Rambling Thoughts

Ninety and Nine

2010-09-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

2010-07-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

OK Liz, I'll give this the annual update. We have had a much less hectic year. Less trips, fewer house projects and a very late summer.

We did have a great time visiting Laura and Phil in May. We surprised Laura by having Heather bring the twins. She hadn't seen Ashley and Alexis since they were babies. The girls informed us that Uncle Phil is "sweet" and "cute", I don't think he has been described as such for many years.

For the un-informed--that is the "Hook-em Horns" something you have to be a Texan to fully appreciate. Laura went to UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch) for her Masters in Nursing and is now a Nurse Practitioner.

I flew with Heather and the girls to Texas and back home to Florida and enjoyed extra time with them and a few projects for Heather. Of Course!!

I was home about a week when it was time for our annual Grey Rider Bike Trip. Yosemite and Monterrey this year. Yosemite was very impressive but the bike riding sucked. Now Monterrey was something else. We rode up to Pebble Beach Golf Course on the 17 Mile Drive. Stunning views, polite drives (NO SHOULDERS), and free access to the golf course.

It was chilly riding by the ocean but a small price to pay for the views. I think next years trip will be back up to San Juan Island and a sweet little bed and breakfast we stayed at a couple of years ago. Right next door to Alice the Camel.

Since the bike trip we have been home with our noses to the grindstone. Chuck is working too hard, I'm hardly working (for $$) but really keeping the house, lawn and such from getting out of control.

The raspberries are going great guns with the blueberries a little behind schedule. I guesstimate we have gotten 5 gals of berries off of 1 yr old canes. Very happy with that.

This is a pic of Kaylee and Grandma making Cranberry Salad at Aunt Laura and Uncle Phil's house at Thanksgiving time. Megan, Kaylee, Chuck and I went for a week and had a good visit.

So hopefully I will post more than once a year, but no promises. I'm still trying to understand the compulsion some people have to post every day. That would take more commitment than I possess. Kind of like writing in a journal every day/night.

No Whiners

2009-08-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

If my helmet looks like this---can you guess what I look like?? It is colorful, nice shades of the sunset--purples and reds and more to come I'm sure.

I have watched more Hallmark channel movies in 2 days than should be allowed by law. My eyes are swelled from sniveling.

I gotta get this bruised kester up and moving. I've run out of kleenex is the bedroom.

Here is a quick peek at the legs. The left leg is the proud owner of 16 stitches. In an impressive "V" pattern. There's a plate of brownies for anyone who can figure out what cut my leg. That is one of the mysteries of life.

Ah Summer, how fast you flee

2009-08-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

June and July were busy months at our house. I was planning to go visit kid/grand babies in Florida, visit Laura & Phil in Texas and come on home. Well life interfered. Chucks mom passed away at the ripe old age of 91. She had been living with her sister Fonda and niece Donna in St. George, Utah. I actually was in the car on the way to the airport when we got the phone call, so we turned around and cancelled my flights and took care of business.

Laura flew home for several days and it was wonderful to visit and laugh and enjoy her company. She and I flew out on the same day. She went to Houston, I to Ft. Lauderdale to she Ashley and Alexis! Oh we had fun! We went to the Zoo--it was REALLY hot and humid and it just sucks the energy right out of you. The animals didn't seem to mind one bit. The best part of the day was the water fountain area to cool off in. I volunteered to watch one of the girls, Dan had the other one. That was wonderful way to cool off and finish of the visit.

After we got home Miss Kaylee and Megan came for a visit. We were having our heat wave and it was really warm. Kaylee picked blueberries and raspberries out of the yard and cherry tomatoes. She didn't eat them, but wanted to pick them. She would get her shovel and bucket and dig with Wookie in the yard. Wookie was beyond ecstatic to she her.

Kaylee has really grown tall in the past few months. She is developing an eastern accent and is a sweet little girl with a little bit of a sassy mouth. Definitely a Poetz Girl. She knows where HER room is at at Grandma and Grandpa's house and had to go inspect it for all of her "stuff". She wanted to give the "talk" at dinner. (Bless the food.) And she told me I didn't do it right when I said the "talk". I didn't mention every ones names when I asked that they be watched over and kept safe. She wants to hear every ones names said, especially hers and her moms. Pretty cute.

