Thoughts from Babs and Sepia

Another imagined conversation going on at our house these days:

Babs: What is that little twirp doing now? Tearing up another wrapping paper roll?

Sepia: Yep, how many is that now?

Babs: Today she didn't steal my treat from McDonald's. But she sure tried to shove you out of your rightful place on the console.

Sepia: Who does she think she is? I finally had to get into the Dog Lady's lap to get away from her.

Babs: And have you noticed how, when she goes up the stairs, she stops about two steps from the top, lays down and stares at us . . . just like Snoopy does when he pretends to be a vulture?

Sepia: Patty Sue does that, too. I think they are just jealous that they aren't regal like us, so they try to intimidate us. Just ignore both of them . . . the Dog Lady will take care of us.

Babs: I loved our walk today. The Dog Lady kept her out front away from us . . . and did you see how well she did? She actually was heeling like we were, kind of.

Sepia: She didn't like it when I went to sniff her Kong, did she? I am going to have to be more careful. But she reminded me of how fun it is to bite at the sprinklers. I almost participated with her today . . . but then I remembered that I am 91 years old and probably shouldn't do that anymore! I might hurt myself.

Babs: Did you notice that she jumped on the bed today?

Sepia: The Dog Lady told her that she couldn't get into any bad habits while she was at our house, so she had to get off the bed. Good luck, Dog Lady.

Babs: You know, she really is rather cute. Do you think this is what having Grandchildren is like?

Sepia: Maybe. Or maybe it's like Grandma Moo used to say - "They make me happy twice - I am glad to see them come and I am glad to see them go."

I Wish I Were Clever

Today, Lynn Ramsey put on her Facebook page a quote from somewhere that said, "I can still fit into the earrings that I wore in high school." Ha, Ha! I laughed out loud. Who thinks of these things?

Some people are just naturally clever. They say things that make people laugh, though if I would say the same thing, people would look at me as if I were from outer space. Don is sort of like that. For example, his analogy the other really hot day where he likened it to sitting in a convection oven. I thought that was funny . . . I wish I had thought of it.

I guess the world is made up of people who think about things in a logical way (me), or who think about things through a "funny" filter. Sometimes I wish I had that "funny" filter . . . but since I don't, I just have to hang around with people who do:)

Musings from Bella, Part III

Well, I slept almost through the night . . . and when I went back to my kennel I settled right down. I think I am getting used to the routine. But when the alarm went off, I was ready to go!!! They said they won't set the alarm on Saturday morning so that maybe they can sleep later!

Today I got to meet Patty Sue. She wasn't very sure about me, and on our walk, I just couldn't stand the thought of heeling, because Patty Sue was ahead of me. When we got home, though, we played and played hard. I hope Patty Sue comes back . . . she is lots of fun! When I took my second walk, I had lots of birds to look at . . . The lady said I didn't do as well today, whatever that means.

The backyard is exciting! There are lots of rabbits, and I love going into the asparagus to find them. I can see them from the deck - and they can't see me - so I have surprised a few! Haven't caught any, however.

The other two dogs are getting used to me, I think. They don't realize they are getting more peanut butter than normal because I get some in my Kong . . . but they are tolerating me better. The lady put a treat in the Kong that I have been trying to get for about 12 hours now. The peanut butter comes out easily, but this treat is really hard . . . I am still working at it.

I got to go back to see Fr. Steve and Mtr. Laurie. I have learned to stay in the back seat, and I even lay down back there once. I like to ride in the car, and sometimes I get a dog treat! Today when we went to the yellow arch place, I ate mine so fast, I got to get some of the black one's treat. On the way home, the black dog and the red dog both got in the front seat and sat there together (with that big purple suitcase the lady carries), so I got the whole back seat to myself! That's living!

In the basement, they have a big blue ball. They used it this morning while Patty Sue's mom was here . . . they sat on it and lifted some heavy bars of metal. I just chase it around the basement. I keep trying to bite it, and I bark at it, but it just rolls away. Then it hits something and bounces up, which scares me. So I sit down, cock my head, and look at it. Then it stops until I push it again. It's lots of fun.

The lady has found she didn't "Bella proof" as well as she thought. I have found all sorts of things under the desk that she didn't know were there. I bring them to her, and she keeps saying, "Bella, where did you find that? Good girl." I know she likes me :)

The lady keeps saying she is Bella Sitting. I am not sure what she means because she doesn't sit a lot . . . but anything with my name in it must be a good thing.

