful coloring. I really need to find a good hummingbird book so I can identify the ones we are seeing. I've been trying to get a couple good pictures but they are so darn quick that it's difficult. I have a good camera but....I really can't select my speed with any accuracy but that may just be my ignorance. I'm sure there is SOME way to do it. I guess I will have to give in and ask the Beast to show me how unless I can find my darn book. I'll look for my book first, though.

I hate to do it but we decided that we are going to fence our back yard behind the house. I like having it open but, with the dog, it makes more sense to fence it in. Once he's bigger, you just never know if he will feel his oats and decide to go for a run or explore and possibly scare the shit out of someone who doesn't know HIM or dobermans.
We are going to have a microchip put in the dog tomorrow when we take him to the vet to get the stitches out of his ears and retaped. Since we have full breeding rights from the breeder, and paid a lot of money for the critter, we don't want to take the chance on him being lost or (shock, surprise) stolen. It DOES happen.

Well, it sounds like both the Beast and the baby are up from their naps so I guess I will go and make us all some lunch. We are rationing out his food because keeping a dish full of his kibble doesn't make sense when he STILL wolfs it down like he expects his siblings to try to eat it, too. He gets a bad case of heaves and hiccups when he wolfs down his food and I am afraid of his getting bloat, which dobermans seem to get a lot. It's as bad as croup in babies.

Have a great day and I will let you know how the vets goes. He's supposed to show us how to properly tape Baron's ears tomorrow. We will be gone all morning since we are going to the vet the breeder used and it's an hour-and-a-half drive from our home. We will change to a local AKC vet after his baby shots are done and his ears healed and *perky*.

Love ya'll

Yesterday was a whole new experience for Baron, our puppy Doberman. First he was separated from his siblings, then we discovered to our dismay that he hadn't really been on grass, wouldn't walk on carpeting, had never had a collar or leash on before and had no idea how to *walk*. We knew it wasn't going to be a picnic for us to have him not only experience all these new things but to accept them.

We had purchased a crate/kennel for him to use as sleeping quarters along with a nice, comfortable bed that fit inside it. The crate is lightweight and easily breaks down so you can use it when you travel. It was set up and ready when we got home from the breeders, the door was open and we did NOT try pushing him into it. We figured we would introduce him to it with a treat so that he would learn he could go in and out on his own. Good thinking.....NOT.
First of all, you should find out if any of the treats you have are liked enough to entice him. The Beast has this image in his mind of a powerful dog, not a puppy with puppy teeth so he hadn't bought anything that was even of a soft enough texture for the pup to enjoy without an hour of chewing.....or more. That couldn't be corrected until today. We now have some good liver bites that he just loves and we will use it to reward him when we are training him to do the simple things like *come*, *sit* (although he does that pretty well already without treats) and getting him into the crate with a command. You know the kind of things you kind of take for granted but require training.

So, last night.......was not as bad as we had imagined it might be. When we were ready for bed (the beast went to bed before I did), the dog had been introduced to the bed and crate once or twice but had chosen to fall asleep under our kitchen table. He had spent almost as much time sleeping as awake during the day but seemed to be sleeping so soundly, the Beast let him lay there.

When I went to bed a half hour later, I turned off all the lights except the one over the stove in the kitchen (a mere 15 watt that's more like a night light than anything) and I left our bedroom door open so we could hear the pup. About 3:30 am, the Beast heard the dog's toenails clicking on the tile towards the water dish in the kitchen and it suddenly struck him just WHY you want your dog to spend it's first night in it's sleeping crate. All he could think about was the new leather furniture being chewed by those sharp baby teeth. So, up he gets and heads out to the pup. I hear him talking to the pup and then suddenly, I could tell the pup did NOT want to get into the crate. It became a battle of wills with the Beast winning in the end and shutting the dog into it. No open door policy on this night. The Beast crawled back into bed and then it started. Howl.....howl....howl. Whimper, bark, bark, whimper.....howl. I was ready to strangle the beast because I didn't believe the pup would have chewed anything that first night anyway. It was all too new to him. But....to our total surprise, the howling, barking and whimpering stopped. And I mean just stopped dead! I could hear the pup turning around and then the sounds of him settling in for the night. After that, not a peep out of him. It was amazing. I slept until 8 am Of course, the Beast got up at 6:30 so I could afford to sleep in a bit because I knew the first thing he would do would be to take the dog outside on the deck at least.