Little miss K did not want to sit still for a picture with Grandma, but I held tight and Meg snapped quick and we got a keeper. I just feel so lucky and blessed to have the 3 daughters and granddaughters we have. I love being with them and showing them things in my world and exploring their worlds with them.

Now if everyone hasn't figured it out yet, I'll spill the beans. Grandpa is the Softy in the family. He just loves to spoil the girls.

Hawaii Day's at the Academy School

2009-06-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

The Academy has lots of theme days. Today is All Things Hawaiian. These two hams are all set to go.

Look close. Can you tell who is who?? I can do this one! Ask me, ask me! Give up?????

OK this one was too easy because there are a couple of give aways.

1. Everyday is a bad hair day for Ashley.

2. Ashley has a little flat dimple under her right eye.

3. I saw a chipped front tooth in another picture.

Ashley is in front, Alexis is in pink. They were very excited to get dressed and get their lei's on.

Heather calls them savages. Anything this darn cute couldn't be a savage. Wild and crazy but not a savage.

I'm wandering down south to visit long about the 2ND of July. Rumor has it the mullets get trimmed for the first time, trip to the zoo, fireworks--all manner of good times.

Purple Kitties

2009-06-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Heather called today and we had a nice visit. Just before she hung up she said "OH, I better warn you, the girls are excited because Grandma Robin is coming to visit and she is bringing us Purple Kitties."

Purple Kitties. Have you ever tried to find PURPLE KITTIES????????

Walmart--NO,

K-Mart--NO.

Can you say Google??? Good thing I married the love of my life and he isn't a jealous man! HE is the one who said lets go home, you better Google it.

So it took a couple of searches, but I found Purple Kitties. They are called Periwinkle. I'm sure that Ashley and Alexis will come up with new names.

The things I do to make my kids and grandkids happy! And I love every minute of it.

Saturday gone lazy

2009-06-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

The plans I had for Saturday got canceled. So Friday Night I made a to-do-list of things I needed to get done. It appeared reasonable to a Ambien brain at 10pm Friday. It looked sort of like this:

Saturday

Laundry

Vacuum, Dust

Scrub Kitchen Cabinets

YARD

Finish touch-up painting on woodwork

Bath Wookie

This is what really got done:

Laundry

Vacuum & Dust

Yard

watched movie Juno--really enjoyed this!

googled music from Juno---Moldy Peaches--Anyone Else But You--theme song.

researched luggage size for carry-on's and checked luggage on SouthWest

Researched (Google--gotta love Google--how did I survive before I discovered Google???)

structure of Pillowcase Dresses to convert to Pillowcase Nighties for Miss Kaylee, decided to try 2 different methods, dug through fabric for just the right stuff--looked through ribbon for correct size, color, edging to match fabric, then whipped up 2 nighties!!

Made dinner at 7 pm, while Tater Tot Casserole cooks, took shower and created this post.

Sooooo. . . . . . Wookie still looks like an orphan dog, the kitchen cabinets still need scrubbed so I can sand and prime and paint them.

But on the bright side here are Miss K's Nighties:

I guess there is some hope on Monday that I will scrub the cabinets ------I want it DONE!!

After a long search (ha--it was right where I put it) I found the Arlo Guthery poems I taught the girls when we were riding in the car to keep them from killing each other. Dog Kickers and Moose Goosers. As soon as I can I will post these for your reading pleasure. On a side note, I memorized these in Freshman Biology with Mr. Morgan. How I passed that class is a mystery and phenomena and small miracle. It must have been my shining personality--it sure wasn't because I did any work.

2009-05-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

While we were enjoy the blue skys and tropical weather on the beautiful island of Kauai, Wookie Wonkeye was having himself the time of his life. He is doggy watched by 2 capable young men in our Ward. Ages 9 and 12. They have 2 dogs and a fenced yard for WookieWonkeye to play in. He is always very excited to go and not so happy to leave and come home

Wookie came home looking like a happy dog in need of a trip to the groomer.. His curley hair is interesting at best,and keeps him warm, but tends to knot easily. He was smelling doggie also.

