Saturday, November 30, 2013

DOXIES LOVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!


This pic is from Christmas last year--our doxie Duke and granddawg Shadow are really getting into opening gifts--and they don't care WHOSE gifts they open, either!

Both dawgs will "help" anyone open his/her gift, be it for Christmas, birthday, anniversary--what have you. 

They love Christmas, too.  All those nicely wrapped packages at one time in one place--why, it's heaven with a bow on top for doxies, who just love to tear into things.  I might add that Duke is a good boy who does not tear up the house or get into things he's not supposed to.  If perchance a tissue or a piece of paper happens to be residing on the floor, however, he thinks it is within his territory, so he enjoys shredding them.  I never have figured out how he can shred a tissue while leaving it in its rectangular shape . . .

During Christmas with our family, when we tell the dawgs to find their presents, they hunt through the packages on a mission.  Of course, they'll find theirs easily if they happen to be treats or some type of doggie food.  Otherwise, they'll often need a little help finding their presents, which the grandchildren delight in doing.

Merry Christmas to all!

Friday, November 29, 2013

A VERY DOXIE CHRISTMAS!


Here's our granddawg Shadow (aka Sarge in THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES series) all dressed up in his Christmas outfit.  I'm ready for the holidays, aren't you?

I'll be posting lots of doxie Christmas pics leading up to December 25.  Our family absolutely LOVES Christmas and all its trappings, ever mindful of the true meaning of Christmas, our Lord's birth.  Oh, there's nothing wrong with Christmas trees, holly, stockings, snow, or any of that--we just want to make sure that we keep Christ in our Christmas.

So, here goes:  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!  Jesus is the reason for the season :).

Saturday, November 23, 2013

SOME CUTIES

"So nice to have someone to snuggle with"
 
 

"My teddy will protect me"
 
 

"Little teddy, you always listen and never interrupt"

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

DACHSHUND = DOBERMAN??

 


When I saw this poster, I just had to post it on this blog.  I know it fits our doxie Duke to a "T" - he definitely thinks he's a big, bad dawg.  Just try to play tug-of-war with him, or try to get a ball away from him . . . he keeps it about an inch beyond my reach, growls, and has an evil gleam in his eye.  He knows what he is doing, and although he WANTS me to get the ball, he will grab it before I can get it.  He's much more agile than I am, certainly.  After awhile, he'll give in and "allow" me to retrieve his ball so I can throw it for him to chase down the hall.  Isn't that accommodating of him??

People are always commenting on the loudness of a dachshund's bark, and I've often wondered how they CAN bark so loudly.  When our granddawg Shadow is here, too, well . . . it sounds like we have ten or fifteen dawgs in the house instead of only two when they decide to "comment" on something!  And heaven help us if someone rings the doorbell, like the pizza delivery man did the other night when our daughter Holly, hubby Philip, and the three grandchildren were here.  Dachshunds think the doorbell ring is a call to action, I believe.


In any case, both Duke and Shadow ran to the door, ready to take it off its hinges, so as I paid the delivery man, others held the "vicious animals" at bay.  Oh, if he had come in, they probably would have licked him to death if we showed that he was a friendly human. 

Such are dachshunds:  very protective of their humans, and we wouldn't have it any other way.  I'd like to see the Dog Whisperer stop a doxie from barking at a doorbell ringing, though.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS



Here's the latest version of my personal business card--in perusing Vistaprint's catalog of cards, I saw the artwork on this one, and I was hooked--the dawg is PERFECT, and really looks like Duke.  I included less information than on my previous cards, following the motto of "less is more" (that works well for makeup, too!). 

I dislike marketing my books in person, especially to strangers.  Maybe I'm an introvert after all (don't faint, family members!).  I don't even like to mention my books in conversation to people I know!  (Other author friends tell me the same thing.)  However, I don't mind leaving my card at various places, because I don't feel that I'm making others feel obligated to buy my books.  If they want to buy them, they will.  Of course, if I were more pushy, perhaps more books would be sold, but that's just not my way.

In any case, I like my new business card, so I decided to share it :).

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A ROCKWELLIAN THANKSGIVING


I have always loved and admired the artist Norman Rockwell.  His pictures put the viewer right in the midst of the snapshot moment, and his Thanksgiving painting above is no exception.  The happy, smiling faces of the family, the beautifully-set table, the kind and thankful faces of the two grandparents--all of those things speak to me.  Rockwell simply painted true Americana.  I think that's why I love his paintings so much. 

According to Wikipedia:
"OURs... to fight for Freedom from Want is a color lithograph created in 1942 by Norman Rockwell and published in the Saturday Evening Post as part of a series illustrating the 'Four Freedoms.' The aim of the series was to promote the buying of war bonds by Americans during World War II. Copyright held by the Curtis Publishing Company."

I'll resist the urge to include some of his other paintings in this post, saving them for another time. 

What do you see in the picture?  The family bond is so evident:  the joy of simply being together.   The anticipation of good food is clearly right there in those faces, especially those of the children--do you see them as I do?  And the joy of sharing time of fellowship shows in those faces as well.

We indeed have much to be thankful for, and may this Thanksgiving season give you and your family a blessed time together.  Let's also remember those families who have loved ones serving in the military far away.



Monday, November 11, 2013

HAPPY VETERANS DAY


 
Here's wishing a Happy Veterans Day to all who have served or are currently serving!  We thank you for protecting our freedoms and way of life.

I would especially like to thank my two personal veterans:  my late father, Robert D. Duke, who served in Guadalcanal, New Caledonia, and the Philippines in WWII; and my husband Clark, who served with the military police in Vietnam.


May you have a blessed day, veterans.  Many restaurants here in Georgia are offering free meals to veterans, and we are going to partake later today.  What a nice gesture!

Friday, November 8, 2013

THANKSGIVING AGAIN


This is one of my favorite drawings of Thanksgiving doxies.  You're going to have to indulge me this month as I post numerous pictures having to do with Thanksgiving, and not all of them will be about dachshunds. 

Some will be about food. 

Some will be about family. 

All will be what Thanksgiving means to me. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (again)!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

THANKSGIVING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER


Well, Halloween's over, and it's time to gear up for Thanksgiving.  One of my favorite holidays (if not THE favorite), Thanksgiving provides the family-oriented time that I love.

Not only is the Thanksgiving meal one of my favorites, but the Thanksgiving story of our country's beginnings is worth passing on to future generations.

Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth, is one of deep significance to those of us who are Christians, but it has been commercialized so much in recent years.  The season has become hectic, nonstop, and . . .  for lack of a better word, crazy.  Thanksgiving is still relatively sedate in comparison.  We gather to share a meal and thank the Lord for His many blessings.  We eat a delicious meal, often overindulging, I'll admit.  And for those sports fans, it is a day of watching football on TV.

I'm not a football fan, but with the grandchildren, we always think of something fun to do.  We are together, and that means so much.

Happy Thanksgiving, even if a bit early.  Society's trying to push the Christmas season back farther, riding roughshod over Thanksgiving.  Not in this household!  We love both holidays, and we want them to keep their distinctive messages.  Enjoy yours.