Droopy

Alfie's just not feeling quite himself today.  He woke me up at 2:00 a.m. by walking over and licking my arm -- it took me a minute to realize he needed to go outside and be sick.  Poor guy.  This morning he was sick again...I'm keeping a close eye on him.

Dogs are pretty resilient, though; I'm sure he'll be fine in time.  Right now he just wants to curl up and snooze as I work at my desk. He always keeps one paw just barely touching my foot. Companionship + rest = good medicine.  Get better, buddy. 

Being There

Last night I'm cooking dinner and go to grab an onion out of the little mesh sack in the laundry room.  Alfie's sprawled out by the backdoor, seemingly asleep.  As I pull out the onion, an involuntary gasp of disgust escapes me -- ewww, the onion has rotted and my thumb is sinking deep into brown mush!  BLEAH.  Before I have time to actually say anything, throw the onion away, or complain about having to wash stinky onion goop off my hands -- bing! -- there's Alfie, right by my side, checking it out. 

I swear,  I don't believe it's actually physically possible for a dog to move that fast, or transform so quickly from dead asleep to on-the-alert-high-tailed-snuffly-and-by-the-way-do-you-need-me-to-teach-that-onion-a-lesson?  But there he is, so I guess I have to believe it.

Today, I go to clean our toilet.  Hmmm, our bathroom's out of toilet cleaner, so I go to Mom's.  I knock over a bottle and -- bing! -- Alfie's wet chin is pressed in the crook of my elbow, bright eyes straining to see what's up, are you okay, what fell over, is it good to eat, is it dangerous, can I help?  Pleeease??  And here I thought he was in the front room playing with the kids! 

He's not what I'd call clingy; he's just got this way of instantaneously materializing.  A handy trick -- I wish he could teach it to me!

If friendship means being there for someone...yeah, Alfie's earned the title of "best friend" paws down!

[yawn]...It's nothing, just my special doodle magic...

Hellooo out there!

So, to start by stating the obvious...haven't updated in ages!  Time to fill you in on what's been going on -- and a fresh look on the blog to go with a new season. 

Hey, anyone out there still remember me??

The purchase of our new home went through smoothly.  Now we're proud owners of a great house that, due to much deferred maintenance, falls squarely in the "fixer-upper" category.  There's a lot to be done before we can move in:  new heating and air, new floors and paint, as well as various exterior repairs.  By the time we're done it'll feel like a brand new house!  The great thing is, since it's just a couple of doors down from Mom's, it's easy to supervise the repairs from here.

In the meantime, I've also been busy doing freelance editing work, as well as getting in gear with the new year for homeschool. Things are hopping!


I love the neighborhood -- very friendly.  Of course, people are always more friendly when they meet you out with your dog, don't you think?  This is the first time I have met all my new neighbors, including those across and down the street, before we've even moved in!  Alfie loves his dog neighbors:  Missy the toy poodle on one side, Baxter the Norwich terrier behind us, and schnauzers Winston and Bosley, the self-appointed neighborhood watch, rounding out the field.  Across the street there is little Molly...she looks a lot like a bichon to me although I can't say for sure.   Anyway, you know the type:  a sweet, smiling ball of white fluff.  Alfie mainly meets her out on walks, and he is absolutely smitten!  Two doors down we have Reesie, a sweet but shy Jack Russell terrier who was rescued from an awful life caged as a puppy mill breeder.  It's so great to see her now, happily going for walks and playing in her yard -- what  a difference!

Went to the doctor for a checkup recently and they asked me, Did I exercise?  I said yes; I walk just about every day.  For how long, they wanted to know?...Well, I explained, about 45 minutes to an hour every day -- see, I have this dog...

The nurse grinned as she scribbled on my chart.  "You have a lot to thank that dog for!  You better keep him."

Smile. Couldn't agree more.

Big News!

Read that sign carefully and you'll see two of the most beautiful words in the English language where Tim and I are pointing:  Under Contract !

It's been a long time coming!

As some of you readers may remember, way back in the mists of time (last November), our family moved to Missouri from Texas to be near family while Tim pursued his Master's.  In February, Alfie joined us, and everything just felt "right," having him around again! We've been enjoying staying with my Mom while working through the whole process of selling the Texas house and hunting for a new place here.  

We love Mom's place -- it's a wonderful home in a fantastic, friendly neighborhood.  Besides that, it's near miles and miles of walking trails, and is less than five minutes' drive from my brother and his family.  And as if that weren't enough, we've got an aunt and uncle and other friends nearby, too!

So when a deal on a house in another part of town fell through and an opportunity opened up to buy a home a couple doors down from Mom...we couldn't pass it up!  Maybe it was just meant to be. 

The girls are excited because they'll each have their own bedrooms now -- unlike our last home, where they had to share a room.  Alfie will love playing in the nice fenced yard.  It needs fixing up, but we're even excited about that!  With closing scheduled in just a couple of weeks, we're all thrilled. 

I can still come visit Grandma, right?

It's Nice to Be Loved

Migraines -- oh, how I hate them!  I'm only an on-again, off-again sufferer, but when they do hit me they hit hard.  Last night's migraine kept me awake, and I knew that if I ever DID get to sleep, I'd need to sleep in if I were to beat it.  So, around 2:30 a.m. (almost unbelievably, about the time my dear husband is getting UP for his workday!), I left a note for Charissa to please take care of Alfie for me in the morning, and explained what was going on so she wouldn't worry.

But how does one go about leaving a note for a dog?  It didn't really occur to me that he might worry too.

When I stumbled over and groggily opened the bedroom door a little before 10 a.m., I nearly tripped over Alfie, who scrambled up, tail a blur, then proceeded to check me all over, lick me, and bound around as if he'd just won the lottery or something! 

The girls came over and told me that although they'd taken care of him as asked, after his potty break he insisted on coming back to my door.  They tried to feed him, but apparently he walked away, and even after they did coax him to eat he'd left half of his breakfast untouched (a claim I wouldn't have believed if I didn't see the kibble myself!  Alfie is all about food!)  Not even his favorite bones and toys would cheer him up.  Instead he lay at the door, yawning nervously, obviously...what?  Concerned?  Unsure?  At a loss?  I wonder if, like Dakota the diabetic alert dog (sidebar), he could even smell some sort of changes in my body chemistry and somehow suspected that all wasn't quite right with my world.  Wouldn't surprise me too much.

But although I may not totally understand what dogs feel at times like that, it's clear they understand something, and they do care about their people!  Even more clear was his joy at seeing me again.  As if to underscore that, he dashed off down the hall...

...only to return a moment later with a toy for me to throw for him!  Everything's back to normal. 

And, yes, I suppose it IS nice to be loved!

Happy First Day of Summer

On a beautiful summer afternoon, what could be better than going to the lake?  The Ozarks are full of lakes, and right now, they're full of water from recent rains.  Most places require dogs to be on lead, but Alfie's long line gives him plenty of freedom to play without getting into any trouble.

Alfie enjoyed wading in deeper...and deeper...his favorite thing was grabbing little twigs and leaves floating on the water!

Dog-paddle!  (Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun...)

Magical day.

Enjoy your summer, everyone!

It's Official!

Alfie, what have you got there?  Something you want to mail?

Oh, look -- it's to Guide Dogs of Texas!

Here's what's inside...

...yeah!!  Okay, I know Alfie's really been ours since February.  But somehow in all the flurry of activity we didn't get an official owner agreement on him until just now.  Larry Gelvin called me to let me know he was sending it...now it's signed and on its way back to Texas.  Feels great!

Let's celebrate!