Ironing and Baseball and Random Thoughts

My day today has been spent making up for Jim's day off from work yesterday. Isn't that the way it always is? Instead of keeping my usual schedule, I let everything go and lazily sat around with him. We did take Sweet Baby M to Applebee's for lunch which was a treat and then Jim took her to get her first checking account! Big times!

Today I have done nothing but washing and ironing. I miss the days when I dropped shirts off at the dry cleaners and never paid them any attention until I picked them up and hung them, freshly ironed, in the closet. This ironing is painful! I love ironing flat things, but shirts...ugh. I need a better iron for sure!

Tonight Big D is supposed to have his first baseball game of the season. We will see if it happens since it has been drizzly all day. I think it's going to be too wet. He won't be too sad as then he can go to youth group. He has just begun to attend and really loves it. He is reading his bible in his room (makes my heart so happy!) and is such a good boy. He needs good friends and a group to interact with.

I need to return library books on my way to pick up Big D. Hopefully baseball will be called off and we will have a quiet night at home.

Monday Morning Blahs

Oh my goodness, I have the Monday Morning Blahs. Last night was stormy and no one slept well except maybe Jim. He could sleep through anything! Shadow spent his first night ever in Big D's bed. I was glad he slept the night through and didn't have to go out in the rain. I love having the little dogs sleep on my bed (and in Tiki's case, IN my bed) so I'm so happy that Big D has a friend to snuggle up with.
Sweet Baby M needs to take her prom dress to be altered today and so that is high on our agenda! She doesn't have school and I was so looking forward to shopping and lunch but OF COURSE she has plans with friends for lunch. How did she grow up so fast? There is a 50% chance of more rain today so maybe it wouldn't have been a very nice day for shopping anyway. Better to stay in and tackle the laundry.
At least Big D's baseball game will be canceled. They weren't ready to play a game yet anyway...not enough practice.
Onward with the day. Lots to do...

Benton Garage Sale Finds

After dropping the ATV's off in El Dorado, we took a little side-trip through Benton on the way home. Benton was celebrating 100 years as a little town and having a city wide garage sale event! We only stopped at a few but I got my entire load of merchandise for $3.50!!

Four wine glasses, three cordial glasses, a really unique square pitcher, a small (one person) teapot, a milk glass vase, wonderful plate marked Germany on the back, a really cute, never used dishtowel and a fabulous heavy crystal egg-shaped candy dish. The fabu purchase of the day was the pale green enamelware teapot!

Saturday Morning

The Big Galoot (def. is an old word used, primarily in Scotland, that means a person with an ungainly, cumbersome, and clumsy personality. ...) is growing by leaps and bounds. Shadow is a nice dog but he has his moments. He still sleeps in Big D's room but is outgrowing the crate he's been sleeping in. It's actually a cage. Why am I calling it a crate? Crate sounds more gentile then cage. We keep our dog in a crate. We keep our dog in a cage. Yep...crate it is.
This reminds me of Shadow's first visit to the vet. She asked if he was on "large breed" food. Uh..no. Since both my other dogs don't even weigh enough to constitute a breed between them...I didn't know there was such a thing. Of course, because she asked me like I was a complete ax murderer if he wasn't...I answered yes. And then quickly ran to Petco to get Large Breed Puppy Food.
Right now, The Galoot's favorite activity is to drag poor Pup pup around by the tail! She doesn't exactly resist but she doesn't seem to enjoy it either! He loves that big fluffy tail. Then he will go stand by the couch and bark at Tiki. Usually though, he can be found laying under the kitchen table watching me cook.

It's definitely time for more coffee and I think I'll make a quick batch of pumpkin muffins for breakfast. My pumpkins will love that!

Bird Dog

These funny ducks decided to hang out in our front yard. They obviously don't realize that we now have a bird dog in residence. When they tried to walk around in the back yard, they got a bit of a surprise. Shadow chased the intruders back out front. Then they decided to take a siesta under a tree. Of course he doesn't look too intimidating sitting in his flower pot!

