tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-668440364167995692024-03-05T09:52:36.700-06:00Dog and GodMuch of the time, one reflects the grace of the other.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.comBlogger248125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-16526433915318201452011-07-01T07:57:00.002-05:002011-07-01T08:20:03.397-05:00Friday Five: The Way We Blogged<span style="font-style: italic;">Over at </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/2011/07/friday-five-way-we-blogged.html">RevGalBlogPals</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, Kathrynzj writes:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A friend and I were lamenting recently about the good ol' days of blogging and memes. Certainly there are still some very active blogs around our web ring, but the days of the Friday Five getting </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/2007/07/friday-five-hasty-edition.html">50-70+</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> responses are in the past. We lamented that the Friday Five is the equivalent of the women's guild of RevGalBlogPals. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic;">I am one of those who went from blogging just about daily to periodically at best. Unfortunately, the number I routinely read has gone down as well. What about you? </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">1) Have your blogging (writing/reading) habits shifted since the days of yore?</span><br /><br />Most definitely. For a few years there, keeping up with Christian blogs was actually part of my job, so I had more time to check in on folks. I had a personal rule to never blog as DogBlogger during working hours, but it was my commenting voice both in RevGal circles and the <a href="http://methoblog.com/">Methoblogosphere</a>, and there's plenty of overlap between the two.<br /><br />A convergence of events led to my decreased blogging activity. Yes, that ubiquitous social networking site had something to do with it, but my job change and my move had a great effect upon what I choose to post. I moved from being just a fish in the big pond of my denomination to having a more public role in a smaller sub-section of that body of water. I curtailed my blogging as a direct result.<br /><br />During my transition to this job and the move back to my home state, I even began a locked-down, password-protected blog which I shared with only a few trusted friends. It showed the worst and most stressed-out side of me. I used to share frustrations here in this space, but I'm hesitant to do so now. Google my real name, and this blog turns up as a search result. There are plenty of people out there who know my name, but who might not appreciate seeing me share in this context. Just last week, I was considering writing a post announcing that I wouldn't be posting here any longer... but, ironically, I never made the time to write it.<br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">2) Do you have some favorites that you miss?</span><br /><br />Oh, tons of them. Too many to name. Some of them still blog and I don't make time to read, and others haven't blogged in months, and I miss their voices.<br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">3) Are there some blogs you still put in the 'must read' category?</span><br /><br />I do try to read any RevGal's blog entry to which she links from Twitter or FB. But there's no guarantee I'll see all of those.<br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">4) If we gathered at your knee, what would you tell us about those early days of blogging?</span><br /><br />Oh, the wonder of the early days... I met friends online who, it turned out, lived within driving distance. I remember meeting up with <a href="http://marybethbutler.typepad.com">Mary Beth</a> one Saturday and taking dogs to a dog-related festival in her town. I remember discovering that <a href="http://adventuresofelastigirl.blogspot.com/">Elastigirl</a> was attending the same seminary as <a href="http://midliferookie.blogspot.com">Mid-Life Rookie</a>. I remember <a href="http://redheelerranch.blogspot.com">Zorra</a> and I sharing our true identities as we bonded over the fact that our blog names were both dog-inspired... and I remember her praying over the phone with me when my sweet <a href="http://cubpoppy.blogspot.com">Cub girl</a> died. And so many others, including those I met at BE 1.0 and 2.0, and the mini-meetup weekend several of us in the Dallas area hosted last spring. (In a particularly strange twist of that weekend, I remember receiving the world-changing phone call offering me my current job while I was standing in a cemetery with <a href="http://mujermaravilla.blogspot.com">SpookyRach</a>, <a href="http://princessandthebeads.blogspot.com">Mindy</a>, <a href="http://innerdorothy.blogspot.com">Sue</a>, <a href="http://winsomelearnsome.wordpress.com">Jules</a>, and others.)<br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">5) Do you have a clip or a remembrance of a previous post of yours or someone else's that you remember, you know an oldie but goodie?</span><br /><br />Again, as with question 2, too many to name... plus, I'm about to be late for work! 'Bye now...<br /></div>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-4624582339302679592011-05-26T07:03:00.005-05:002011-05-26T07:29:08.929-05:00Because it's been too long......and I have a little bit of time before I need to head to the office. Hence, the random post:<br /><br />- <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2011/05/circle-of-life-i-hates-it.html">Mama Bird</a> is trying again, in the same nest. We are keeping a really close eye on the dogs when they are outside. We walk out there before we let them out, to check on bird status. Nobody seems to have hatched yet, so the dogs may get to stay out and enjoy some beautiful weather today.<br />- I have an early deadline because of Memorial Day. I finished yesterday, but didn't submit the files because they aren't due until this morning. Good thing I didn't -- the cover story changed again last night. Will make tweaks as soon as I get to the office, <em>then</em> submit the files.<br /><br /><div>- <a href="http://adventuresofelastigirl.blogspot.com/">Somebody I know</a> had a big, important ordainey-type thing last night! Congratulations! Wish I could've been there, but will be there for the one in December, I promise!</div>- Tried to buy locally-sourced and/or organic brisket and ribs last night, which resulted in a Locavore Fail. The Alpha plans to fire up the smoker on Saturday, but the brisket had to come from the big store that starts with a K and rhymes with ogre, because the city's slightly-too-small Whole Paycheck didn't have one, and neither did the "local" market (using quotes because it's across the river, and thus technically in another city--but it sells meat from nearby farms). Whole Paycheck will wind up getting our ribs business tonight, though.<br />- Bought some chicken hot tamales while at the "local" market, because why waste the trip?<br />- The area's big fest on the river is this weekend. I'm ambivalent about checking it out, but we probably will because I've never been. Also, we may get to do it for free in exchange for volunteering to help sell lemonade.<br />- Still feeling a bit rootless. Trying to remember how long I felt this way in Dallas. Three years, probably. Hope this phase doesn't last that long this time.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-1066184914347497502011-05-05T06:43:00.002-05:002011-05-05T06:56:48.364-05:00The circle of life. I hates it.My dog just killed somebody's baby.<br /><br />We have been watching the robin who built a nest high above our backyard, in a crook of the rain gutter. We have watched her feed worms to her two babies. And yesterday after work, I saw her perched on a branch about 10 feet away, chirping, trying to convince them to fly.<br /><br />This morning, I followed the usual routine, feeding both dogs their breakfast, then letting them go for a trip outside. I could see Angus takin' care of business, but Tuesday had gone around the corner. I stepped away from the window to pour myself some cereal. Angus asked to be let back in, and I obliged him, leaving the door open a crack to wait for Tuesday. That's when I heard the frantic birds.<br /><br />I went outside and saw adult robins diving angrily at our side yard. Tuesday came around the corner of the house, licking her chops.<br /><br />I ordered her back inside, then forced myself to go peek around the corner. Sure enough, there lay the body of a juvenile robin.<br /><br />Sometimes I really, really dislike nature. I just fed that dog a nice bowl of breakfast, yet her instinct leads her to go kill something when she's not even hungry. (I'm sure if she could talk, she would argue that she's always hungry. Bitch.)