He told me the first thing the pup did after he opened the door was to head for his food dish. He had a few bites to eat, peed on the newspaper that was down for just that reason and then he took his first real *dump* when the Beast took him outside. It was, unfortunately, in the corner of the wooden deck but better there than on my kitchen floor or the rug or any other place in the house.

The interesting thing, as the Beast put it, was that the dog almost seemed like a different dog. He looked at the Beast for direction when he went to the door and let the Beast preceed him before he went out. No fighting for supremacy, he was *respectful* of his *pack leader* He laid down under the beast's chair on the deck with his head between the Beast's feet and promptly went to sleep with one paw touching the Beast's feet.

Later on, when I joined them, Baron came over for a scratch and some loving, threw himself down on his back and wanted his belly scratched, then went under MY chair to sleep and with his head on my foot and one paw wrapped around my ankle. I was glad I had a full cup of coffee because I was reluctant to disturb the little guy. He looked so peaceful and adorable.

When he woke up a bit later, the Beast took him into the yard and got him to take a walk around the property. We have almost an acre of land with lots and lots of nice grass on it. The dog not only walked but he jumped and pranced. He reminded me of one of those springbok antelope babies when they are first learning to get around in the world. I kid you not. It was hysterical to watch.

He does, however, have a problem getting up and down the stairs. We will bring him down (although he's heavy) but we let him make his own way UP. He does real well after only two or three tries. The first time, he slid DOWN two or three stairs which seemed to make him a bit mad and determined. Whatever it takes, he made it up and has been better each time since. We will wait a couple days before we start attempting the downward journey.

The Beast was right about him seeming different though. He takes a little enticing to walk on the leash but at least he is not digging his heels in and refusing to walk. Just a gentle tug or two and off he will go, as nice as you please. He will also come over to you to let you put the leash on his collar, which the Dog Whisperer says is a must and is also a sign of respect for the pack leaders.

My niece, Tara, came over because the Beast was picking up her new couch and some end tables with her today. Baron was asleep when they left because her youngest boy had played a peek-a-boo-can't-catch-me-round-the-table game with Baron. It tired them both out.....LOL I took the opportunity to grab a granny nap on the couch myself. I wasn't asleep yet when I heard Baron get up and drink some water. He then saw me laying down on the couch, came over (on the rug, mind you ) and lay down on the rug next to me. I looked down at him at the same time he looked up at me and the we both relaxed and went to sleep. That is how the Beast found us when he got home from dropping off Tara's furniture. He had stopped at Pets Mart to pick up a puppy training book since it has been so many years since we trained a dog and he wanted to refresh his memory on a few things, like housebreaking.

I came into my office to work on my weblog and see which of my sisters might be online while the Beast took him outside for a walk and some fresh air. It's almost 100 degrees out there so they both came in afterwards and the dog headed for his crate to sleep for a while. He was in there a few minutes ago when I finished making some sweet tea for the Beast.

For now, all is well and peaceful in our household. I am sure this will be subject to change as the dog gets older. My sister sent me a link for a newsletter entitled Dogs & Cats on Arcamax. I read what he had to say about the Doberman breed and decided he had his act together so I subscribed. I also looked up a site he recommended that actually has personality tests for your pet. What is funny is that the Beast found the same site via a different route and we both called to each other to come see at about the same time

Well, it's time for me to go outside (it's cooled down to 95 now but we have lots of shade now because the trees out back are so tall. The hummingbirds will be feeding now and I love to watch them. We have five regular visitors and they have really been eating up the nectar, let me tell you! The feeder holds almost two cups of it and they are draining one a week.

