Time Goes By.

Tomorrow, Saturday the 30th our little boy 'Naturial's All In The Music, August Rush' will be 3 years old.  How fast the time goes.

He started out like this:

This is his Momma, with all the babies she had.  Our little boy is on top with the black spots on white coat.  Momma was a powder puff and dad is a hairless.  Both powder puff and hairless are born in the same litter.   This was the first photo the breeder sent me asking if I could figure out which were hairless and which were powder puff.  I couldn't in this photo so she sent me photos of each dog separately and when I saw him I put him on my short list of dogs I liked the look of.

Here was the picture she sent me and I thought wow, is he little?

She gave them names, this was Ditto and at one week old look at that face!!

She sent me another photo asking if I could find him in there.  His ears were still taped and still, I loved his face.  Here he is with the siblings.  They are all so cute. 

Our slippery little boy was really taking shape and I couldn't wait to pick him up.

At 10 weeks of age we were able to drive drown and pick him up.  He was ours.  

Becke, the wonder dog started right away, taking care of him and teaching him.  

They still nap together and Becke sure looks happy about it.

So Tomorrow is his 3rd birthday.

I'll make him Scrambled eggs with cheese for Breakfast and stew beef with green beans for dinner.  

Happy 3rd Birthday our Little Man.  You've come a long way!!

SCHOOL BEGINS HODGEPODGE!

Thank you Joyce for coming up with more questions. Want to play along? Answer the questions here on your blog.

1. As August draws to a close, share what's been your favorite weekend of the entire summer?

There have been a few Mondays when Hubby and I looked at each other and said what a nice weekend it was.  But it was because it wasn't packed full of places to go, people to see, or household things to fix, repair, or clean.  It was low key, relaxed, do-what-we-want-when-we-want-to-do-it  kind of weekend.

2. Labor Day is marked in the US of A on Monday, September 1st.  What paying job have you held that you've loved the most? Liked the least?

My current job as class coordinator and dog class instructor is my best job. The job I liked the least was working in a small pizza/burger place as the cashier.  I hated that job and I was not good at it all!

3. Does the new school year start before or after Labor Day where you live? When do you think it should begin? There is much discussion now about older students having later start times to their school day...your thoughts?

School here starts differently for different schools. Some of the small towns around here and the charter schools have already started this week. Some of big city schools start after labor day.  I think we should have school year round.  After all the building is there. We should be using it.  Some kids will forget a lot of what they have learned after 9 weeks off.  It needs to run year round with a bigger break in December.  As for the start times, I think we should start at 8:00 a.m. and forget all the stupid classes like study hall so that the kids get out earlier.

4. What's something you've worked at recently that could be deemed a 'labor of love'?

I love to make and send greeting cards to people who are hurting.  This is a labor of love for me.

5.Which of the following work idioms can you most relate to right now...'A woman's work is never done.', 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' 'Many hands make light work.'

Many hands make light work.  My Hubby has done so much to help me over the years and more so this summer.  He tag teams with me when we watch the grandgirls so that I can sit and rest up a bit.  He cooks, cleans, does laundry, drives me all over, helps me in every way to make my life easier.  He is a true blessing to me and I thank God every day for such a Godly man who takes such great care of me every day.

6. Crab or lobster or thanks, but no thanks? Favorite way to have your choice prepared?

Lobster is such a treat for me and I like it Lazy Man Style, all ready out of the shell and sittitng in butter all ready for me to enjoy.

7. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, 'Three rules of work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.' Which of the three do you consider to be the most important? Share one of your own 'rules of work'.

One of my rules is 'A clean workspace will give you time to work'  I really cannot work with a desk covered in piles of stuff, I need to concentrate on what I'm doing, not of looking at piles of stuff.
As for Einstein rules, I guess I would pick "Out of clutter find simplicity" because I would toss out the clutter and what is left is simplicity.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

According to the Farmers Almanac, us folks up here in NH are suppose to have a cold and snowy winter.  DUH...It's winter and it's NH!! Still people are talking now about how terrible it will be and they are dreading it all ready.  Me I'm so so happy that summer has returned and the temps are in the 80's, even if it is only for the first 3 days of the work week.  Starting on Thursday temps return back to the 70's and dry.  I'm not thinking winter, I'm thinking summer!  I guess cancer does that to a person.  We think of today, not tomorrow and certainly not of winter because many of those with cancer will never see winter.  I am blessed to have a Hubby that keeps me focused on today and looking forward to a better today.  Winter will be winter and there is nothing I can do to stop that.  