<br /><br />That mama bird was doing all the right things, then my selfish dog, a ball of id on four feet, ruined it. I hope she didn't kill the other one, too.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-39122035196482086822011-04-07T07:01:00.003-05:002011-04-07T07:26:07.627-05:00On overcoming fear<div>Yesterday The Boy got him some clean toofs.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592812506935553970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 386px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxwwSTRmO1HKAnbWov9G_fKqS_m-YUlYRIwQot0h5q2EQZXPV6_chcX1PVBckLBOZ-ATXfgNZ2NPrkZs150gqKrdOZWeX6uZgNZWHr4oQz8fFwTOkw_0o1MUlhWDY4s8moF6J4yo7hQ/s400/AngusToofs2011.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Yeah, the picture isn't any good; he's not that cooperative with smiling. But the point is, he got knocked out and cleaned up. And I got past some fears.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>When I dropped him off, I told the teeth-cleaner two things: That one of my friends' dogs wound up clinically dead for a few minutes because of a problem with anesthesia during a cleaning; and that with Cub, the pre-anesthesia bloodwork for her teeth cleaning was the first tip-off that there was something wrong with her liver, leading me to associate teeth cleaning with the beginning of the end for my dog. (Despite these confessions, I'd still hazard a guess that I'm not the most neurotic dog parent coming through there this week.)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And yes, everything went smoothly, with the exception of a few minutes of screaming on The Boy's part as he was waking up from the procedure. They said they've seen that happen before with heelers. We know he's very vocal, and now they do, too.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The Alpha picked him up, and was regaled with the story of what happened before The Boy's checkup on Monday. Apparently it is unusual for one of the big talking birds in the waiting room to make her way down to the bottom of the cage just to laugh at a dog. And I mean long, sustained cackling. That's what happened when The Boy and I arrived. He was extremely curious, but didn't rush the cage or anything. It must've made the vet techs' week if they were still talking about it two days later.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So, there's that. Can you tell things have been pretty calm around here if I made a whole blog post about a dog having his teeth cleaned?</div>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-36398751566867255142011-03-29T21:43:00.007-05:002011-03-29T21:54:22.903-05:00Forever home -- for real this time<div><br /><div>Oh, sweet Crystal... wallering around on my friend M's carpet. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589698395105750866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtA8oETtMkepdfJ-DLr97CTpB19L-uiHgLIDl9jpvCBYtqOsSmDQhwQ8YXP8aCdnRuFlR2mnu4jkqvm9HQOGfPbQISpKiN0sUHWA4F4T7kXSaBsVJCUx8v2i4sznsnaLb4pPIoAhxqg/s400/CrystalRealForeverHome1.JPG" border="0" /> <br /><div>And hamming it up for the camera while rubbing fur all over M's pretty couch.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589699175999116818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkmajcuySZCp8W1MujODXuwD5RYrOKFebwm04QXlFzqhc72WJrlYU7fPPugqKlk-pHxfc1w8jUE8XjHaj5nn1YBb-g6ZPY2b2kMOptVhI-mp0mzZIeHyV-kXwnsrvgIeyhg-xTp-MXA/s400/CrystalRealForeverHome2.JPG" border="0" /></div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I got the official word tonight, at the close of an email message: "She has been so great for me. Oh, btw, she is a keeper."</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em>btw?</em> Hey, this is some news to drop as a "btw..." Yes, of course I called him right away. She was cuddled up on the couch next to him while we talked. </div><br /><div>We know there's probably no such thing as the perfect dog, but, as <a href="http://winsomelearnsome.wordpress.com/">Jules </a>would say, there's definitely such a thing as the Perfect-For-Us Dog. And it looks as though M found his Perfect-For-Him Dog.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I am so, so glad. </div><br /><div></div></div>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-57246166094759480552011-03-28T21:42:00.005-05:002011-03-28T22:22:32.196-05:0011th birthday<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXlg0IYjYLpuXsJF5KD8pfnJxHWzu61aD31l0zbnVYFZiEC2zRb71IgR0paOoQ5-LfqpespG_7Tu-YHEAfPTLGqk5KjWRZfp2WPKzelUoV1hgMRGDqZyLwrZSIyKKj-HDcCfcjHAbSQ/s1600/babycub.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589327354731072962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 335px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXlg0IYjYLpuXsJF5KD8pfnJxHWzu61aD31l0zbnVYFZiEC2zRb71IgR0paOoQ5-LfqpespG_7Tu-YHEAfPTLGqk5KjWRZfp2WPKzelUoV1hgMRGDqZyLwrZSIyKKj-HDcCfcjHAbSQ/s400/babycub.jpg" border="0" /></a><em><span style="font-size:78%;"> Cub, on her first day in our family.</span></em></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If she were still alive, she'd be 11 years old today. </div><br /><div>Sometimes I have a hard time believing I miss a dog this fiercely. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>It's even a made-up birthday: our best guess counting back her age in estimated weeks, combined with a day significant in other months of the year. But here I am, crying about my dead dog on her made-up birthday. </div><br /><div>Recently, I've seen car magnets shaped like a paw print, with the words "Who Rescued Who?" in the center. I wondered that about Cub and me long before anyone was selling it as a slogan. In the end, I couldn't rescue her from liver disease. Nobody could. </div><br /><div>I'm really hoping my eyes aren't puffy in the morning. I have an optometrist appointment, and I can hear it now: </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>"Are your eyes always this irritated?" </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>"No, I just spent last night crying over my dead dog." </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>"Oh, I'm so sorry. When did it happen?" </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>"Three years ago." </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>**blink blink**</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589332058418161058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 329px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrs49Dcn-AJdTTUgX8gDy3Ipb0FRP2hAqjT_vqT1AaOE1S-gFH2kkLZGYLoVEHpZDH8WDE1vnjyjLpZUmd-Ow6rGf6u8vp2g8wJNNxp27AEtqnSwrmp1JvE2RGowJv9l2Pt5CsAtyOQg/s400/DogsinEureka.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><p align="center"><em><span style="font-size:78%;">November of 2007 in Eureka Springs... the last "fun trip" we took with both dogs. </span></em></p><br /><p>Angus hasn't been the same since she died. When Cub was here, he knew his place: back of the pack. He was content with it, and it worked well for everyone. Cub was his rock. Now, he doesn't know where he stands. We were hoping that when we adopted Tuesday, he would make her his beta or, failing that, accept her as his alpha, but neither scenario worked. They get along pretty well, but he won't play with her. He's kinda cranky.</p><br /><p>I've heard that there's <em>that dog</em> for every dog person. The one dog who will always be elevated above all others, canonized, sainted, crowned The Best Dog That Ever Was.</p><br /><p>I hope there's just one, because I don't plan to quit being a dog person, and there's only so much of this I can take.</p>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-21541809649241876202011-03-17T05:56:00.005-05:002011-03-17T06:29:04.066-05:00Day-by-day dogThat's what <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2011/03/re-rescue.html">Crystal</a> is right now. Her foster "dad," M, and I are taking it day by day. He isn't going to boot her out the door on Friday (a good thing, since I have nowhere for her to go and two rescue organizations have said they can't help), but he hasn't said he's ready for her to live there forever, either.<br /><br />Although he did say she has been "the perfect dog" thus far, in the time she's spent at his house.<br /><br />So I'm praying for continuing perfection.<br /><br />***<br />In other news:<br /><br />- Lovely Niece's husband (who still doesn't have a blog name, but that doesn't mean I don't love him) landed a job at a national home improvement retail chain (not the orange one). He had three--<em>three</em>--interviews for the part-time position. He later learned that he was chosen from among 150 applicants for that one non-seasonal position. If that's what he's been up against this past year and a half, no wonder it took so long to land a job! The better news is that even though it's part-time, he does qualify for benefits. Lovely Niece doesn't get university benefits during her internship year, which begins soon, so having another source for health insurance will be especially helpful. *sigh of relief*<br /><br />- We began work on the master bathroom walls. Ugh. We have a 7-foot-long mirror in there above the vanity. It's going to have to come out of there soon, and I don't know where to put it while it's down. Also, we want both bathrooms functional next time we have visitors (in just a couple of weeks), so we're going to have to watch our timing.