Friday, September 27, 2013

FISH, FISH, AND MORE FISH!

Our daughter Bethany is here from Arizona this week, and we all visited the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta yesterday.  It was gorgeous!  We saw the dolphin show, tropical fish, sea otters, whale sharks, paranhas, electric eels, an alligator . . . well, I'll let the photos below tell the story.  I want to add, however, that in grandson Asher's words:  "This place is amazing!"

albino alligator
 
touching sting ray



ready for dolphin show!


searching for Nemo


found Dori



jack fish

Thursday, September 26, 2013

THEN AND NOW . . .


Duke, as anyone who visits this blog knows, is quite a dawg.  Someone asked me the other day how old he was, and was quite surprised when I replied that he is six.  The friend commented that Duke still looks and acts like a happy puppy! 

We tend to agree, because he IS a wonderful pet.  He's definitely a "people dog" - and he just won't stay in a room by himself, either.  He still loves to play, whether it is a game of tug of war (and I usually lose because that dawg is strong!), or fetch (but he still doesn't want to give me his toy--he likes to drop it about an inch out of my reach, and grabs it just before I can reach it!).  If I am in the home office, he comes in there and relaxes while I am on the computer; if in the living room, he relaxes on the couch; and most of all, if we are in the kitchen, THAT is his favorite room in the house and he immediately trots in there, hoping for a morsel of people food.

I always say that he is 200% doxie, too.  He has all of the breed's best traits (loving, comical, loyal, intelligent, playful), as well as a couple of those that humans don't seem to enjoy (stubbornness, loud bark).  We don't care, however.  He's quite a force to be reckoned with, you know!

As a young puppy, just a few months of age


"Big" dog now - pic taken this week


 

Monday, September 23, 2013

THE GRANDCHILDREN'S VISIT


Duke impatiently waiting for them beside the driveway


 


Grandson Asher (age 3) - "Kindle obsession"


 
Having Clark's famous French toast at breakfast



 

Alexa, age 7,  NOT winning at cards!




Wednesday, September 18, 2013

IN A BLAZE OF GLORY

My updated article below was published last year in BINDINGS, my publisher's blog in THE CHRISTIAN POST magazine.  The direct link is http://blogs.christianpost.com/bindings/in-a-blaze-of-glory-11860/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Golden yellow . . . burnt orange . . . flaming red . . . the fall of the year is literally a feast for the eyes as trees turn from various shades of green to all those bright hues that beckon us to the mountains, the woods, or even our own backyards.

My family lived in Virginia near the Blue Ridge Parkway for eleven years. Every October, we made our annual trek to the Parkway to view the glorious foliage, and we were never disappointed. Along with the stunning colors, we were delighted with the nip in the air, apple harvests, picnics beside mountain streams, and walks along wooded trails. We often collected those bright leaves to make collages, tangible reminders throughout the year of God’s color palette and His striking creativity in nature’s shapes, sizes, and hues.  

When we were children, I remember all of us joyfully jumping into piles of raked leaves; now, I do not recall why that was so much fun! As adults, I suppose we often think only of the work it takes to get those leaves into piles and removed from our yards. Back then, the fall season was exhilarating—it represented the start of the school year, frosty mornings, clear sunshine, the anticipation of wonderful holidays to come, and especially the anticipation of snow.

Still my favorite time of the year, fall always evokes fond memories, but also creates new ones. My husband of nearly forty-three years, then my fiancé, returned home safely in the fall of 1970 from a tour in Vietnam. We were married in December of that year. Every fall generates a happy recollection of that memory as we look forward to celebrating another wedding anniversary together. Today, with our children and grandchildren, our family enjoys celebrating birthdays and other anniversaries together in the fall as well. And, even after all these years, I still see young children today having a great deal of fun jumping into piles of leaves!

To me, those gorgeous colors of fall represent nature’s cycle of life—before the leaves wither and fall to the ground, they go out in a “blaze of glory,” painted brilliantly by God’s own hand. We can take our cue from those leaves, realizing that our lives are like tapestries woven by God’s hand as well, but He often allows us to choose our own colors as we make our choices and decisions that ultimately affect the final design.


There are times that dark, somber threads, representing difficulties we face, are woven into our tapestries beyond our control, but the Master Weaver knows what He is doing and wants to create something beautiful with our lives. We can rail against circumstances by attempting to rip out those dark threads which, from our limited view, are mistakes. But we can only see the underside of the tapestry, whereas God looks down on the finished side of the weaving. Those somber threads are actually there to refine, and thus illuminate by contrast, all the colorful elements of these tapestries to make them even more beautiful. God wants to refine our lives, sometimes through trial and difficulty, to make us more like Him, all the while weaving in beauty and texture that we might not totally understand or see at the time.