This is wookie before he goes to the groomer,

And this is Wookie after the groomer called and said there was no hope. Bald is beautiful!

(He has shivered for a couple of days now!) Wonkeye is not going to were no coat/sweater/clothes of any kind. He is a dogs dog. HAHA. So he sits around and shivers. Lovely.

His hair is very soft, almost like velvet. Note the nose lick, not as talented as our cows were, but not bad for a dog.

The picture of the "girls" up top is Karen, DeDe and I. Karen and DeDe have been friends for 50 years. Yes, that said 50 years. Karen joined us in Hawaii. She swears this was her best vacation EVER!! And it truely was an incredible trip. 2 weeks was just perfect. As much as I didn't want to leave the perfect weather for Oregon rain, I was ready to come home and get back into my routine.

Lap Tob Abuse/Over Use

2009-03-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

I asked The Dog Catcher if he thought there was a 12 step program for LapTop Abuse. I have gone to the programs for Fabric shopping, Walmart shopping, I REFUSE to go for chocolate consumption. But we need to give careful thought to the time spent on our rear-ends staring at the lap tops. Dog Catcher does genealogy. The Mrs DC goes for the blogs. The things I have found!! Sewing Blogs, Cooking Blogs, Food Storage Blogs you name it. Lots of time reading and absorbing. But it is sucking time vacuum.

So starting Monday my laptop time will correspond directly to the time I spend exercising. Drastic move, but necessary.

Dog Catcher got the tiller running and tilled the area for the Raspberry bed for me. I raked then planted 50 starts. Makes a nice row and NEXT year we will start getting berries!! The Blueberries are still in their pots, but the weather is changing so maybe I'll get them in the ground before we go to Hawaii.

We also got the ground tilled by the new fence and I raked and spread the grass seeds. DC place large rocks on the outside edge to discourage cars form driving over the new grass. This is on the gravel road side of the fence.

Tomorrow we pick-up the new chest freezer!!! I'm excited and ready to start filling it up. Will start with Whites Meats and build from there. Ok time to call it a night. Tomorrow will be a busy day of grocery shopping, dog bathing, tanning, picking up the freezer and organizing the laundry room where it will now live.

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!!

2009-03-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

It was 40* today. It rained all afternoon. My car tire had a slow leak. Nail in the sidewall. New tire. Shopping in the rain. Enough I say. I would like to be able to plant a garden and actually have it grow ---- not rot in the ground. It looks like a soggy, bug ridden summer. DARN. I may have to wander on to visit the kids that live in the HOT and SUNNY area's of the US.

I wouldn't mind a drought and un-seasonably hot weather. For the entire summer. Sandbars in the Columbia River. Just a thought.

Chuck approved Black Bean Soup

2009-03-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have several cooking blogs I routinely visit. One of my favorites is called "The Half Assed Kitchen" because they use many short cuts and don't like fussy recipes that take tons of ingredients. This is THE BEST Black Bean Soup I have tasted. Quick and easy. And if this isn't soup weather---then nothing is!!

Here's what you need and how you do it:

1 medium onion, minced
1 celery stalk, chopped (optional)
Olive or canola oil
2 cans black beans (with liquid)
32 ounces chicken or veggie broth
1 14-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes
1-2 cups ham, cubed (optional)
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon thyme
1-2 Tablespoons balsalmic vinegar (adds a lot of flavor, don't skip)
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream

Sauté onion (and celery if you use it) in olive oil over medium heat. Add black beans, broth, tomatoes, ham, cumin, thyme, balsalmic vinegar, salt and pepper.
Let simmer, covered but vented, for at least an hour. Preferably two.
Spoon into bowls and top with sour cream.

Enjoy!

I paired this with homemade rye dinner rolls and butter. I like my own cooking way too much. So I am going back on South Beach and scrape some fat off my behind, and there will be no more homemade rolls for a while. Sorry Chuck.

I love this picture! It is from our Bike Trip 2007.
I think we know how to vacation--eat lots, sleep well and surround yourselves with wonderful friends & family.