A Play Date Birthday.

This is August Rush sleeping on the couch on top of an electric throw.  He loves to sleep there especially if I'm under the blanket!  He knows his job is to hold me down and he takes his job very seriously!!

Those who know August also know that he is not very confident and so every thing new has to happen slowly for him.  He will make me a better dog trainer and a better dog owner because I constantly have to break down behaviors for him to tackle in small segments.  So imagine my surprise when I opened my mouth and offered for August and I to go over to help a friend who has a small dog that is not very confident.

My friend has had the new-to-her dog for 3 weeks and Sunday was the dogs 4th birthday.  She wanted a friend for her baby girl so August and I went over for a play date.  The dog is a 4 year old long hair Chihuahua called "Sunshine".

I was stunned to see how quickly August settled down and got to work making Sunshine feel comfortable.  He walked up and smelled her quickly, then walked away. He went back to smell her again, then after 3 seconds, he walked away again.  After a few more times of short meetings, he was ready to go for a walk with her.

Sunshine's mom, learned fast not to lean over him as he yelled at her and clearly was not happy about it.  He backed away from her as soon as she bent down towards him. I quickly called him away and told her to not bend over him and to just look his way but not to look at him.  She learns fast!

Sunshine's mom could lean over Sunshine and August would walk up to her for a treat.  But she did not lean over August again.  He liked that.

 They walked nicely by our sides and shared a bowl of water as it got hot out there!  When the traffic became heavy, and the black top became too hot for their little feet, both dogs went into their separate strollers.  Then my friend and I continued walking and talking.  Yes, we have strollers for our little dogs, don't laugh.  It allows us to continue to walk for exercise and not worry about our little ones being over tired or over heated.  

Back at her house, August drank some of her water and checked out the toys in her toy box and cooled down while Sunshine watched from Mommy's lap.  

What surprised me was how quickly August relaxed and just enjoyed her company, enjoyed the walk, enjoyed the toys, enjoyed the water and the cool hard wood floor.  In all, he just did what I had hoped he would.  He helped make a new friend.  

 

What a cute little girl, Happy 4th Birthday Sunshine! It was a fun day!!

Have you ever had a play date for your dog?  Tell me the story. I love those stories.

No Hodgepodge, Just Me.

There is no Hodgepodge this week, Joyce is taking a week off so that she can live her life and not just write about it.   I know that feeling.  I took a lot of time off for my health and starting up blogging again is going slowly.  I think I'll do a Monday - Wednesday - Friday blog for a bit and see how I feel.

Today I'll share a recipe I just made.

I feels like fall has come upon us.  The daytime weather is up to 70's and dry.  The evening temps are in the low 50's with a breeze. Our electric bill is happy as the AC is off, the windows are open and the cold air is fresh and clean.  But it makes me feel like I should be putting up the fall decorations and digging out the crock pot.

Well the fall decorations are not up but the crock pot did come out.  Do you use your crock pot in the summer? I know of people who do and I know that using it would mean a lot of hot good meals in the summer but I don't use it until it gets cold. And it was cold yesterday. So out came the crock pot and the first thing I made was.....

Rice pudding.  I really love rice pudding but it's not very low carb so I changed up the recipe a bit to lower those carbs.

It turned out really good and with a dollop of low carb ice cream, it was a delish ending to a great dinner.

So what did I use for a recipe:

2 cups Almond milk

1/3 cup rice

1/6 cup sugar free maple syrup

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

Grease crock pot, dissolve maple syrup in milk and scramble the egg, then add it to the crock pot.

Add all the rest of the ingredients, pour into crock pot.

Cook on high for 6 hours. I added walnuts in the last 1/2 hour just because I could.

It makes enough for 6 servings so it's a good size amount!  And it's good too.

So we are having a Fallish August.  I hope we get summer back, and that this trend doesn't continue to make an early fall and even an earlier Winter!! 

Weekend of Gold!

It's summer right?  Well around here you wouldn't think it was.  The windows are open, the breeze is blowing in and the night time temps are in the low 50's.  During the day it gets into the mid to high 70's.  It feels like the beginning of Fall.  I'm not happy about it. I like the heat of summer!! I hope this doesn't mean that Fall will start sooner than it should followed by a long and cold winter.