<br /><br />- Speaking of timing, the dogs know what time it is. Breakfast time. Off to fill their bowls.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-40785907713661618802011-03-15T06:03:00.003-05:002011-03-15T06:19:45.859-05:00Re-rescue<div>So a while back, I wrote about my last rescue dog, <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2010/12/re-rescue-needed.html">Crystal, not working out</a> in her adoptive home. Then it seemed that the family had re-committed to working with a trainer and that things were going to be fine.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Well, that didn't last. Bottom line: Crystal needs to be re-homed. Her now-former adoptive family last night bid her a tearful farewell, and she is spending the week with my friend M. M is a teacher and has his Spring Break this week, and thus a little extra time on his hands. (He is also in the market for adopting a dog of his own, but I'm not getting my hopes up here. See me, not getting my hopes up?)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I really hated arranging for this type of thing long-distance, but that's how it works when you've moved and you still have commitments in the place you left. So my friend A did an excellent job serving as my proxy in last night's transition; she had met the family when they adopted Crystal, so she helped M with picking her up from their home. M also brought along another dog-person friend, and A said she was great to have there for support. The M-to-dog introduction went well, and after they'd had some time to get acquainted, Crystal walked, on her leash, like a normal dog, to M's car for the trip to her temporary home.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So here it is 6:00 the next morning, and I'm hoping M and Crystal had a good night. I'm also praying he falls in love with her and can't let her leave at the end of the week, but I'm not about to push that on him. She isn't what he wanted -- a Labrador Retriever or mix thereof. In fact, when he was buying a crate for her yesterday, I told him that though the crate size I had would be sufficient for her, he would really be better off buying the next size up so it would hold his future Labrador. (See me, still not getting my hopes up?)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>But look at this face!</div><div> </div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584264308704049218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5w9QsZlmAiJWydiYFGXCO9obeZ_F3Doy_kaaSIWLfXjIf9ggxzUhsdYFCw_ZmVXy3DSwadVVNukuCxuIkJmrq83ieoN6NRHG5q2gorjY3UuFHt7_2U2n_aOMCh7mr2FmvgZ8g0dBvg/s400/Crystal.JPG" border="0" /></div>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-69565474608424922782011-03-08T07:31:00.005-06:002011-03-08T07:40:33.283-06:00VisualsSharing a couple of things today. First, an accomplishment: <div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581701947336532722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVfVeJ3RRuT9kQ65EK3aDktBfP79143y1KVL602Cyp4RnLorXaTgwmKkiFe_xQnL5j_Qw2Y2Px_OcsEAmykXjBqZffxL2lmCIAOaragwyDUcXUuvEhsRrQ1WER0zjXM1kQb1Bwtwf2w/s400/kitchenwall2011.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>Sunday night we hung up some stuff in the kitchen. Appropriately, it's a "Dog and God" motif -- three dog portraits, two religious items (the plaque, if you haven't seen one before, is in Latin... "Bidden or unbidden, God is present").<br /></div><div>Oh, I meant to crop that image tighter so it would show up better. Eh. It's already uploaded now. You get what you get.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And the second image, from our usual dog-walk route around our new neighborhood:</div><br /><div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581702356410852658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NO-ieLBFjeyjsuIvCyZ88Wf8Fjv9i5a9OU8nkjTJavemv_DcHhsBv3xG1RwVh8_seioDwLGXnppGrSvhyFPZ2RWCTDPaeRoKOg4h-kWlN1rFHg0B2JgHXPNLjq1f5vdtAbXxFugkxQ/s400/mini_cemetery.JPG" border="0" /></div></div><br /><p>Yes, that's a mailbox. With a little patch of grass on top. With an angel sitting there. If this doesn't look like a teeny little cemetery, I don't know what does. (Because of the positioning of the mailbox, though, we don't think it's deep enough to actually bury any complete creature carcass. Perhaps the ashes of the last mail carrier are in there?) <a href="http://mujermaravilla.blogspot.com/">SpookyRach</a>, because of this scene, we think of you on every walk.</p>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-63834938242121919912011-02-21T20:41:00.004-06:002011-02-21T21:05:51.038-06:00Oh, the days, they pass.And here I am on the downhill side of February.<br /><br />- Under deadline at work. I have until Wednesday 4 p.m. for a deadline that's normally Friday at 10 a.m. But I feel as though today I triumphed. I drafted the big article that all the church nerds will want to read. The rest of the words will come (a few column-inches at a time). And for help with making it pretty, I'll turn to the can-do-anything communications assistant across the hall. So tonight, instead of trying to write more of that stuff for which they pay me, I'm blogging.<br />- Last year it didn't bother me that I wasn't going, but this year I'm trying not to envy the folks going on the <a href="http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com">Big Event 4.0</a>. The first two were lovely. Perhaps in year five...<br />- We bought Angus and Tuesday their first bag of "vibrant maturity" chow. The Boy will be 7 in April. The bag says for dogs 7+. He's no more vibrant than he was before, but then again, he's a pretty vibrant little guy. Tuesday is older, we have always guessed, but her vibrancy isn't in question, either. I just keep thinking that at this age with Cub, we were beginning our losing battle with liver disease.<br />- My Dear Sweet College Friend of <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2010/07/jacuzzi-incident-of-2010.html">The Jacuzzi Incident of 2010</a> is having her c-section in the morning. (Yes, that was the "life got a little more complicated" reference near the beginning of that post.) Deadline, schmeadline, I'll be making a run to the hospital for a visit.<br />- We haven't done anything to the interior of House Two since we painted the guest room and office. What remains paint-wise is in the master suite. I told The Alpha he can go ahead and buy the bedroom paint, but I haven't yet made up my mind color in the bathroom.<br />- When we finish the bathroom walls, we can pay someone to have the whole-house interior trim painted. It's still not enough motivation to get me to choose a color.<br />- Lovely Niece defended her dissertation last week. It was a breeze, with professors arguing with each other instead of asking her difficult questions. She really impressed them, as we knew she would.<br />- Our first trip back to Texas since we moved is coming up soon. I'm sure that will stir up a bunch of feelings and crap. Oy.<br />- Time for bed. Tomorrow is one of those crazy mornings in which The Alpha has a long commute and we all get up well before the sun figures out what's happening.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-22639534141794509032011-02-01T07:05:00.003-06:002011-02-01T07:40:18.140-06:00February alreadyA loose collection of thoughts before I head into the office on this rainy morning:<br /><br />- People to the north, south, and west of us are being buried in snow. Here, it's just wet, wet, wet.<br />- There was a time when I'd have been jealous of those in the snowy regions. Now, I think of the people in our city who don't have a warm place to sleep at times like this.<br />- For the third time this year, <a href="http://www.canvascommunityonline.org/">canvascommunity</a> is turning its worship space into a warming center where people who normally sleep outdoors can spend the next few nights. Overnight lows this week will dip into the teens and twenties.<br />- I've written about the warming center elsewhere, for my job. I've also given my time and resources to help. And for the first time in my life, I've gotten to know individuals who are homeless.<br />- We haven't decided whether we're going to make canvascommunity our church home. But we've been attending every Monday, and have helped serve Communion twice, including last night.