Have a great evening and a wonderful day tomorrow. Live life and put a little laughter in it. It's good for your heart, body and your soul.

Love ya !

Today was the day we picked up our dobie pup. He was born on June 9th so that makes him a Gemini. I will have to watch for a split personality....LOL We will have to take it to the vets office on Monday or Tuesday to have the stitches removed from his ears and be shown how they wrap the ears these days. It's been 25 years since we owned our last doberman and, from some of the sites we checked out on the web, they are doing it a bit differently these days.

The breeder gave us full *ownership* so we can breed him if we choose in the future. That way any pups can be registered. That's just a little information in case you didn't know. We always had dobies we could breed so I don't really remember if they had restricted registrations back then or not.

We had gone to visit the pup after our original selection a couple of times and was amazed at how big and heavy he was getting. He's not the least bit fat but he is going to be one big dog, I can tell you that. When we went to pick him up today, I was shocked. We found out he weighs 20 lbs and his feet are HUGE! He's much heavier boned than any of the females we owned for sure and even the two males we owned. He already goes naturally into that doberman stance that makes them look so regal (or scary, depending on how you personally feel about the breed). I never wanted a doberman when I and my kids were young. I had heard all the stories about them and told the hubby that I wouldn't have one around our kids for just that reason.

He, being much wiser than you would have thought, told me that he wanted one but....he would let me look and find one that *I* was comfortable owning. I told him that was a wonderful idea but you know what I was thinking, don't you? I would NEVER find one.....ha ha ha.

I did look to be fair. I wanted to be able to say truthfully that I had given it a good try but could not find one that I felt I could trust. I was almost feeling smug about it at the time. I went to breeders, to the pound, to a doberman rescue center....nada, nothing. My hubby was starting to get the general feeling that I wasn't SERIOUSLY looking.

Then my sister *B* calls me to tell me about this doberman that her beautician owned. It seems the woman had started her own shop and was working 16 hour days and felt awful about leaving the dog alone for so long. In fact, the dog had accidentally shut the door on herself in an interior half bath. No lights, no AC vent (it was a hot summer) and she panicked and even knocked the toilet seat closed so no water even. The dog had actually injured herself and was now badly claustrophobic. I was really ready to give it up but I met my sister and we drove to the woman's house.

Have you ever experienced that feeling that an animal was *yours* upon seeing it for the first time? It could have been a horse, a dog, a cat....any warm blooded animal. Well, that was what happened to me the first time I saw Tante Domina. We called her Domina. As soon as that dog walked into the room, I knew. It was a total shock to me that I felt so sure. I never distrusted her for one single second either. What was funny was my husband's reaction when we brought her home that evening.

We had friends that had come to visit us and we decided to give them our bedroom to sleep in and we would camp out on the floor of the living room with the dog since she was a bit nervous to be in new surroundings with four kids and a man in the house. That's not including the couple that had surprised us with their visit. When we went to sleep that night, Domina lay between the Beast and I.

About an hour after retiring, our friend Glenn came out of the bedroom to use the bathroom and Domina jumped up to her feet and barked just once because she was startled. It ECHOED in the house (we had parquet floors and the house was a raised ranch with high ceilings). I stirred, patted the dog and said, "Its okay, girl, lay down". She did but....my hubby was on his feet, turned on a lamp and was white as a sheet. I looked at him and had to laugh. He had actually been scared because the dog sounded so ferocious to him. This was the man who WANTED a doberman, the woman who HADN'T wanted one and *I* was the one that stayed calm.

So far, she still remains the best doberman we ever owned and I miss her still at times. But, the reason I bring it up is that I really didn't want another dog. I like not having anything own me. But when I saw this pup and he was trying to slip past me, I gently showed him that the doorway was *mine* and he got the hint with just two corrections.
I knew right then that he was smart and he was also very playful and loving. I was hooked again....sigh.