A Moment of Peace

After four hours of non-stop barking, biting, bathrooming, eating, drinking and playing...it looks like we just might have a moment of peace. I'm practically tip-toeing around so they stay sleeping and happy and it's only 8:45 a.m.!

When the Big Dog is away.........

sDSA


the little dogs can sleep all day. And anywhere they want! Are these too cute or what. I love these dogs and this new guy is going to fit in perfectly.

Good Early Morning

It's 4:30 here in Kanasas and Pup pup decided she wanted to get up and go out. Since she was up, I decided to stop in Big D's room and see if the new puppy needed to go out too. He was sleeping so nicely in his cage and Big D had made a nest out of his comforter and was sleeping right beside him. Too cute! I think he loves his new friend. Usually when Pup pup goes out she goes right back upstairs and falls back asleep BUT not this new little guy. He went out, did his business and it was play time. He is having the time of his life chasing Pup pup around the family room and making her squeal. Every so often his teeth nip a little part of her back leg. He is chewing a toy right now and she is hiding between my feet. I think her fascination with him might just be wearing off. He's such a good little guy though and when he's not exploring, he wants to lie on the big dog pillow and view the world. He is certainly coming to life!

We have a winner!!

Well..Big D has a new puppy. Name yet to be announced but is he a winner or what? He's as sweet as they come and fiesty too. The girls (Tiki and Pup pup) are a bit unsure about him. He likes them though.

New Baby

We are getting ready to go look at a litter of these. Here's hoping that one "feels right" to the Big D. We went and looked at a sweet litter of Golden Retrievers last night but they just didn't feel like the ones. None of us thought they were quite right so we felt pretty good on the drive home..even without a new puppy. Maybe these little guys will be the right ones for us. Keeping our fingers crossed!

A Rainy Day, Nesting and Random Thoughts

I love nesting. It's a rainy day here in Kansas and the house is dark and gloomy..very Edgar Allen Poe (love him!) but with the lamps lit and coffee brewing it is a cozy house that I reside in. I love this house. I love knowing that my family is the ONLY family that ever lived here. The dirt is related to me. I've already cleaned up the Big D's room (it only took two Hefty bags) and vacuumed AND cleaned the carpet. Whew! And it's only 10:00 a.m.

Wandering around my gaze settles on things I love. The first picture is a cabinet that my husband, the woodworking genius, made for me. I love using it to store all my extra glassware and barware. The little Chinese folk on the top were a gift from my Mother. The little birds are a new find. Hummel figurines that I found at an estate sale and picked up for a song. Too cute! The big cabinet represents one of my greatest loves...my Royal Doulton toby jugs. I haven't added to my collection for a while but I am always on the lookout for new pieces. Finally...I love those California Ted Lewy prints. I found the first two of Lombard Street and the Cable Cars long, long ago (at least 20 years) in Kimberling City, Mo. I wanted them so badly but didn't buy them. A year later my sweet Mother-in-law purchased them and gave them to me. I have added a few more since then and adore the colors and subject matter.

My goal for this week...try to figure out how my Gran made her Chow Mein. It was so good. I know it was pork, browned, onions, bean sprouts, celery and then perhaps a slurry of cornstarch, chicken broth and soy but it had to be more than that. I guess I will defrost some pork and try to figure it out.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I was cleaning the bookshelves today and came across this book that I've had for some time. It's titled "Songs of a Housewife" and is the poetry of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Marjorie wrote "The Yearling" and "Cross Creek" along with many, many other books.
The poems are so sweet and well worth the read. Here's one:
Duty Books
I don't like books I "ought to read,"
Too dull and ponderous, stupid stuff
I give scant interest and scant heed -
Less weighty tomes have charm enough.

I do not care to read by rule,
To follow where the critics swarm.
I like, regardless of their "school"
The books that keep my spirit warm.

I like to browse in libraries,
And choose at random from a shelf;
To read and study as I please.
My duty is to suit myself.
MKR

Don't you just love that! I think you can still get the book on Amazon. Pick one up and enjoy!