<br />- I can't recall that I've ever seen an adult as happy to receive Holy Communion as Patrick, a 5-foot 2-inch man who lives in a dugout cave near the river.<br />- Just three days ago, the weather was so sunny and beautiful that The Alpha convinced me to hike up a mountain in a nearby state park. We took the dogs, and many other people we encountered on the trail had brought their four-footed hikers, too. I was impressed with TuesDog. I didn't expect her to have the stamina she displayed. At a couple of points, she actually pulled forward enough to help me in my climb.<br />- Later that afternoon, The Alpha's parents came over and we completed the dismantling of the 12-foot koi pond in the backyard. With barely any water left in the thing, we still found one last living fish (total rescued fish: 18), and took it over to the pond in my brother's neighborhood.<br />- Even if it were dry outside today, I wouldn't leave the dogs unsupervised in the backyard. Just after the koi pond demolition, TuesDog took a bite of the muck that once held aquatic plants. We don't want her feasting on such things.<br />- She has been hiding from the thunder this morning. Thankfully, it seems to have passed, and she's now lying on the floor beside me.<br />- Angus The Boy seems to be doing well. We were concerned about some weight loss last week, but we adjusted his food and are giving him a spoonful of peanut butter now and then for good measure. He seems healthy otherwise, and isn't due for a checkup for a couple more months.<br />- Uh-oh, some more distant thunder. There goes TuesDog, just a few steps in the direction of the bedroom closet.<br />- I spent several hours on Sunday pregnant-lady-sitting Friend Regina, who is on bed rest. Her shower is Sunday, overlapping the Super Duper Name-Trademarked Big Game kickoff. It's the only time we could get her church's parish hall (yes, she will still be on bed rest; we're going to borrow the fainting couch from the church bride's room). I wonder how many women will skip wishing their friend well in favor of watching a bunch of men they don't know run headlong at each other. Hers has been a particularly difficult pregnancy; I'd show up for her anywhere, any time.<br />- Been hungry a lot lately. Wondering what hole I'm trying to fill with the extra food, but not wondering hard enough to really explore it.<br />- More thunder. TuesDog went ahead and moved to the closet.<br />- Now that the rain has picked back up, it's time to make the dogs take one last trip outside before I leave them indoors for the day. Joy. Poor poppies.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-33439998069910950552011-01-12T07:43:00.008-06:002011-01-12T07:53:09.437-06:00She couldn't resist the power of his cuteness.Just a quick before-work post to announce my friend Kirsten's new pup:<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561294741080373170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 303px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Xy5eCq2b6d-Xjp9OrSdZ16-wbCG3fKlzMySt-OsiV3ZdMMb2lpZxjmveuIHqB2lRmKE0DRnUvEkVR5MmLBvdTeQXaom0eLsu2GTMncP2ZGjxCYbEXaJGeTEgmYzEMw1qZyxoDX-YSA/s400/AdamDog.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>Adam is his name right now, though she may plan to change it when he gets home today. He was on my former city's shelter euthanization list this week. Joe, the amazing and dedicated animal services staff member who works his tail off to try to get animals placed rather than euthanized, added a personal note about Adam to this week's list. He makes videos of animals as he's able, and he did a lovely one of Adam set to James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend." I posted it on that ubiquitous social networking site that has had the annoying effect of decreasing blogging, and three friends shared it.<br /> <br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>One of those friends was Kirsten. And even though she already had two dogs, she didn't wait for someone else to go adopt Adam. So now, instead of losing his life today, Adam is only losing his junk (which I'm pretty sure he won't miss), and Kirsten can pick him up at the vet after 4:00.</div><div></div><div></div><div><br />I knew there was a reason I never told Joe to take me off his email list after I moved.</div>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-68718020590767947232010-12-31T10:04:00.002-06:002010-12-31T10:17:40.378-06:00Friday Five: New Year's EveOver at RevGalBlogPals, SingingOwl writes:<br /><br /><em>I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, but it does seem a good time for some reflection and planning. For the last few days I keep thinking of Psalm 90:12:</em> So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. <em>Among other things, that seems to say that reflection is in order if we want to learn and grow.</em><br /><em><br />For some of us, this has been an incredibly difficult year; for others it has been a year of many joys. For all of us, there have been challenges and questions and there have been blessings and--maybe even an answer or two! As we say our goodbyes to 2010 and look towards 2011, share with us five blessings from 2010 along with five hopes or dreams for 2011.</em><br /><em></em><br />Five blessings from 2010:<br />- Enjoying visits with several RevGals...many of them all at once in a late spring gathering.<br />- Being able to say "yes" to an exciting new job opportunity.<br />- My introduction to the world of animal rescue (always a mixed blessing; see my previous post for the latest).<br />- Witnessing <a href="http://midliferookie.blogspot.com/">Mid-Life Rookie</a>'s ordination.<br />- An amazing and adventurous vacation with The Alpha, with special guest appearances by Lovely Niece and Nephew-in-law.<br /><br />Five hopes/dreams for 2011:<br />- A (really, really forever this time) home for Crystal -- again, see my previous post.<br />- Healthy babies for my two currently-expecting friends.<br />- That we will feel comfortable and ready to settle into a congregation here in our new city.<br />- That more people will gain a greater understanding of the concept of "enough" and will waste less and share more.<br />- Another awesome vacation to at least one National Park.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-84113014586831776752010-12-31T09:56:00.002-06:002010-12-31T10:02:14.731-06:00Re-rescue neededSo the day after I wrote my last post about all the happy rescue dogs, I learned that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippuXU8j9z5SvY6fZwHQ4t4tYrVoenWtXwYFUxciR2ItdJSZ6iAk4XxnLqEWpX2-XH_8J3wwwXD8jVSHIEiaq6Lr-bb_0-nmbsTPgoDrUMKUHkvG_8Eq-YB3i7Xx812hVq5dpbgeIpyA/s1600/CrystalPetfinder.jpg">Crystal </a>isn't working out in her adoptive home as well as first indicated. If any of my blog readers might know someone who would take her in, please contact me. It would be best if we could find her a home with no children, no cats, and either no dogs or one dog who should weigh at least 30 pounds.<br /><br />Ugh. I so want her to find a happy home without complications. Please pray that it happens. I don't even live there anymore; I can't just go get her. And bringing her to where I live now isn't a good option, as there are breed restrictions here, and our own dogs have not yet completely adjusted.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-54861364240267295902010-12-29T20:39:00.004-06:002010-12-29T21:49:25.661-06:00Year in reviewWe've accomplished tons of stuff during this last week of 2010. (Some might even call us <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/responsibility_champion_t_shirt-235734974128669144">Responsibility Champions</a>.) Both of us have the week off, and we have used it to do lots more unpacking, grout sealing, relative visiting, errand running, furniture and decor arranging, and the like.<br /><br />One of the things I moved out of the garage today and into its proper place on the wall next to The Alpha's side of the bed was a shelf his dad made. It's a simple but elegant shelf, 16 inches wide -- perfect for mounting into two studs -- and the finish matches our bedroom furniture very well. At the old house, it held a piece of comic art, as well as three dog collars: Cub's puppy collar, Cub's grown-up collar, and Angus' baby collar (well, he was already a year old, but still -- after a few months he broke it and we got him a bigger one).<br /><br />Moving is a great time to examine what you put where, and why. I figured that really, the comic book art was probably more suited to our office (i.e., third bedroom with no bed), so I grabbed a framed family photo to hang above the collar shelf. I'm not sure what year it was taken, but it was before Angus came along, so probably 2003. We were a family of three, with eight legs among us, instead of the six many humans would assume of a three-member family.