When we picked him up from the breeder, he just HAD to lay on my lap. He promptly went to sleep while I petted him to make sure he didn't panic or get rowdy. He was as calm as can be, which amazed me because it was the first time he was totally away from all his siblings (all 9 others). They had all actually slept on each other, looking like a string of puppies with their heads on the others rump in a circle like a puppy necklace.

We bought a kennel for him, mainly to travel in when we travel in the future (we did all this before this last trip to Florida when we swore it would be a long time before we left home again....LOL) We also bought a comfy doggie bed that fits inside it and he will grow into in no time flat. He's so darn smart that he actually walked into it this evening without direction, brought his little chew bone in with him and laid down. The breeder did NOT have the pups in any kind of kennel (she used her inside utility room for the pups once they were weaned) so how did the little stinker know what it was for???

This will be his first night away from the others though, so we have no idea what kind of a night we will have yet. Will he cry? I am clueless. But, if I wake up and find the pup in bed with us, I won't be surprised. It will help with the bonding process but it won't be ME that brings him into our room. It will be the old softy, the Beast. In the meantime, our sweet little black and tan has a lot to learn, including how to walk along with us (a new experience we found out), how to walk on grass and he has no idea how to play with dog toys. We didn't anticipate those kind of problems. It really IS like having a baby almost.

Well, it's after 10 pm and I am tired. I only got four hours sleep last night and have been busy most of the day. Tara and two of her boys came over for a bit to meet Baron. They loved him too and we had to walk/drag the dog every couple of hours. It was drag, stop, walk for a big, stop, drag, walk....I know it will get easier probably by tomorrow evening but it IS wearing on you.

Meantime, ya'll have a great night, sleep well and keep cool tomorrow. We got some rain this afternoon so we cooled down nicely. It will probably be sticky as hell tomorrow though.

Niters all.

We returned back to our Alabama home late Monday, which was really earlier than we had thought we would. It turns out that the neighbor in Port Charlotte that was taking care of our lawn was doing a wonderful job. We did, however, lose one of our best peach trees to the drought. All the citrus faired well, surprisingly. With my sister, the Beast and I all pitching in, we got most of our personal things packed into the van and decided to head for Fort Lauderdale early. We figured the Beast and I could finish up in a day or so (with some of the things he wanted to do to the yard being the most time consuming) after the consulting job was completed.

We got to Fort Lauderdale around dinner time Monday evening and settled in at my sister's for the night. My granddaughter was going to drop off my new little great-granddaughter around 7-7:30 am the next day so she could make it to work on time. Everyone went to bed early because we had made the trip from NE Alabama to Port Charlotte in one day...it was pure hell since the Beast's truck in NOT comfortable and there were three of us sharing the one seat. Guess who got to be *monkey in the middle*? You got it! Me.

We met with our real estate agent the next day. We had already picked up a paper to see what was on the market and knew we would get details of the recent sales, etc. so we could decide what we were going to do about our house there. It was NOT good news, folks.

The end result was that I actually cried. I really love that house and so many things that we had built into it were things I had dreamed of having. It was built with a lot of love. I felt like we were giving away one of our children. It hurt me that much but we dropped the price significantly in the hope of a sale so we will be spared the upcoming homeowners insurance (along with the $1000 jump in cost) and spiriling taxes.

On a happier note, the new great-granddaughter was a sweetie pie. I really did not realize just how young she was since I was thinking she was a little over three months old. DUH! She was only a couple days over two months old. Makes a difference folks. She was still in the stage where she was asleep more than she was awake and it was feeding time with almost every waking moment. But she was a cutie. She loved when I talked to her and I discovered she liked to look in the toy mirrors on her exercise gym toy. I could have done without the stinky poopy diapers (I had forgotten how bad formula could be) but the four days I got to watch her were good times for me. I WAS however, glad when it was over. Those days are OVER for me, thank goodness. Watching a baby from 7:30 until 5:30 or so is a LOT for an old lady like me (grin).

