proud dogmom

I was so proud of my dog Baxter the other day.  I took him with me to Freeport and had several short errands to do while there. One was stop and say hello to a friend.  While I was there I asked if I could use her for a training session with Bax, she said sure.  Also at her home where two grandchildren.  I have never taken Bax into someones home before and I thought this would be a good test for him.  I told them all that I would most likely  have to take him in and out a hundred times before he understood what he had to do especially with kids there. 

I went out and got Baxter, walked to their door and knocked. The granddaughter opened the door for us and stepped back.  I told Bax to sit on the carpet in front of the door and lo and behold HE DID.  I gave him the command to sit and stay.  I got so giddy I could hardly stand it.  I kept saying I can't believe he is doing it.  I remember once hearing Cesar the dog whisper say dog need to know what is expected of them. I went into this with that attitude, like here you are, a new place, just sit and look for a while.   I told the kids after about 10 or 15 minutes that I would release him from staying.  Baxter ran around looking and checking it all out.  He is such a chicken about things I was happy to see him checking out stuff.  His butt was wiggling harder than I have seen it for a while.  It still makes me laugh when I see him wiggle like that.  Being a Bulldog he has a little screw type of a tail. Not to good for wagging.  But the effort he puts into it is something to see.  There is no question that he is one happy dog.

I was so glad it went as well as it did and I hope to take him there again and see how visit number two goes.  We went to the dog park later when I was done with the errands and heading home.  He ran and played with the other dogs, got some petting from dog owners and was ready to go home.  Such a simple life, he always seems so happy.  Wiggling that little butt of his.  He makes us all happy.

Broken bottle

Thursday I dropped and broke my bottle of favorite anti wrinkle serum.  I have been using it for about 3 months and I finally found something that works and I like.  Well, in my rush to get ready to go away, I dropped it on our tile floor in the bathroom.  The glass bottle shattered and there was not much I could do in trying to save any.  The bottle was down to about a third left so I was glad I had gotten as much as I had out of it.  We were going with friends to eat out for lunch and I began to panic a little.  I had tossed the broken bottle and glass slivers in the the waste basket but then in my panic I reached in the garbage and pulled half of the broken bottle out and very carefully put my finger in to try to get enough to use on my face one last time. I was going out with friends, I needed some.  As I rubbed it on my face, I had to be very careful, stopping when I felt a little piece of glass on my face, there were a few I hate to admit.  Well, I made it with out a cut and had a great day with friends.  Today the big thing on my list of stuff to get done was drive to Clinton, about an hour away and get more of my favorite cream.  Thank God they had it and it was even on sale and I saved four dollars.  Some things a woman just can't be without.

Monroe trip

Yesterday hubby, Kim, Carol and I all went on a little road trip to Monroe.  It is a very cute little town with a nice square you can walk around with lots of shops and the court house is in the center of the square.  I did not realize it but we had not been to Monroe at all this summer.  They had a wonderful addition to the square. I was told someone donated a large group of wooden carved jungle animals.  They are great!  One of the store keepers told me the children just love them, and parents bring the kids to the square and shop and the children have fun with all the animals.  There were even some hanging from the court house.  I was told that soon they will be removed for the winter, I am so glad I got to see them.  The zebra was my favorite as you can tell.  Just loved them.  The picture below are geese flying over the lake near where I live.

Good days

The weather has been so nice right now, kinda makes up for the bugs and heat we had this summer.  My dog Baxter has been the best dog ever the last couple of days.  I have been picking up sticks (unending job with 4 acres) and burning them as I go.  He stayed by my side the whole time.  Pulling sticks out of my hand before I could get them in the wagon, and pulling at my gloves...but he was happy and so was I.  He even managed to BRING me 4 sticks...no kidding.  I told him to go get me a stick and he did, came over to the wagon and dropped it.  I was sooooo glad I had some treats in my pocket.  It may never happen again, but that day will be with me forever.   Our trees are almost at their peak right now and it is so beautiful in the afternoon.  Enjoy the photos and have great days where ever you are.

