Friday, November 25, 2011

Two Years Ago...

...on this very day, we brought Alfie home for the first time!  Little did I know that that tiny ball of fluff and puppy breath would grow up to make himself a permanent part of our lives, bringing his special blend of humor, mischief, and affection with him. 

What a personality he's proved to be! Perhaps one of Alfie's most amusing traits is his natural curiosity.  I have never seen a dog as interested in every detail of our daily lives as Alfie. For example, the first time Tim did some work in the crawlspace beneath the house, the rest of us nearly died laughing as we watched Alfie trot alertly from room to room, tracing Tim's route by snuffling into the heat registers on the floor.  Then, one day, I helped Tim up into the attic to check on the insulation -- Alfie, who of course was watching these proceedings, gave an unexpected and valiant attempt to follow right behind him!  I had to hold him back, much to his irritation.  As he heard Tim's footsteps above our heads, Alfie followed his progress around the house, looking up at the ceiling with an occasional excited bark.  From time to time, he would just stop and look at me intently, as much as if to say:  Well, aren't you going to do something about this?  When Tim finally reappeared, Alfie greeted him as if he'd just gotten back from the moon, or perhaps some mysterious fourth dimension.  What an adventure!

Alfie, his coat getting shaggy for the winter, sits on the front step
Life is better with a friend by your side.
Right by your side!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Thankful

Thanksgiving week -- and there's so much to be thankful for!  I'm not so sure that Alfie understands the concept of thankfulness, as we know it.  But there are many things that make him happy, most of them very simple:

Games of fetch
Games of find
All games
Learning new skills
Showing off old skills
Friends and family
New people
Walks
Dinner
Breakfast
Anything that smells funny
Anything that smells
Squirrels
Rabbits
All other animals
Morning
Night

...so, you get the picture, he's happy pretty much all the time!  There is very little, in fact, that makes him unhappy.  The three main things:

Being ignored
Being left behind
Having to skip a meal

Enjoy all the little -- and big -- things that come your way this week, giving thanks for them all!   As G.K. Chesterton said, "When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude."


Alfie's sitting on a rocky outcropping overlooking a pond framed by tree branches; he's looking back over his shoulder at the camera
Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

First Flurry

Yesterday evening as we headed out on our walk, it felt colder than usual...sure enough, before we were halfway along our route, tiny snowflakes were stinging my face.  Our very first snow of the season!  Okay, so it was just a teeny bit, but it was still exciting.  Couldn't resist taking a picture of Alfie with a couple of tiny white flakes on his face...

closeup of Alfie; a couple of white flecks are resting on his chocolate-brown face

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Sous Chef

Hi again blog friends -- Alfie's World has been quiet lately as I've been investing time and emotional energy in other areas.  Some big decisions have been brewing and we're excited for that.  But in the meantime, who keeps me grounded, makes sure I laugh several times each day...oh yeah, and makes sure I get my exercise?

I'm considering the title 'personal assistant'...

Alfie may no longer be a service dog, but that doesn't keep him from helping me out with many important things.  Sometimes I admit they are only important to him (such as alerting me that Hey!  Look!  The neighbor's dog is out AGAIN!); sometimes, though, he does help out in ways that are actually important to me.  He is a very alert and curious boy and not much gets past him.

One very minor inconvenience in our new home is the old electric stove...I'm still trying to get used to its quirky performance and miss some of the conveniences of the newer model I used to have in Texas.  I'll turn the oven on to bake something and keep having to go back to check it...it doesn't have a little beeper to let you know when it's up to temperature, and the guesswork can get frustrating.

That's where Alfie comes in -- twice now, he's actually come and alerted me when the oven was up to temperature.  Apparently he hears the little click when the heating element switches off.  Then he rushes over, gets my attention, and dashes back to the stove to show me what's going on.  Of course he got lots of praise and a nice treat for that -- I can use all the kitchen help I can get, so I want to reinforce the cool new trick he's teaching himself!

Last night, I'd made us a yummy casserole (shepherd's pie with lots of mashed potatoes...mmm...), set the timer, and popped it in the oven.  With a long time to wait while it baked, I went upstairs to work on the computer.  Alfie was napping on the rug near my feet.  Long before the timer was set to go off, though, he sprang up suddenly with a grrrUFF! and, making sure I was coming after him, raced down to the kitchen.  I opened the oven door to find that the gravy in the casserole dish had just boiled over.  Yikes!  I think Alfie must have woken up when he heard the first drops sizzling on the bottom of the stove.  Needless to say, I was glad he heard it when he did, saving me what could've been a very nasty cleanup job!

All in a day's work.  PS -- Can I have some??

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Funny Face

I have tried for sooo long to catch this photo.  Now, I know it's not great quality or anything, but it's too funny not to share.  Probably someone out there needed a laugh today.  Probably someone out there was just thinking:  "It's been a horrible day.  I'm really down and need something to make me laugh.  I need a picture of Alfie's Deranged Pig Impression!"  If you are that person, what can I say -- it's your lucky day!

Alfie's in his crate resting, his nose smooshed up against the wires; his nose and upper lip are kind of pushed out, showing his teeth

...Mwahaha!

He actually does this a lot.  Do you think it looks comfortable?  No, me neither!  But he is not explaining why he does it.  Your guess is as good as mine.

In the meantime...yeah, we've moved!  Alfie's been busy supervising.  Of course.


Alfie's in the van, standing between the driver's and passenger's seats and facing back over a sea of boxes that have been loaded up for moving
No, actually, the Borders box should go on top.  Let's do this right!

I think he wishes this sleeping bag were still on the floor, like it used to be when we were at Grandma's house.


Alfie's standing next to a bed and resting his chin on the sleeping bag that is on it.
Hey, where's my air mattress? It should be right here, with my sleeping bag...what do you mean, of course it's my sleeping bag...


Alfie smiles a big welcome from our new front door!
No place like home!





Thursday, September 8, 2011

New Friend

On our walk yesterday morning, Alfie and I met this friendly horse.


looking through a barbed-wire fence into a green pasture, you see a cream-colored horse

This morning, as we approached the pasture, the horse was way off on the far side...but oh, how Alfie wanted him to come over and say hello!  He sat politely and snuffled the air, hopeful. 


side view of Alfie's furry face as he stares intently across the fence

Sure enough, the horse saw him and pricked his ears...then cantered over to investigate.  So fun to watch them touch noses.  Somehow I wasn't quite able to catch it with the camera, but you get the idea!


the horse's head is reaching through the strands of wire to reach Alfie; he and Alfie have just been sniffing each other's noses

But what really made me laugh was that after a couple minutes, the horse put his head down to crop the grass by the fence.  Alfie, seemingly intrigued by this, started to do the same thing!  They grazed together like a couple of old friends. 


Alfie's lying down in some very green grass and looking up with a quizzical expression
What can I say?  I hadn't had my breakfast yet!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

All Better

Well, the bee sting took just a few hours to get over.  However, the vet instructed us to keep Alfie on a home-cooked diet of brown rice and chicken for a few days, then slowly switch back to kibble.

Oh. My.

Alfie's discovered a new raison d'etre:  DINNER!  He's gone from being a good eater to being downright greedy.  No wonder...his food smells really good.  One morning the kids came out to the smell of it simmering on the stove and were all like, "Oh, Mom, you're cooking us breakfast!"  Nope, I sheepishly had to admit...it was for the dog...

All I can say is:  Wish us luck switching back!

Alfie sitting on leash and looking up with a happy smile