<br /><br />In this photo, Cub has barely any gray in her muzzle; only the kind that can be ascribed to her normal coloring, not to her age. Her right ear turns down at the tip, as it did for about the first half of her life, giving her a more distinctive (and endearing) look than a purebred dog would have. We are all smiling, all in the prime of life.<br /><br />Just after I'd hung the shelf, The Alpha walked in, so I caught him up on my work in progress. He loved the idea of having that particular picture above the collars. He totally <em>got it</em> (one of many reasons why I love him so dang much).<br /><br />So he drove the nail while I added a wire to the back of the frame. We hung up the portrait, and he arranged the collars with Cub's grown-up collar in the center, tags dangling off the front of the shelf. And I burst into tears.<br /><br />Cub has been gone almost two years. It doesn't matter that she's a dog and not a human. She's family, and she's gone. And I will always miss her.<br /><br />Which brings me to the year-in-review part of this post. At an appropriate point after my crying jag had ended, The Alpha and I reminded ourselves of what wonderful dogs we do have with us now. And he pointed out something very true: If Cub had still been around, we never could have taken in foster dogs. This time last year, I had jumped straight into the deep end of animal rescue and come up with <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2009/12/confessions-of-foster-dog-mom.html">Homer the Pit Bull</a>, who was saved from being euthanized because I was able to pick him up at the shelter and hang onto him for a few days. He now lives in the Temple area.<br /><br />Next came <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2010/01/foster-dog-update.html">Foster</a> (now Amos, making his home with a retired clergy couple in Dallas). After that, we had our smallest foster dog, a 20-pounder named Ralph, but who we called <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2010/02/melancholy.html">Little Bittle</a> (he's now known as Teddy, and "good for absolutely nothing except being petted," according to his very pleased people).<br /><br />And during the freaky Texas snowstorm, I braved bridges and overpasses to pick up <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/search?q=dustin">Dustin</a> (now Dusty -- adopted by my friend Cherrie, who officially designated me his fairy dogmother). Then there were the last two, <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2010/03/crazy-dog-lady-strikes-again-one-two.html">Crystal and Poohbert</a>. Crystal is still <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2010/06/another-happy-goodbye.html">Crystal</a>, but Poohbert, who lives by the lake, has become <a href="http://dogandgod.blogspot.com/2010/05/farewell-poohbert.html">Puddles</a>, so named for her love of water. Both are doing well; I've received emails from both of their families within the past week.<br /><br />So, as dog years go, it was a pretty darn good one for us. Not an easy one, by any means, but a rewarding one. No, we couldn't have done it with Cub around, but you know what? We couldn't have done it without her, either. She made our household what it is.<br /><br />Someday, we will be settled enough here in the new place that we will be able to help another dog or two. And Cub will still be one big reason why we can.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556315607165346994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHLuiTtIp6aATT5bPNNSRY1BJcFTULkN6kaJYrRRfEvK6SMljJ6ne8Qk1s1Y_tohtIMwR0yzFB9Wr8tNBM_NQe3B8UDru4X9nRNE9mJxOqeWImuvUP1bmPuXbtNh6RPF42NqBarV-lQ/s400/P7070012.JPG" border="0" />DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-21631156162109705922010-12-09T06:17:00.002-06:002010-12-09T06:53:50.660-06:00Early-morning ironySo I've set aside time to blog, and I can't remember what I was going to blog about.<br /><br /><br />O, irony.<br /><br /><br /><p>I guess we'll go with some assorted updates:</p><p>- The church search continues (as we expect it to for several more months). We have become moderately involved in one community of faith, but we aren't sure that it's <em>home</em>. So we drop a fiver in the offering basket and keep tithing to the church we still miss, back in Texas.<br />- Since I last blogged, we had The Great Granite Countertop Debacle of 2010, which has now been solved, thanks to a second granite company and another chunk of cash. Such a piddly little first-world problem that took up way too much of our energy.<br />- The slate backsplash will go in this weekend, and the new fridge arrives tomorrow. After that, we just have to finish texturing and painting in there and our kitchen will be ready. When that's done, it's down to bedroom walls, master bathroom, and trim throughout the house.<br />- We haven't yet figured out the proper configuration for dog-bathing in this house, as it doesn't have an inescapable sliding shower door like the last house did. So today the dogs are off to the local Pet Palace, where they'll get the stink washed off of 'em.<br />- Found out that a friend of mine who was asked by his superiors to take a leave of absence from pastoring has pretty much been told they don't want him back, so he enrolled in truck-driving school. This is supposed to be the new era, where churches will need to change to meet the needs of the "mission field." I think this particular pastor may have gotten into trouble by pushing his churches (too hard for their tastes) to do just that. So he's told not to expect to be appointed anywhere. Again with the irony.<br />- Have barely begun shopping for Christmas gifts (because I'm sick of consumer Christmas and we are busy enough already). What we have bought is fair trade, and I believe we'll be spending a bunch of money on items from the <a href="http://heifer.org/giftcatalog">Heifer Gift Catalog</a>, too. I love Heifer. In November I got to visit both their ranch and their world headquarters. In fact, our little bit of Christmas shopping was done at the ranch gift shop.</p><p>Okay, time for breakfast, both human and canine varieties. 'Bye now.</p>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-2091069431332631412010-11-21T12:25:00.022-06:002010-12-09T06:17:28.690-06:00WorshipFAILWe were in a church sanctuary for at least an hour this morning. We tried.<br /><br />But we failed. Or, more accurately, I think the <em>entire church</em> may have failed to worship.<br /><br />It started out okay enough. We parked in a clearly-marked visitor spot, entered the building, received a welcome, a recognition that we were visiting for the first time, and a bulletin. We walked into the sanctuary, sat down in the center of a pew about 3/4 of the way back, and got greeted by one more person (who I realized I'd talked to this week on the phone as part of my job, but we kept the introductions to first names for the more incognito visitor experience). She said, "I'll be right back," and did indeed return a few minutes later with a recent church newsletter and a visitors' packet containing brochures on all their ministries.<br /><br />After that, it started to get weird. We opened our worship bulletins and found hymn selections that raised our eyebrows. You'd have thought it was Independence Day weekend from the first two hymns. We wondered about them for a bit, then decided it probably had something to do with Thanksgiving coming up this week, though we aren't accustomed to big displays of patriotism for Thanksgiving, especially in church.<br /><br />So, we sang "America the Beautiful" for our "Hymn of Praise," -- yes, that was the label in the bulletin and over the PA system. The Alpha leaned over to me and asked, "Praise to whom?" Exactly what I was wondering. The hymn is clearly addressed to America, not to God.<br /><br />Then the substitute associate pastor, a retired clergyman from another Conference, waxed all emotional about how great America is compared to other countries. We think he got a little verklempt. Meanwhile, I'm glancing over at some of the diversity in the pews near us, wondering if everyone in here is indeed a citizen of the U.S.<br /><br />The next hymn was "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." <em>Ohhhh</em>, The Alpha noticed... it mentions <em>pilgrims</em>. That's why it's a Thanksgiving hymn, we supposed. Still, another hymn not directed to God. I like to limit those types of moves to one per service, myself. And even then, it's sketchy.<br /><br />Scriptural basis for the sermon was Romans 12:1-2. The senior pastor explained to the congregation that John Wesley was hearing this very same passage when he had what is now referred to as his "Aldersgate experience." WRONG! I know better! And <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldersgate_Day">teh Intarwebs backs me up</a>:<br /><br /><em>"In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans." </em><em>--from The Journal of John Wesley, May 24, 1738 </em><br /><br />HaHAA! Luther's preface! Wesley wasn't listening to the Bible itself being read.