Let us trust Him with our tapestries—not only with the wonderfully vibrant colors we get to choose, but also with those seemingly improbable dark tones He sometimes weaves into them. Our lives will then manifest a ”blaze of glory” like those beautiful fall leaves—for others to enjoy.

Monday, September 16, 2013

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE . . .


 
 
Our granddawg Shadow, now at the advanced age of 12, REALLY knows how to sleep (as most doxies do).  Pictured above, he's lying on the couch in the evening, enjoying TV like many men do, LOL.
 
 
He's still pretty spry for his age, however (which happens to be 84 in dog years).  Just let Duke grab one of Shadow's toys, and watch how fast ol' Shadow can move!  His philosophy is "my toys are mine, your toys are mine, ALL TOYS ARE MINE."  Duke, who is larger and younger, always acquiesces to Shadow.  Such respect from the young whippersnapper!
 
Here's another pic of a younger Shadow sleeping in one of his favorite spots (the bed):
 
 
 
 
In fact, from my experience with doxies, I believe they can sleep just about anywhere, anytime, for any length of time!  You gotta love 'em.
 


Saturday, September 14, 2013

IF YOU COULD NOT FIND MY OTHER BLOG . . .




 My other blog, www.blog.mavisdukehinton.com, has been going through some difficult times for the past couple of weeks!  This blog had been a subdomain for my domain name for a few years now.


Well, starting a new website and having my domain pointed to it caused my other blog to be unavailable during that time.  In fact, if you tried to access it, you probably received the HTTP 404 error, "not found." 

This situation was very frustrating for me, a person who knows just enough about domains, subdomains, etc., to be dangerous :).


My website provider had been delving into my problem, and just yesterday determined that this blog as a  subdomain just will not work with my new website and my domain name pointing to it. 


 Perhaps in reading this post, you are now suffering from TMI (too much information).  However, it's back now, having removed my custom domain from this blog, and will have to start over in building up web traffic to this blog.  There's nothing else to be done. 

So, if you wish to help me get it back, type into your search engine  http://mavisdukehinton.blogspot.com  - and it will come up. 

I'll keep providing cute dachshund pics, the occasional rants, and other things on my mind.  Thanks for sticking with me!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

I NEED THIS SIGN IN MY YARD . . .



Our doxie Duke definitely notices any humans on our street, and always comments about them in no uncertain terms!  He also tracks "something" in the yard, with nose to the ground, just about every time he goes outside.

Our yard in our new home is about twice the size of the previous one, and there are lots of trees along the side and back where the creeks run (yes, two little creeks converge in our backyard - kinda cool, huh?).

Duke will not allow anyone to approach the house without his loud bark signalling that he's gonna get 'em!  (At least, I hope that's what strangers think he means).  I suppose if someone approached Duke and pretended to "get" him, he'd hightail it away from that person.  A guard dog he is . . . well, until he turns into a fraidy cat.

He has a special interest in watching for the mail carrier, which must be a genetic "thing" with dogs.  Cartoons have depicted such for many years, and I still pity those hardy souls who must cover their routes on foot.  I suppose that dogs everywhere still think they have chased off mail carriers, since they stay for only a moment and then leave!

In any case, it would be downright humorous for us to put the above sign in our yard--the worst Duke has ever done is lick someone relentlessly--of course, he could turn vicious if he really thought there was harm afoot, I'm certain.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

"IS ANYONE LISTENING?"



This doxie obviously has something important to say, and he wants everyone to hear about it.  Once again, he looks remarkably like my Duke!

What do you think he's trying to convey?  Just leave your suggestion in a comment below.  Thanks!

Sunday, September 1, 2013

SUMMER IS WANING . . .



Since it is now September, I hear wailings and disappointment from so many about summer waning, with fall just around the corner.  The doxie above certainly seems to enjoy summer and the beach, given the fact that his nose is covered in sand!

I am one who happens to love the fall season with the nip in the air, the colorful leaves, clear sunshine, and so many more things:  the anticipation of the family birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays to come!  In our family, we have an anniversary in September, a birthday in October, three in November, and one in December, along with two anniversaries--not to mention Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  So, we stay pretty busy the last half of the year. 


My late mother's birthday was in December, the SAME DAY as our youngest daughter Bethany's.  It will be a bittersweet birthday for her this year--and for the rest of us as well.

In any case, I am thankful for the beautiful seasons of the year, with each one having special things that are enjoyable.  My husband just retired from teaching last year, and although I still teach part-time online, it seems odd when we see school buses on the road and we aren't in the classroom.  The first few weeks are always crazy, but fun, and enjoyable getting to know new students and catching up with former students.

Yes, summer is on its way out--but exciting times are coming the rest of the year.  The Lord has given us so much beauty to enjoy all year long!