Good name for a fish????

2009-03-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

Miss Kaylee called me this morning. She was wired tight and chattering a blue streak. Lots of questions for me "where is Wookie? where is Grandpa? what was I doing? When she took a break to breath I asked her about her new fishies. At one time they were "fishy 1, fishy 2, fishy 3 and Blue.

Today one was named "Booty" as in shake it. I'm laughing at that one. Her mother wasn't. "Kaylee Nicole you can not name a fish "Booty" It's not appropriate."

Hummmmmmmm, Megan is worried about appropriate?? Since when?

Just for fun!

2009-03-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

A friend sent this to me. It just takes a minute and is really pretty cool. Enjoy

http://www.youniverse.com/statement/module/PersonalityModule/New_Personality_module

Bike Riding Fever

2009-03-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

We were very anxious to get back on our bikes. The sky was sorta blue and the boys had Presidents Day or Uncle Milty Day or some such holiday off so we loaded the bikes, bundled up and went for an easy ride on the Springwater Trail.

We rode 12 miles and it really felt good. The only bad part was riding into the east wind from about Jenny Rd to Gresham City Park. It was hard to ride against and my nose ran and my finger tips were really cold. Riding gloves leave 1/2 of your fingers exposed.

It was a good ride, enjoyed by all. I'll try to remember being cold this summer when I'm gritting it out going up the "hills" sweating my brains out.

Chuck is styling with a ski cap under a bike helmet. That's how chilly it was.

Took a Little Vacation and forgot to blog . . .

2009-02-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

Life has been plenty busy for the last couple of months. We ventured to Florida for Christmas. We flew out on Christmas Eve. That was quite the task due to the snowstorm in Portland and general crappy weather on the east coast. We were late but arrived with luggage.

Christmas with the Brooks family was all about the twins. Then we followed up with their 2nd birthdays and lots of McDonalds Milkshakes.

Time passed quickly and soon we were home and right back into the frightful weather. Just in time for an ugly windstorm. Lost some shingles, lots of limbs and the new fence bite the dust in a couple of sections. The 2 x 4's are now replaced with 4 x 4's. They better hold. That makes for a REALLY expensive fence.

The wind is still howling in Corbett. I am tired of it!! We have additional shingles to replace now and it is just too cold. I have 50 raspberry plants and 10 blueberry bushes to get in the ground but I'm a fair weather gardener. I also have to till where the raspberries will go.

Chuck is working too many hours but I only see that getting worse with the budget crisis. I'm working 3 days a week with rumors of going to 2 days. I wouldn't mind 2 days a week thru the spring and summer. I have several projects that will keep me busy at home.

Ok time to get myself moving on the weekend chores. Wookie is also getting a bath. He HATES his baths. But he is looking really ratty and dirty. I will now attempt to post a few pictures of the weather damage. The truck was just scratched. It looked like a total hit from the kitchen window.

2008-12-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love the Florida sun. It is truly wonderful to wake up to blue sky and sun shine.

Chasing one two year old is work. Chasing two is crazy!! Alexis Ann and Ashley Robin are happy busy little girls! They eat incredible amounts of food, but only because it takes lots of fuel to keep as active as they are.

My mind keeps wandering back to how tiny they were at birth. Ok, let's be fair, they were only tiny to us, who come from the land of 8 and 9 pound new borns. By NICU standards they were down right chunky at 4#7 oz and 4# 10 oz. One of the more vivid memories I have of the NICU was watching an RN try to feed a pic line into the vein of a 1# 13 oz baby. It was one of the most gut-wrenching moments I spent there. I was holding chunky Ashley and trying not to sob when that small, precious thing mewed--too immature and weak to cry out in pain. NICU personnel are incredible people and I'm sure they have their own little place in Heaven.

Tomorrow is the big day--Birthday Party for the Girls--celebrating a couple of days early, but celebrate we will.

Playing Hookie

2008-12-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

DeDe and I took a vote and decided to skip work today (Wednesday). It really wasn't a hard decision and I think we really had made up our minds yesterday before we left work. The weather forecast is for snow and freezing rain and more snow. All today!!! Work is a 50 mile round trip. With the cold and wind to continue. So it was no contest--stay home and be lazy or gear up and fight snow and ice on our way home from work.