<br /><br />Then, later in the sermon, the pastor states, pretty much out of nowhere, that "Thanksgiving is our only 100 percent religious holiday."<br /><br />That comment got badger-faced (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Lemon">Liz Lemon</a>-style) by both The Alpha and me. Is any holiday 100 percent religious? If so, I don't think Thanksgiving wins that distinction. Plenty of people give thanks on Thanksgiving without involving God in it. They may thank their parents for not making them cook anything, or they thank their place of employment for not making them work (or for paying them extra if they do have to work). But I'm guessing we have a significant fraction of Americans whose primary celebration of Thanksgiving basically amounts to, "YAY! TURKEY!"<br /><p><strong><em>Crap.</em></strong> I just lost several paragraphs of this post. Intarwebs fail. I'll be hitting "save now" after every sentence from here on out.</p><p>This congregation also <em>applauded. at. everything.</em> I usually can forgive a congregation for applauding after the children's choir sings, even if I do believe it sends the wrong message (kiddoes, who are you singing for? The congregation? No! You're singing for God, not those people out there). But these folks also applauded after the big-people choral anthem, and they applauded again when the pastor did the "right arm" verse of the Hokey Pokey as part of his sermon. (God wants you to "put your whole self in," of course. But he left out my favorite part of this illustration: You aren't just supposed to put your backside in church. It's no fun without a butt reference.) Yes. They applauded the Hokey Pokey. And not after they had all successfully done it themselves, which I think is perhaps the only appropriate time to applaud the Hokey Pokey. And even then, not always.</p><p>At one point in the service, I decided I'd try to learn a little bit more about the place by skimming the newsletter given to us by the friendly lady. That's when I learned that apparently, the place is falling apart as far as staffing is concerned. They had to cut one position, and then two other people have resigned. Doesn't bode well.</p><p>We have visited four other churches here in the area, and while no church is perfect, nor do we expect it to be, we've felt at least okay with most of the worship experiences. This is the first time we haven't been able to get our worship groove on even a little.</p><p>And now I have to go. I've spent too long on this blog post when I should be busy fighting our house. We must beat it into submission.<br /></p>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-60544823017364701052010-11-15T20:47:00.010-06:002010-11-15T21:20:32.335-06:00Before and DuringThe following photos aren't that great, but for those who asked to see, they should give you the gist of what's currently going on at the new (to us) Manor.<br /><div><div><div><br /></div><div>First off, if you haven't seen this over on teh Facey Spaces, here's the first thing I removed from the house after I signed the papers and got the key:<br /></div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539977666369619922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn1dPbdwnX6FYpoZ811OyjXSrD2ElVsoXh4Mcv5d74nZa7dSP0nU-845LWTzj_LRFq1-RUF26aJLIgRSAPi-KOe9mEwd6Uy9jLj9Lp8wg6-Ism1i_GQN2R4K9uHr7YbRLxqcLjLQXLEg/s400/spongebob.JPG" border="0" />It's still in the garage, because I kinda hope I get invited to a white elephant gift exchange this Christmas.<br /><br /><div>Okay, on to some more stuff.</div><br />Here's the back hallway, facing toward the front of the house. The door in front of you is the garage; the door in front of it is the open door of an oddly-placed closet. Oh, well, at least we have storage. To the left is the laundry closet (I wouldn't call it a room because you can't actually walk into it, but it's big enough for the washer and dryer and a couple more things). To the right is the master bedroom. Behind the camera is the bedroom we're using as the study/office/whatever. Guest room and hallway bath are around the corner to the left.<br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539975379746278882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDdj1Tsvwd8gM9_jC6uq1oTkzfSvKGr4l90Q27SZQ8UL-OVms_uBQJvAs0EcfNwsOtV_YfG5g40tQIN56jAgPBs1YuRae71DqBys0E4LoYQG2m4SCcH_nutJszsUrAD6XXtMNXN-Iiw/s400/backhallway.JPG" border="0" /></p></div><div>Here's the breakfast area. It's maybe halfway finished. No, I take that back. Only the floor is finished. But we still have to seal the grout, so technically, none of it is finished. We must also rid it of the rest of the wallpaper, paint it with the same tan and red we used in our old house, and replace the light fixture.</div><div> </div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539975593200237506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjQ1MErCtdhUEv0lPXx4aDakk0a8e9U7ApKPkrSaiFEDrmtT5vrX6lxIZO7KNGLlhPocuUHfCB45qfn8HROziTg3BVRaU-jNiV3VXEsCpdq6Vm9hg_bV5JRSugE59EQdp50gQIrEw_A/s400/breakfastduring.JPG" border="0" /> </div><div></div><div>Here's the dining area (three walls and an open view of the living area, so not technically its own room). Two walls painted the same red as our old dining room. Third wall painted the same tan as our old kitchen and the lower part of our old dining room. Though it doesn't show up in the photo, the light fixture is the hard-wired oval paper lantern we had in the old house (new owners let us take it). The doorway you see leads to the breakfast area off the kitchen (pictured above).</div><div> </div><div></div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539976676535997202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rHQfXasdWu-1obedV7GmRPRU0jWzq3azho4pA1uLQi_b-CmsTOKSIpbmCaw0oVtjUt-lhJ05tUOkE9CRlHrpF8974GNBkk3qRg6MVmojdlbFQOW5AtYIJ-a23SigTyaj_rX3xOBvwg/s400/diningduring.JPG" border="0" /> <div></div><div>More kitchen-in-progress. The cabinets have already been stripped and re-painted white, but the pinkish wallpaper has yet to go. The countertops left today. Granite countertop installation happens Friday. Dishwasher installation should happen before that; stove installation after; and a new, deeper sink at the same time as the granite.</div><div> </div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539976891535515314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFzS5_0yhLowzxEIJcZeg48_pFptXDUu8_JSMJcgDYE7EePehNhsFlAa5zu2YBivui2RXoMbiV23RK_GUb6Hy5mEdEE0VVjb8vEc5-nA-WFVlMiByTfVnmZ0gU4JYAXLsp2akf82VBpw/s400/kitchenduring.JPG" border="0" /> </div><div>Also, we discovered our fridge, the pretty one we bought last year during the Kitchen Remodel of Aught-Nine, <strong><em>is too wide for the space in this new kitchen.</em></strong> Craptastic! We have to buy a new fridge, and hopefully sell the year-old one at a decent return. Plus, we made a little money off the previous owners' fridge, which they didn't care to take with them. (We have sold a number of such things on that list, by that guy. You know the one.) </div><div></div><div> </div><div>I'm feeling way over-consumed. We aren't going into debt to do any of this, but I don't like buying so much stuff.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>Which is one of the reasons why we're going to endure the master bathroom's current condition a bit longer...</div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539977209136285666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuGEeYejEcbASdK5017fp12X8U6RusFTHOxSOLBL401VRYgqj7sOBhrj19m5Kb0Moh38OWzl-cQeqSc4oge4yftT8wcfJR_JsvoeSUpM21al0tuz5Josei6Nd0J4HlaJ9vU_vVmnFHw/s400/masterbathbefore.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><p>Yeah, let me give you a close-up of that wallpaper pattern. Notice the sheen of stripes? As if the other wasn't enough.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539977447988749954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpXnI3Lv7EznXx6SXUvgypxRFUZTd_YX2gVwmUuH1YCjrSRpF8opvVoOUTQacpPhKooHSiWtvbBXuYjfYBzBp3H6OPGX0JDDmmOVF6z6Uxjsq-sbmNh00qrAppaXduu_a1OSKqdjz_Q/s400/masterbathcloseup.JPG" border="0" /></p><p><strong>Impromptu contest:</strong> Leave a description of this wallpaper, or perhaps a story of the pattern's origin, in the comments. Best answer gets a prize. I'll figure out what the prize is while I'm unpacking. Which should happen some time before Christmas. Maybe.</p>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-337059949362620162010-11-10T07:10:00.004-06:002010-11-10T07:38:03.966-06:00Because I miss my blog.And I miss reading other people's blogs, too. Between my work duties and our mad rush at home improvement since the move, blogging has fallen even further down the list of priorities. True, FB helps me keep up with many of the same people, but not in such a significant way as reading regular blog entries would. Most of us face similar situations these days, it seems.