Musings from Bella Part II

I got to take another ride in the car. She said I was a very good dog because I stayed in the back seat the whole time! We went to Fr. Steve's office. I worked on my Kong, though I couldn't get all of the treats out. But I got tired of that and just lay down and went to sleep. Fr. Steve thought I was very special!

When we got home, we went to get the mail. She was happy that her football tickets came. I went into my backyard . . . it was nice to get some familiar smells. I did a good job of staying with her, and she gave me a treat.

Since then I have spent a lot of time chewing on cardboard, going in and out, and barking at the air conditioner man. She keeps saying, "Thank goodness this didn't happen when it was 108 degrees outside." I don't know what she means, but it is cool inside again.

The only thing that would make this better would be if the black dog would quit snarling at me. I want to play with her, and all she can do is growl. The lady keeps saying, "Patty Sue will play with you tomorrow." I can't wait to meet Patty Sue!

Musings from Bella

Well, it has been 12 hours since Bella came to stay with the Nortons. Although I don't understand the language DOG, I can imagine that her thoughts have gone something like this:

What is going on here? I haven't ever been at this house. There are new smells in this backyard - wow! I think we need a secret gate between the yards so I can come chase rabbits here sometime!

Boy, this is fun riding in the car. They left the others at home and let only me come with them. I love sitting in the lady's lap and looking out the window.

She had a little trouble figuring out the leash. She told Jarred that Susan had showed her how to do it, but she was doing something wrong. She still kept telling me to do something called heel. I tried to look cute, and she told me I was a good dog.

That black dog doesn't like me very much. She keeps barking at me and hiding near their chairs. Then she growls at me. She has a very cute name, but I don't think she is cute at all. The red one barks at me and acts like he wants to play . . . but I think he's too fat.

I had a nightmare at 4:00 a.m. I whined, so she took me outside. Then she put me back in the kennel. After I realized she wasn't going to let me out, I settled down. But man, when I heard that radio come on at 5:50, I was ready to go.

They took us all for a walk at 6:00. She figured out the leash this time - it worked really well. When the leash is loose, she tells me I am a good dog. By the end of the first lap, she said I was doing better! Then they took us to a place with a big yellow arch. They said something about dog bones, and then they gave me a treat. The red dog sat in the lady's lap, so I couldn't. Then she took me on another walk, and the leash was loose a lot. She kept telling me I was a good girl. She also said something like "She's like a child with ADD." I think she was referring to the number of times I tried to chase rabbits and birds.

Now she is on the computer and I am ripping up a cardboard tube. Oops, I just opened a door and escaped . . . whoopee, this is fun!

When Dreams Come True

Golf is an amazing sport. Our family was introduced to it when we were all very young, since my dad played a lot. He was actually the State Golf Champion one year. Both my sister, Katie, and I were Junior Club Champions, though my championship was rather bogus. It was earned honestly, but there weren't any really good golfers playing when I won, as contrasted to several excellent players when Katie won. Nevertheless, we both can sign our names Champion!

When Katie retired, she really began to work on her golf game (whereas, I haven't touched a club since I retired.) Last year (or maybe the year before) she won her Club Championship, so she can claim the title as double champion.

Despite all of the golf my dad played, Katie played, Bart played, I played, our kids played . . . none of us has ever hit a hole-in-one . . . until now. Today, that changed. Katie got a hole-in-one. It was during her club championship tournament - which tends to help one's score - and although she says it wasn't a great shot, it must have been since it went in. So now we can say that someone in our family has had a hole-in-one. Congratulations, Katie, for finally accomplishing the dream that we have all had!!!

Living in a Convection Oven

One thing about an oven. It is hot. Just like Kansas yesterday and today. Hot. Very hot.

Add in a fan to move air around, and you have a convection oven. Just like yesterday here. Hot and windy. Very hot and very windy.

As Don and I were sitting in the bleachers at Eck Stadium watching our nephew play baseball, Don said it felt like we were in a convection oven. I can't think of a better way to describe it. The only thing hotter was being on the field at Eck Stadium . . . we bet the temperature there was over 120!

Although yesterday was officially 107 (but I had 111 on my car), it may ONLY get to 100 today, though one station is saying 108 again. Whatever.

Life in a convection oven. I would rather be at the Cabin!