My sister and I didn't get to do much during the week but we did manage to get out Saturday for a little shopping and a lunch together before the Beast was done and headed out to pick me up. We left and returned to our Port Charlotte house to find the lawn nicely manicured and one dead tree that our thoughtful neighbor had gone ahead and cut down for us. All the Beast had to do was a little trimming. So, Sunday we were ready to head back up to our Alabama home. It took us until about noon before we could bid the house adieu and head on out. We decided we would drive until around 7pm or so and then stop for the night. Good thing because we ran into some horrendous rain in Southern Georgia. In fact, there had to have been a tornado nearby because of the debris that was blowing AT us (and against the flow of the rain). For the first time, my hubby actually pulled off the road to wait for the rain to subside a bit before we went on. In only a few blocks, there were trees all over the road that had been blown down or pushed over, not sure which. We stopped to eat and then checked into a nearby motel a bit early.

But by 6am, we were on the road again, anxious to get home. We decided we would NOT attempt to unload the van for a day or, maybe, two. We just wanted to get home. I swear to you, the house never looked so good as when we pulled into our own driveway. After opening the house, turning the water back on, the AC on and a few other things, I dragged in the cooler, put stuff away and then just collapsed on our couch. The Beast had to go inspect the trees because it was obvious that there had been no rain in our absence. It looks like we lost one pear tree but I am trying to be optomistic about it. It had obviously been confused because it had bloomed just before we left. Now it looks half-dead. Other than that, however, everything was fine.

I ran out of pain pills for my back on the last day (Monday) and ended up having to make an appointment with my doctor so I can get a refill. I head there tomorrow morning so I might actually be able to be on my feet for more than 5 minutes at a time. It's the reason I waited until now to bring this up to date.

On Friday, the hubby will travel down to Anniston to pick up our new doberman puppy. I will definitely be reporting on how that goes. As I sit here, his cage is up and his bed is sitting in it (don't worry, the door will be open but we want him to be used to it for when we travel. I would rather err on the side of safetly since it's tough to get them to sit still with a seat belt on....LOL

We have his toys, his vitamins, his collars and leash, his Pro Plan Puppy food and some small little chew bones. He will be one happy puppy, I hope. He will probably have a tough time the frist few nights and miss his siblings. There were either eight or nine of them....all from good champion bloodlines. No, we have no intention of either showing OR breeding him. Been there, done that when my kids were young. Not for us now. In fact, I wouldn't have even considered such a high energy dog except that we know he can be trained to run with my hubby on one of our scooters we have. If you get National Geographic Channel, try watching Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. He's an amazing dog rehabilitator and showed us clearly how come our first doberman was our best one. We did everything right with her and didn't take the same time and effort with our others. It gives me great hope.

Well, have a wonderful evening and a great day tomorrow. I shall return.

Tara finally got a call from the landlord that her lease was ready so she ran over, signed it and gave him his check for first month's rent and the last months (which is her security money until the end of the lease or when she renews it after a year.

The house she rented is a nice, big three bedroom, two bath with a family and utility room. It has a two car carpot (we don't get anything you could really call snow here since the little we do get doesn't stick around. It's located just two blocks from a beach and park but I believe I mentioned that before this. It's located on a *hill* and the treed hill behind them is also owned by her landlord so he told her to let the kids feel free to explore and play there. Theres a great street with a nice incline that her sons imagined sliding down during the winter so they were a bit disappointed to find out that we didn't get the kind of snowfall that would allow that to happen. However, the kidea that they wouldn't have to wear six layers of clothes in the winter delighted them.

Moving day finally came and Tara rushed around to pay her deposits for electric, trash and whatever else she had to take care of so they would be able to stay in their own place that day. Luckily, all of the utility companies share the same building so it made everything simple.

Tara and her boys had spent two days repacking our utility trailer. She had bought plastic crates for the boys clothes so they could go directly into their rooms. We loaded some of her furniture that had gone into our garage when she turned in the moving van and off went the Beast, my sister *C* and Tara and the older boys. The two little ones had been deposited at day care so the move could go more quickly....we hoped. I stayed home to start cleaning up and putting any of Tara's or the kids stuff into containers left here for that purpose. I was no help in lifting so it was the best place to be as far as *I* was concerned.