My creative side has been in sleep mode for a while but something about some cold and snowy east wind weather brings it out each winter. I'm working on making a quilt out of "left overs" and worn out jeans. It should be fairly quick to make but I'm kind of ADD lately. Nothing is getting "done". I need to get some cookies baked. I have all the dough made but I like "fresh" cookies and I don't know when the weather is going to cooperate and let me deliver the goods. Chuck keeps taking my car--yes the one with the studded snow tires all around--to work and leaving me with the truck. That is NOT a fair trade let me tell you.

One of the last things to do before we fly to Florida and warm weather is bake the cookies for the trip. I heard on the news I can take baked goods in my carry-on so maybe they will look edible when we get there.

This is a picture of one of the twins HELPING to bake cookies. Because we all know that taste testing is very important, and sometimes a little lick before the dough is baked is just what the chef orders.

Now which twin is this??? Most Grandma's would know, but I be danged if I can tell in pictures. And it's a little iffy in person. But I'm smart enough to dress them differently until I'm sure enough to keep them straight. All I can say is that it is certainly a good thing that Miss Alexis still has a strawberry on her back, Right Dan???? I've caught him trying to feel it thru her shirt when he isn't sure. LOL

Well time to start dinner. I did shovel the driveway and wash the throw rugs again. I'm am sure in a blaaaa lazy mode lately. I need sunshine and warm. NOW.

Freezing, Wet, Gray--yep it's Winter in Oregon

2008-12-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

The wind--she be a blowing--the rain is going sideways and we even had a few snow flakes. I am FREEZING. I have on long sleeves and a vest, wool socks and boots oh and jeans. I have the heat on 72* AND

HOLY COW I'm LMAO--Wookie was sleeping on the edge of the sofa and just fell off in his sleep. He has done this several times. FUNNNY STUFF.

And to continue my saga I have the Pellet Stove turned on high. The sad part of all this you might ask---the weatherman is calling for colder, south wind turning to east wind and Blizzard in the Cascades. Oh joy.

Guess it's time to find the hot chocolate and herb tea.

Murphy---LEAVE NOW!!

2008-12-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

So Thursday was an interesting day. Yep. Interesting.

This old house has issues with doorknobs. I try to "fix" them, but several are so old there are not parts available to accomplish the job. So they rattle, are loose, don't latch, won't unlatch or just plan fall off. Keep this in mind it's an important part of the story.

Wookie wanted to go smell dog smells, chase leaves and most importantly dig to China in his yard. Easiest way to "his yard", an enclosed area he can not escape from until he figures out how to dig tunnels not just random holes, is out our front door. So I opened the inside front door. This is a mammoth custom made door, thicker than any normal door and yes the door knob has issues. The knobs fall of on a routine basis. NO matter how often I tighten the screws. Currently there is one knob attached on the inside and none on the outside of the door. The prudent thing when using this door IS TO NOT SHUT IT from the outside. You won't be able to open it from the outside.

So I let Wookie out thru the front door and thur the front porch door. I remembered to leave the inside door open a crack so I got back in just fine.

The troubles started when it was time to get the Popsicle dog inside again. I left the inside front door open a crack, like a prudent person, then TRIED to open the porch door. No go. The stem thing that goes into the door frame (just what it is called escapes me) would not budge. CRAP!

I go back into the house and get MY philips screwdriver and the lube stuff I like-- not Chucks WD-40 crap. Out I go to fix this darn door knob. It has been moody ever since the contractors installed it. Just living up to the 100 yr old house expectations. I made a little tactical error next. I shut the inside front door tight. Cut off my own escape route. Made a little cell block just for me. As soon as I shut it I knew I had made a huge error. I was going to have to go over a fence anyway I went to get back into the house, if I could get the porch door knob fixed. You can start humming "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" now.

Let me say that I am glad I was fully dressed at this point. I Have climbed over the fence in my bathrobe and slippers before. NOW that is a Kodak moment. Especially because I haven't had a shower yet and my hair is standing on end. I have lucky neighbors for sure.