Several weeks back I got a message that a woman named Sue wanted to touch base with me.  At first I thought she was a client so I looked her up in the computer system and she was not there.  I couldn't figure out who she was but her name was so familiar. I knew that I knew her! I put her on the back burner and took care of current clients.  After a few days I remembered who she was.  My friend from my growing up years. Our houses were right next door to each other.  We could sit by our bedroom windows and talk to each other for a bit before we went off to sleep.  She is 9 months older than me and we hung out all the time.   She graduated a year before me and got married and moved away.  Her last name changed of course and I lost track of her.

Hubby and I met her way back in the early 80's or was it the late the 70's...neither of us could pin down exactly when we got together again.  Our kids were small and I'm not sure she had her daughter yet when we met up again but it was as if no time had really passed. We laughed and talked and told stories of what was happening in our lives. It was a very nice visit.  Then life once again caught up with us and we were busy raising kids, working, making homes, and living lives.

In June she moved back to the city and she found where I worked. She popped in on a weekend and left me the message and when I heard her voice (after I remembered who she was), we picked up right  where we left off.  Our kids are now adults with kids of their own but we are still friends. Different names, different histories but one thing still in common, our shared past.

So we get together, look at old pictures, talk about our kids, our husbands, our grand kids our siblings, and laugh remembering all the times we shared and all the stories we still have to share.

So in this cool weather, Hubby grilled chicken and I made macaroni salad and we laughed and shared stories and remembered.  I can't help but remember a song sung in my youth.

 "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is Silver and the other is Gold.

A circle is round, it has no end. That’s how long I want to be your friend."

It was a Golden Weekend.  How was yours?

FEELING GOOD HODGEPODGE!

Thank you Joyce for once again creating these question. It makes coming back to blogging a lot better. So play along and lets have fun.

1. The best part of waking up is____________________________________.

Waking up!  Really it is, just waking up is a gift.

2.  Given a choice, which animal interaction would you most like to experience (or for those non-adventurers...which would you dislike the least?)- Swim with the dolphins at one of several locations in the Florida Keys, a lion encounter ten minutes from Victoria Falls (Africa), or a day at a remote base camp high in the Big Sur wilderness via the Ventana Wildlife Society helping track California condors?

For me swimming with the dolphins at one of several location in Florida would be just so much fun!

3. What is something you fear about 'old age'? What is something you look forward to?

Getting old seems to mean that now that my kids are grown, my wisdom is real and my good sense is true, my body is falling apart and simply cannot do what I love to do. What I once loved doing all day, now takes me all day to do it.
What I look forward to is that I no longer care if I fit the description of a woman in her 60's. I live my life with no apologies or people to please.  Take me or leave me, it's all good.

4. Hot sauce...are you a fan? If you answered yes, what's something you make/eat that must have hot sauce? On a scale of 1-10 how hot is too hot?

Not a fan at all!  I don't like hot food like Indian or even Mexican food.

5. It's been said that children learn what they live. What do you think children learn at your house?

I hope our kids learned to play in the dirt and not worry about getting dirty. I hope they learned to put away their toys before bed. I hope they learned that no matter what they do, we still love them (although we may not like what they did and there will be consequences).

6. What's your favorite movie with a number in it's title?

Love potion #9 I just love Sandra Bullock movies. 

7. Saturday (August 16th) is National Tell a Joke Day...share one here.
A boy with a monkey on his shoulder was walking down the road when he passed a policeman who said, " Now, now young lad, I think you had better return that monkey to the zoo." The next day, he was walking down the road with the monkey on his shoulder again, when he passed the same policeman. The policeman said, "Hey there, I thought I told you to take that monkey to the zoo!"  The boy answered, "I did! Today, I'm taking him to the cinema."

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I'm back!  It's been one very long break as my health made it almost impossible to do anything else but go to work and come home, climb on the couch or climb into bed until the next morning.  It turned out I have Lyme Disease as well as cancer!  I've been on a very strong course of meds to help kill it off fast and get me back to "normal."  I feel like this is the first time since June that I feel like having fun again and that I will not fall asleep in a second.  So here I am again.  I hope I get to stay on this healthy road.