My 2011 vacation

For my birthday this year, (I turned 60) I wanted to do something BIG. When I turned 50 it was 911 and it was such a sad terrible day. My 50th came and went overshadowed by the thoughts of so many others. So this year as I turned 60 I wanted to do something, anything, just to celebrate. I called a girlfriend who lives in AZ and asked her if I jump out of an airplane will she?! She has been a long time friend and we both have our 60th birthday in September. We have shared each others lives over the years and I figured it was time to share another adventure. To my surprise she said yes!

I arrived Aug 4th very excited about skydiving. As I walked through the airport in Mesa I had on a pair of 60 glasses. I just couldn't resist teasing her about our upcoming birthdays. A lady in the airport walked up to me as I searched the people for my girlfriend and said to me "I bet I can guess how old you are." I thought that was pretty funny.

Our reservation was for the 6th, so we had some time to relax before the big day. There are not enough words to tell about our adventure. People ask me if I was scared.

You know, it was not so much being scared as not being in control of what was happening. There is no way to describe what it feels like.

So, just look at some of my pictures and let me know what you think. I will say I got the dry heaves when we landed on the ground and I had rubber legs. But I am so glad I did it. I am still on a high. I feel like I can do anything. I may get myself into trouble with that feeling. I told my hubby I felt like someone should slap me and he said he would be glad to. He is always so willing to help me out. I am wondering how long this empowering feeling will stay, forever would be nice. My friend loved it and would have gone up again that same day, she had no problem with the spinning and falling. That day there was no way I would have ever thought of doing it again, but now, I think I would do it one more time, and try to see if it still makes me sick. That was one thing I didn't even think of, thought of a lot of stuff that could happen but being sick wasn't one of them.

This last picture kinda says it all, enjoy.

yes, I am still here.

It has been a long time since I blogged, but now I am ready to start up again. In August I took a little vacation to visit a friend in AZ. I left my hubby and my Baxter (English bulldog) at home and was gone for 9 days. My husband told me that every day Baxter would get up and go over to my side of the bed and look for me. I thought that was so sweet, and I could just see him wondering where I had gone without him. When I got back home, the very first night, I was awaken by him standing by the bed, staring at me. His look was so intense. I talked to him a bit and he seemed content and went back to his bed. A little later I was awaken again by his stare, but this time he jumped on the bed (he is not allowed on the bed) looking at me intently and then walked across the bed, jumped down, returning to his bed. A third time I woke to that stare, this time he jumped up on the bed, staring longingly at me, laid down beside me and put his head on my neck. He was content, like she is home and she is here. I didn't have the heart to say "Get off the bed". It was his way of being sure I was there. I felt so loved at that moment he put his head down on me.

God Bless the animals, they touch your heart in special places. They keep us humble. I love my Baxter.

You will have to check back and find out WHAT I did on my vacation.

May's recipe

I came across this recipe in the Nov. 2005 issue of Southern Living. It has only 2 ingredients and is called Ice-Cream Bread. I have not made it yet but I will very soon. I just don't keep ice cream on hand. It never last long. So here it is and if you try it please stop back and leave a comment.

1 pint, (2 cups) of ice cream, softened
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
stir together ice cream and flour, stirring until flour is moistened. Spoon Batter into a greased 8X4 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Southern Living recommended not using low fat ice creams. They loved Butter pecan or rum raisin. Any flavor seems to sound good, I would like to find some black walnut, but that is hard to come by. I will go for the strawberry first and go from there. Hope you try it and enjoy it.


I have been busy potting my flowers and getting ready for summer, I have had a lot of aches in my legs the last few months and I am moving slower that usual.

I started several projects in the house and none are done. I think I got carried away and started to many things at the same time. I do a little every day, and that is the best I can do.

I feel good about each little thing I finish. My to-do list have become a list of about 5-7 things each day. Even if it says water plants it counts a one on my list. I may not be make big headway but I am slowly getting things done. Hope every one is enjoy the weather and spring.




Had to close this blog with a picture of a weed, even dandelions can be pretty!