Back to the story. With my trusty philips screwdriver I start removing the screws in the door knob. Those suckers were LONG!! I got them out and took the knob off and lubed that sucker good. But I still didn't get the darn thing to retract the part that goes into the door frame. (I am going to have to Google door knobs and find out what the blue blazes that is called, it's driving me nuts!) I fiddled and farted around for quite a while before I finally got the door opened. I drowned the parts with lube, reassembled and opened and shut the door several times to make sure it was fixed as good as doorknobs get fixed in a Poetz house.

I chose to go over the short fence this time. Not as much of a challenge with jeans and tennis shoes as when trying in bathrobe and slippers so I didn't get may style points. Wookie has been thoroughly entertained by all this activity and had momentarily halted his excavations to observe the crazy lady work.

So my next fun came when I was making a HUGE batch of Cranberry Hooty Creeks cookies. These are really good cookies but expensive to make when you are quadrupling the batch. I had softened the butter, creamed the sugars in and was adding the eggs one at a time--I was using my Bosch Mixer, this is important, I got the first several eggs in without mishap. But the last darn egg---well---that sucker slipped out of my hand and the entire egg, shell and all went into the Bosch Mixer bowl as it was RUNNING.

Holy Crapola! I spent the next 20 minutes picking out egg shell. I was not about to waste all that butter and sugars and eggs and 4T of real vanilla. Besides everyone needs calcium, Right???

And to round off my delightful day I decided to see if I could bounce better off hardwood floors than I do off stairs. I don't just for the record.

I have doggie gates setup to keep Wonkeye out of important places--like my crap (craft) room and such. I was tired--besides the problems above mentioned I had cleaned carpets, dejunked the kitchen and living room, folded laundry, finished Christmas cards, hung a Quillow in the laundry room, vacuumed and mopped and taken Wookie to pee several times, and jogged for a 1/2 hour. Full day.

I was going to put laundry on our bed and stepped over the dog gate into my crap room, with no style points at all, nicked the top of the gate with my slipper clad foot, tried to catch myself and somehow tripped over the trampoline, dropped laundry basket and tried to catch myself but ended up landing hard on my right hand and right knee. I DID NOT BOUNCE. I scared the H*LL out of Wookie and had a little pity party laying right there, afraid to move. I have tripped over this darn gate often enough that Wookie clears out when he sees or here's me coming close to it.

When I told my DH what I did, bless him, he didn't laugh--he just sort of shook his head. He doesn't bounce well either. But he only falls with his bike. So today I'm sporting a great bruise on my hand and one on my knee, sore neck and lower back. Great. I'll be nice and green by Sunday.

Wonkeye and I getting edumacated

2008-12-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

There is nothing as stubborn as a "little" dog. I have had one or two "come to Jesus" meetings with my Shepard's but they are a breed that likes to please their owners. A stern look is often all it takes to correct a miss-adventure.

And then there are the little dogs. They truly don't give a rats behind if you like what they do or not. They are on this earth to be worshiped and catered to. Ummm that's really not my thing.

I was driven to yell and threaten Wonkeye many many times. "Do ya want to be drop-kicked into next week??" or "Damn it to Hell!!! Quit chewing on your leash!!" Can I tell you how non-effective that is? Pointless but therapeutic.

So I signed us up for some training. Private lessons. 2'x a week crash course. We started today.

So I only have one question ---Why didn't I do this MONTHS ago?? Mr. Wookie now walks like a civilized dog, does not chew on his leash, nor does he rip my arm out of the socket. After 1 class.

Now my only concern--and this could be a problem--the marshmallow, my other half, the never discipline a kid or dog other half---HAS TO REINFORCE THE NEW RULES. This will be interesting. Very, very interesting.

Does this look like some one who can follow the rules let alone reinforce them?? Kind of has that window licker look huh?

I am also playing hard ball about the peeing in my house. Back to basics. Crate at night. Go out 1st thing in the morning and if he doesn't pee, back into the crate and try the drill again in 10 minutes. Lets hope this is a fast fix too!! If this doesn't work--my back-up plan includes a rubber band.

