Thursday, January 31, 2013

THE THINGS WE DO TO OUR DOGS!


Most dogs are pretty good sports when it comes to dressing them up, making them wear silly hats or costumes, etc.  I don't know HOW the person managed to get this snapshot of the doxie wearing those buck teeth--not to mention how he or she kept those ears up (tape and strings, perhaps?).

In any case, the pic makes for a laugh.  Enjoy!

Monday, January 28, 2013

BEHOLD THE "CANINE"--SO DOXIE-ISH


Well, what can I say but BAH HA HA HA HA!!  Love this, and it is so "doxie."   Such a cute idea for a doxie bed, and we all know how much they love to burrow, often stealing our beds.


Saturday, January 26, 2013

DACHSHUND BOOK . . . VISUAL PUN


This picture fully exemplifies my books written from a dachshund's viewpoint!  No explanation needed, and whoever took the time to fold those pages deserves our respect.  Quite a feat.

By the way, if you haven't yet read THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series, get your copy today!  Click on the book covers featured on the right.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY TO SHADOW!



Today marks the 12th birthday of my granddawg, Shadow!  He is, of course the dachshund "author" of my series of books written from his viewpoint, THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES.

I'm looking forward to my third book, DACHSHUNDS FOREVER, to be in publication soon.  Shadow (as Sarge in the books) relates more of his interesting tales about his zany family, notably Papa Duke, his favorite person in the entire world.

Join me in wishing Shadow a wonderful birthday today!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

BUT OF COURSE!


Except maybe reach high stuff . . . but my doxie Duke once managed to jump high enough snatch a piece of toast off the kitchen counter, no mean feat for his short legs! 

Of course, that's the reason doxies have earned the title "chow hounds extraordinaire."  When food is involved, they'll go to any length (no pun intended) to get to it!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

"DOG TIRED" PERSONIFIED!


Our doxie Duke totally personifies the term "dog tired" in the pic above.  Everyone had left after being here for my mother's funeral, and he'd had a week of grandchildren to play with, adults catering to his every whim, and generally getting all the attention he wanted/needed--and then some.

He was wiped out Tuesday, so Bethany snapped this pic of him in his trance.  It is so doxie!

Monday, January 14, 2013

THE PURPLE IRIS: TRIBUTE TO MY MOM

We lost my mom last week, January 8, 2013, after a long and debilitating illness. I'd like to share the poem we included in her funeral program:

God's Garden
God looked around his garden
And found an empty place,
He then looked down upon the earth
And saw your tired face,
So He put His arms around you
And lifted you to rest.
God's garden must be beautiful,
For He always takes the best.
He knew that you were suffering
He knew you were in pain.
He knew that you would never
Get well on earth again.
He saw the road was getting rough
So He closed your weary eyelids
And whispered, "Peace will now
Be thine." It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you didn't go alone,
For part of us went with you
The day God called you home.
And below is the Mother's Day tribute I wrote for her on Mother's Day, 2011:

"After Dad retired from the military and they settled in North Carolina, on visits home when we lived out of state and many hours away, (if during flower season), she so loved showing off her flowers and plants in the yard--they were like her friends, or at least family members :). Her favorite flower has always been the purple iris, and I will always think of her when I see irises."

My mom is 83 years old, and I am so thankful to still have her with us! Although her mind is clear, she has numerous health issues that affect her quality of life. Always a fighter in spite of those, she now spends much of her time reading inspirational fiction at her skilled nursing facility only a few miles from our home. She's always loved crossword puzzles, too.

With advanced COPD, diabetes, neuropathy, congestive heart failure (to name a few), she is not able to do much physically these days. In younger days and better health, she was always busy, and could work rings around me! She loved to garden, tend to her flowers, sew (she made most of my clothes as I was growing up), cook, and read. She often said that there were not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything she wanted to do, as her mental curiosity knew no bounds. There were boxes of recipe clippings attesting to the fact that she loved to try new recipes (and our family, the recipients of those efforts, always enjoyed that!).

As mentioned, she made most of my clothes, but she still sewed when our daughters were young, making them sundresses, rompers, Easter outfits--she even made our oldest daughter's piano recital dress, a floor-length yellow semi-formal gown, when Holly was ten or eleven. She had tackled making neckties for my late dad years ago, and he enjoyed wearing them. For those of you old enough to remember men's leisure suits, she made one for my brother as a young man, in blue to match his eyes. She also made my wedding dress in white velvet, trimmed in lace and chiffon. She made her own apparel for the wedding, too: a dress and matching coat, as well as the bridesmaids' white muffs and rose headpieces (it was a December wedding--their dresses were dark red velvet).