<br /><br />So, a list. I do lists well.<br /><br />- The kitchen cabinets are now nicely painted (instead of crappily painted like they were when we moved in), and the wood-look tile we loved having in our old house now makes up our living/dining/kitchen floors.<br />- We still haven't moved into those three rooms. We want to get some other stuff done first (like grout sealing, doing away with the kitchen wallpaper, installing countertops and appliances). Lots of stuff in the garage; cars don't fit.<br />- The dogs seem to be adjusting. The first week we were here, I actually splurged for 3 days of doggy day care because workmen were at the house all day and I didn't really know if the dogs understood that the backyard belongs to them. Now they seem to get it, though.<br /><div>- We did get our guest room arranged, and have already hosted overnight guests: my sister, bro-in-law, and their two dogs. </div>- The Alpha is driving a 65-mile commute each way, three days a week. He's really hoping to back that down by a day or two within the next few months. His two work-from-home days per week are going well.<br />- Tonight I'm planning to texture the walls in the hallway bathroom. We have a to-do list a mile long, but we're chipping away at it, bit by bit.<br />- New flooring in the hallway should happen this weekend.<br />- Work we've had done: kitchen and hallway cabinets and fireplace mantel professionally painted with oil-base enamel; tile laid in three rooms; new HVAC system in the process of installation (furnace complete; a/c on Friday); burglar alarm installation.<br />- Work we've done ourselves: three ceiling fans installed; wallpaper stripped from hallway bath; blinds installed in living room; old stove and dishwasher removed and sold; dining room lighting from old house installed (brass chandelier taken down and donated to cool urban church plant -- they'll spray-paint it yellow to hang it in their space); and a number of other tiny things.<br />- And now it's time for me to leave for work. 'bye now.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-22962838935535730622010-10-23T03:10:00.005-05:002010-10-23T03:40:06.446-05:00Insomnia, my current muse.So here I am in the wee hours of the morning, sitting on the floor, in front of a computer monitor that is also on the floor, in a house I no longer own but have arranged to keep possession of until Sunday.<br /><br />The professional moving truck loaders The Alpha had over here yesterday afternoon worked some serious Truck Tetris (one of the many times The Alpha and I talked during loading, he called simply to say, "This truck is a friggin' <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardis">TARDIS</a>!") to get the vast majority of our earthly belongings co-located in the 26-foot cargo area of a Guess-Who-Hauls-It truck. I'm certain it wouldn't have all fit in there without the professionals doing the loading. Thank goodness we hired them, even if we're driving it ourselves.<br /><br />I flew down this evening... er, yesterday evening. It's strange to be able to so plainly see that this house we've lived in for a decade isn't our home any longer. I found this statement over at <a href="http://innerdorothy.blogspot.com/">Inner Dorothy</a>. She was making an analogy to the church, but talking about her real childhood home in doing so:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I had zero trouble walking away from that house. Because everything about it that mattered was etched permanently on my heart. It did not exist within those walls. It was time for someone else to create their own memories there. I was taking mine with me."</span><br /><br />Sunday -- that is, technically, tomorrow -- I hope to be able to say and feel the same thing.<br /><br />(And maybe it helps just a little that the same day I bought the new house, I also ordered the same tile we installed last year in the one we have now sold. Yes, aesthetics do matter.)<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />I'm a list-maker. I make one every morning when I begin my workday, or sometimes even start a new one at the end of the previous day. If I need to clear my head, I write a list of what's in there and have the satisfaction of being able to transfer the anxiety surrounding those items to the paper (or phone screen) upon which they're written.<br /><br />But I want to get a jump on today's list, and it's just not possible. It's 3:30 in the morning. The places I need to go aren't open. It's nowhere close to time for the appointments I've made. The noise I might need to make to get other things done isn't acceptable when my husband is sleeping in the next room.<br /><br />In 48 hours, I expect to have my family of four (four feet and eight paws) reunited in its own living space, and all four of us fast asleep. At least, I hope that's how it goes. I expected to be fast asleep right now, yet here I am.<br /><br />It's been three months, this juggling phase of life. I'm ready to begin the new chapter in earnest. As much as I hate leaving where we are, I'm eager to get rooted somewhere again. Now that we know exactly where that somewhere is, and we have the keys to it, and are already receiving mail there, I'm hoping the roots we're returning to there will grow deep and healthy.<br /><br />And that there will always be a nice big, sturdy branch, with roots to match, hanging over a good-sized portion of Texas.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-91026285256804784132010-09-24T17:45:00.004-05:002010-09-24T17:56:16.515-05:00Yikes at all the stuff happening.- Our Texas house is under contract, with a closing date of October 21.<br />- We got the inspection report, and the buyers' requests aren't that bad. Still, I'd love if they were already resolved.<br />- We think we found a house in Capital City. We're so picky that we are making an offer on a cheaper house than what we could actually afford; one that will need immediate updating, so we can spend some money on updating right away.<br />- This house, if it is <span style="font-style: italic;">the house</span>, is 400 square-feet smaller than our previous one. On purpose. All that talk at <a href="http://heifer.org/ranch">Heifer Ranch</a> of how much is <span style="font-style: italic;">enough </span>really got to The Alpha--and to me, too, even though I didn't actually get to go.<br />- And right now, this house has got some craptastic walls in the kitchen and bathrooms! I foresee more bouts with tendinitis, triggered by hours spent covering up very not-us wallpaper with Sheetrock mud and a putty knife.<br />- I wish I'd taken a picture of the Spongebob toilet seat. Another day, perhaps.<br />- Our backup options... well, we haven't agreed on a backup option. So I hope we don't need one.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-55446612223725319862010-09-12T14:43:00.003-05:002010-09-12T14:56:09.292-05:00Dogstuff<div style="text-align: left;">Sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to training in MethoVaticanCity, so I thought I'd blog (hooray for free wi-fi at LIT terminal!). This morning was absolutely lovely, and I thought the dogs deserved some more time outside than just their hurry-up-run-and-pee-get-back-in-here-you-have-no-fence-no-don't-run-after-that-rooster-and-don't-eat-that-whatever-it-is-and-don't-even-PRETEND-to-go-toward-the-road experience that's currently their typical trip outdoors.</div><div><br /></div><div>I gave them each separate trips outside so I only had to worry with watching one dog at a time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tuesday chose to waller in the cool grass under the shade tree:</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZIdZC4IVV6bRE6rVON0rTpOK5QtXh4V-aHEGvH7aoaAPpBEE64kQw2JuiEnsPiZ_dxCKqwlOHRiMgUA-QrPahE4Ed04tsnraDSxzABZZZK-BCtpHMn8H0EKMz7sN3Z8pNQC6THE5kg/s400/Tuesdaywaller.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516117923590139186" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Angus did his share of wallering, too, and then he and I had a nice play session with his bluebell (he's still great at attempting to fly after it as it sails through the air):</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkZEGyncFA8xDo2-9yl1iYHHLedVVAWZqN8RkzGiP9Qszjt9uLCcl4bf4WgabE7hjWuNEHOJYtpullijFtoRPQ3B0z_dFt1aI1jJuGSUCzzkwcChfN51eIT6F1XeeSlwo8b_7KGI6JQ/s400/Angusbluebell.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516117583870225298" /></div><div>I love my dogs. The Alpha's parents are really great -- they take excellent care of the dogs whether I'm there or not, so I'll have no worries about them while I'm in MethoVaticanCity. But I'm praying for a house sale soon, so I can choose their next fenced backyard and be able to let them out without guarding their every move.