You Are My Sunshine

2008-11-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

Kaylee called me the other evening. It was late for her--9:30 pm Philly time. She needed to tell me something.

Kaylee "Grandma I need you".

Grandma(trying to maintain) "Well Kaylee I need you too".

Kaylee "No Grandma!! I NEED you, you are way way far away and I need you!"

Now just WHAT am I to say to that?? I'm afraid I wasn't too comforting with my reply--I tried to explain that she needed her mom and her dad, needed to be with them and that I would see her soon. I asked her if we should sing one of "OUR" songs--you know the ones--oldies that you change the words to be about our grandkids. Kaylee didn't want to sing over the phone she wanted me there. How come it hurts to be wanted I wondered.

I miss my little Kaylee girl. I hum our songs and sign them to myself. But ya know----it just isn't the same. So if you find me humming "You Are My Sunshine" or "My Grandfather's Clock" with tears in my eyes, just remember that I'm misisng my little Kaylee.

Bribes--Grandpa Style

2008-11-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

One of the draw backs of working for a living is not being able to take off on a whim to visit the grand kids. I visit my grand kids every 3 months or so. Grandpa on the other hand has a J-O-B that curtails his traveling a little more than mine does. September is my birthday month, so I decreed it was visit the Twins in Florida time and Grandpa got to go!! He hadn't seen them since Christmas Time and they did not warm up to him. He was an entertaining stranger to them. They would cry if he tried to pick them up, if they were upset they didn't want him to comfort them.

After several days of this I informed him it was time to get out the big guns. We headed out to the local grocery store "Publix" to lay in some supplies. Up and down we wandered looking for just the right loot. Then back to the house we went.

Now look carefully---see that little bowl--the clear one with the mini marshmallows and M & M's???? The sippy cups with a full load of Chocolate Milk????

Now that is the foundation of a strong family bond--eating junk food with Grandpa!!

Ashley and Alexis followed Grandpa around like a couple of little puppy dogs begging for a treat after this little feast.

And just for a refresher course we have a very large bag of mini marshmallows all ready for the carry-on bag for our next trip in December.

The how and why's of Wookie Wonkeye

2008-11-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

I'm looking at the Wonkeye and shaking my head. He is 18#'s of weirdness. He is a HIM/IT. He is an ankle biter, groomer required, LITTLE DOG.

Maybe it's time to review my list of important qualities in a dog/my dog.

1) Big

2) Wash and Wear

3) GSD

4) Long Legs (must have for walking partner)

5) A Bark and Growl that will put the fear of God in a non-believer.

6) GSD

7) GSD

8) Well behaved

9) Female/spayed

10) GSD

(GSD=German Shepherd Dog)

After my old GSD Sara Screwloose went to her great reward I was pretty heart broken.

I said I couldn't do this again. I was out of the dog business. No more. It hurt too much, too gut wrenching when they died.

I stood by that for many months. Then Laura and Phil moved to Texas. (So it's all their fault!)

That left me with no kids closer than Texas, the grandkids in Florida and PA and me only working parttime. My house was big, empty and quiet. Too quiet.

I began searching for a small dog that could travel with me. A sturdy little dog. No yapper, no leg humping, no pony tails in the hair crap. My goal was a shelter dog, adult please, no puppy training.

If you haven't looked lately, the shelter here is full of Pit Bulls and Labs. I like both breeds but they wouldn't be very comfortable stuffed under an airline seat. I looked for 3 months. Zip, nada, zilch, zero.

My next move was to check out Craig's List. By the time I saw the listing, the dog was long gone. I didn't think I was going to find a dog. I didn't want a pure breed, I was looking for a little mutt.

Finally one day at work-- I was diligently working (yeah right!) online and just happened to jump over to Craig's List and wha-laa a litter of 7 or 8 pups--little mom, little dad--Shih Tzu-Lhasa-Apso. I scrambled for my cellphone and called. I got Voice Mail. I left my "very interested" message and hung up.

Long story short I got the last pup, who eventually got named Wookie Wonkeye.

Now could someone please answer this:

How did that 3# puppy grow into this 18 # dog???