The Beast and *C* returned after about an hour and a half, grabbed a bite to eat and then loaded the rest of Tara's stuff from the garage into the (now) empty utility trailer. Once everything was in her new house, then it was time to go pick up the fridge and the dryer as well as this one clearance couch she had bought to put in the play room (the family room to the rest of us). She got it cheap because the legs on it had been broken off but she thought it perfect for her kids since it is lower than a normal couch. It allowed the 3 year old to sit on it without help....LOL

The only bad (maybe) thing about picking up that couch is that it allowed my hubby to find some leather furniture that enticed him. I ended up having to go meet him at the furniture store so he could show me. I had measured the area where we had the couch (and it's the only wall that it COULD go on) and deducted the room needed for our end table.
We ended up buying (at a truly GREAT price) both a couch and a recliner that also rocks. The couch is the kind that has two recliners built-in at both ends. Tara didn't know it at the time but she was about to inherit a couch and chair with an ottoman that had been in our living room ... LOL

The Beast had never been crazy about the rattan set we had originally bought for our east coast home. It had a great room that it was perfect for and the only time anyone ever used it was once when the Beast took some family pictures when our kids were there one holiday. I liked it but knew it would eventually be replaced. I just hadn't expected it this early. We still have the rattan coffee table and two end tables but those we will replace at our leisure and Tara will end up with the whole set until she can get what she really wants for her house. It was an expensive set when we bought it so it should do her for a while.

So the last trip over to Tara's was the food that required a working refrigerator (by the late afternoon, the electric was on and the fridge running) I literally emptied my fridge of all leftovers (spaggetti, for example) and some fried chicken as well as cole slaw, potato salad, hot dogs...and 18 extra large eggs ....LOL Oh there was much more because I gave her some chili mac I had frozen and some beef stew. I figured it would help her out for a couple days while she was getting organized. She even got lunchmeat and about a half dozen cans of tuna plus all kinds of condiments. Since we were leaving for Florida a couple days after she moved out, it helped me out too since I wouldn't have to worry about throwing good food away. It just cuts me to the quick to do that.

It only took me one day and a couple loads of wash to get my house reorganized and cleaned up....and that included getting the travel trailer ready to close up, too. I did, however, wait until this morning to clean the glass on our screen doors since I knew Tara would be back to pick up a couple things that were left here. She will be coming over in a bit to say goodbye to us and get the last of the things that were here that belong to her....mostly DVD's and some mail. If I had realized they were coming over, I would have waited to clean the glass since the three year old likes to open the screen door for himself and his hands are all over the glass on the lower part of the door .... LOL I will just clean up after they leave and not worry about it after that.

They are settled in and loving it now. I sent over some pillows they needed and some rags for cleaning. I didn't realize she didn't have a lot of blankets so I will send over a few today when she comes since the kids DO get cold at night with the AC running (don't we all?) I certainly have blankets to spare...LOL

So now I am packing our suitcases so the hubby can put them in the utility trailer. I have seperate overnight bags for our stop at the motel tomorrow evening. I went out and got ice for our ice chest and a few things to throw in there like gatorade, water and my Sprite Zero. I picked up snacking things the other day so we are pretty much set. We will totally empty the Gulf house then go over to the East coast. I will stay with my sister *C* and the Beast will be busy for about a week doing some consulting work and making a few extra bucks...LOL I will also get a chance to not only see but to babysit with my great-granddaughter at the same time. I will enjoy that. We will then head back to the Gulf house, pick up the utility trailer and head back home. I don't want to leave here again for months and months....LOL Well, we MAY spend a weekend in NC when the weather gets unbearable. The Beast has an aunt with a *cabin* we can stay with for a bit....LOL

Well, have a great couple of weeks. I may be able to log a couple of entries while at my sister's place and let you know the saga of the great-granddaughter. Keep your fingers crossed...LOL

Love you all and stay happy.