</div>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-37345131170696328672010-09-08T17:08:00.005-05:002010-09-08T17:39:54.865-05:00If I had a house right now...If that house were in Texas, and not for sale, it would have a 100-pound husky in it tonight. <div><br /></div><div>And if that house were in Little Rock, it would've had a strange little puppy in it after lunch today.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every week I get the email updates from the Suburbia city shelter. It's how <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippuXU8j9z5SvY6fZwHQ4t4tYrVoenWtXwYFUxciR2ItdJSZ6iAk4XxnLqEWpX2-XH_8J3wwwXD8jVSHIEiaq6Lr-bb_0-nmbsTPgoDrUMKUHkvG_8Eq-YB3i7Xx812hVq5dpbgeIpyA/s1600/CrystalPetfinder.jpg">Crystal</a> and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgub1B8LqOlMxvRLWJjVmMG34DA7R0FKc4vvrGt1MI8Z3PyOnVcP9LdehheBk1Z6EAYu3_IcHCy2DkP8HPlOz2EWGIeboPefbIAH35BYEYbcrNtfpOUVqMbetWtzggcUEYfNUzVRkHG6Q/s1600/PoohbertApril17.jpg">Poohbert</a> came to be our foster dogs. They've had some pretty good weeks recently, with all animals getting adopted or rescued instead of euthanized. One week they didn't even have to put any at all on the urgent list. But it looks like this week the streak may end. The last email I got still included quite a few dogs and cats looking for homes. Among them: Diamond, a large Husky about 7 years old who was owner surrendered, adopted, and then returned because he didn't get along with the family's cat. </div><div><br /></div><div>Like I said, if my Texas house weren't on the market, it would have a Husky in it by now. Instead, he will probably die tomorrow morning (they gave the animals an extra day because of the holiday weekend, but with the tropical storm, folks haven't been getting out in the rain to adopt).</div><div><br /></div><div>And at lunch today, two of my co-workers introduced me to a place to procure a yummy milkshake. It's out of our way, and not in the best area. As we were getting out of the car to place our order at the walk-up window, one of my co-workers said, "That's a cute puppy." </div><div><br /></div><div>"Where?" I asked, and he pointed behind the dumpster. Then the little black-and-tan somethingorother (part cocker spaniel, we think) came over to visit with all three of us. I wore sandals today, which meant I got a complimentary toe-licking with my puppy visit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Puppy was a boy. No collar, and obviously no fence keeping him safe. I told my co-workers that if I had a house, I'd inquire with the lady at the window, and if she didn't know who Puppy belonged to (or if who he belonged to didn't plan on providing any better care than letting him wander) we'd be picking up the pup along with our milkshakes and dropping him off at my house before we went back to the office.</div><div><br /></div><div>As it stands, though, I couldn't help. I hate not being able to help. At the same time, given the long-term fostering I did this spring, I realize I could easily get stuck with another dog or two for an indefinite amount of time. </div><div><br /></div><div>But I still want to help.</div><div><br /></div><div>---</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>UPDATE:</b></i> Just got the final email for today. All dogs but one have been rescued, and we believe that one has a rescue group interested. Several cats still left, though... which is sad, but makes me powerless to help because of my allergy.</div>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-27499915987941899762010-09-03T07:10:00.002-05:002010-09-03T07:28:43.945-05:00Friday Five: Storms of Life Edition<div class="post-header"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAU1SuqaNVYtbD5KzYtxdLfUC9olguZpiu18krXTH1ijwMSO74GYK3qWOS1kFevsi3_bVQ_2fMSd2GiRBitf3d_oIS1Rahew61wcIk0j_z28FHTmw4Bg7kk5GzQYljCCVkemCHZQ90Xw/s1600/Earl.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAU1SuqaNVYtbD5KzYtxdLfUC9olguZpiu18krXTH1ijwMSO74GYK3qWOS1kFevsi3_bVQ_2fMSd2GiRBitf3d_oIS1Rahew61wcIk0j_z28FHTmw4Bg7kk5GzQYljCCVkemCHZQ90Xw/s320/Earl.gif" border="0" /></a></div>Over at <a href="http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/">RevGalBlogPals</a>, <a href="http://revsongbird.typepad.com">Martha</a> writes...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I'm listening this morning for word of Hurricane Earl. Is he coming to visit, or will he bypass my part of Maine and move further Downeast, or veer toward Nova Scotia? Should I buy those bottles of water, just in case wind brings branches and power lines down? And how many times will the tracking map change today?</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> Herewith, a Friday Five about the storms of life:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">1) What's the most common kind of storm in your neck of the woods?</span><br />Though I'm taking today off and hanging out in lightly-tornadic Texas today, I've spent the last month living back in my home state, a.k.a. Tornado Country. We can't claim to be the home of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Gale">Dorothy Gale</a>, but I can say about a mile of the drive between my in-laws' house and my office looks dramatically different than it did before the twister came through several years back.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">2) When was the last time you dealt with a significant power outage?</span><br />Been a while. But the most recent one I was part of that lasted several days took place surrounding my sister-in-law's wedding, almost 10 years ago (thanks to an ice storm, not a tornado). The church had power, some relatives a mile or two away had power, but my in-laws' house did not. I remember helping my mom-in-law make punch by flashlight and sending gallon jugs of it over to spend the night in an aunt's freezer. The powdered ingredients floated in the flashlight beams, and the morning of the wedding, we awoke to a film of red punch dust covering every surface in the kitchen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> 3) Are you prepared for the next one?</span><br />Not particularly. The Alpha usually keeps either a 24- or 72-hour pack in the hall closet, but the house is on the market. We've cleaned out a lot of stuff. His car does have an electrical outlet, though, so if we ever lose power in a widespread area, we can run some things as long as we conserve gas and batteries.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">4) What's the weather forecast where you are this weekend?</span><br />"Today: Decreasing cloudiness and windy. High 87F. Winds NNE at 20 to 30 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy skies. Low 61F [whoohoo!]. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow: A mainly sunny day. High 89F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">5) How do you calm your personal storms?</span><br />Talking things out with trusted friends usually helps. Just telling the story of whatever storm it is to someone who understands can make an enormous difference.DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66844036416799569.post-6295785253908359922010-08-13T14:13:00.003-05:002010-08-13T14:22:18.126-05:00ChangesLots of changes lately. I've followed the dogs to their temporary digs; we're living with The Alpha's parents until further notice. New job seems to be off to a good start. The Alpha is all alone back in Texas, keeping our house up to show-quality status. I hope it doesn't take that much longer to sell. Seriously. Not having a timeline for getting settled is probably the worst thing about this whole transition.<br /><br />And, so we could have some photographic evidence of change, I took the Tueser to be groomed. First time I've done that for any dog, but she was shedding something fierce, and in a house where she's a guest. Behold, The Summer Cut!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK_MDMhEr4QGnjXGqBOGYu4kbpxUkvsM5E4X7m_daesEBURCWg6KUnj2THFVQFLlm9MuIB8zI-EnQzOryRabbTHMX0jmcbIrWF9b9R2nqHhNv2IjsIGwB0tCZQCjJ1naDe8hpi1b_fw/s1600/TrimmedTueser3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK_MDMhEr4QGnjXGqBOGYu4kbpxUkvsM5E4X7m_daesEBURCWg6KUnj2THFVQFLlm9MuIB8zI-EnQzOryRabbTHMX0jmcbIrWF9b9R2nqHhNv2IjsIGwB0tCZQCjJ1naDe8hpi1b_fw/s400/TrimmedTueser3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504976313701805954" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqArXopFzetY8GkkWI0HwUdAtMMlrTbHu3gzwIIKIK5flzDtQuat5A0z4q9sPtrthpsyaILIzEeoq9J5KOvlZ9ge6pz6nKLHlSJFzzhsETDG6d-NlIORuw1FBlumRCRdg2bJEhoJ3Azg/s1600/TrimmedTueser2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqArXopFzetY8GkkWI0HwUdAtMMlrTbHu3gzwIIKIK5flzDtQuat5A0z4q9sPtrthpsyaILIzEeoq9J5KOvlZ9ge6pz6nKLHlSJFzzhsETDG6d-NlIORuw1FBlumRCRdg2bJEhoJ3Azg/s400/TrimmedTueser2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504976308972552866" border="0" /></a>DogBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16188110384649189032noreply@blogger.com6