The exercise of gratitude may be "over", but...

 Thankfulness is an everyday job.  I just don't post it publicly most of the year!

Ember:  What does this "in, or out?" thing mean, Mom?

While playing with Carl on Thanksgiving Day, Ember got a small cut under her eye.  It was truly small.  We in the family are a little bit paranoid after Carl's similar injury (but on his snout) got infected and needed stitches, a year and a half ago.  

Ember's little scrape, though, is healing nicely, and even showing hair growth.  I didn't notice it this morning and forgot to look until a message from my daughter in law reminded me to do so.

Today I posted one more thankful on FB... today I am thankful for tea.  I'd posted gratitude for coffee early in the challenge, but today I'm feeling a little stuffed up, so tea is the beverage of choice.  It is soothing, and I drink my tea "black", no lemon, or sugar, or milk.  Earl Grey, Hot.  Like Jean-Luc Picard.  

I'm trying to keep a low profile today with the hopes of being well and able to go to Zoo Lights with the family on Sunday evening.  Meanwhile, the weather has swung to the "colder than average" range, and Ember still wants to lay in the threshold of the sliding door, not caring whether it's 21℉ or something more balmy.  One good thing:  I am noticing myself become acclimated to the seasonal temperatures.  This is good because 21F, or 17F are only the beginning.  The negative temps will be coming... tomorrow starts December, and we have three weeks of Autumn remaining before the solstice.  Somebody in the TV weather community started announcing that December 1 marks the beginning of "meteorological Winter", and in fact have moved up the seasons by those three weeks all year long!

Here's hoping that everyone has a blessed and peaceful weekend as we lead into the season of holidays... which holidays depending on your own faith.  

Life is good!  Spark on!

We had a fine family gather, thanks!

 

Ember stayed in her crate while I cleared everything out to bake the pies.  For some reason the ladies in the house seem impressed that I make the pie crust from scratch.  I quipped that the phrase "Easy as pie" became a cliché for a reason.

Seriously, it's just what the cookbook calls "plain pastry", and there are only three ingredients other than water:  flour, salt, and shortening.

I've been making it since childhood, so of course it seems simple to me, but I suppose if I was 40 and deciding whether to try doing this (relatively boring) thing for the first time, those pre-made crusts in the grocery store would look pretty attractive.

I am willing to bet that others who have traditions surrounding making certain foods will recognize the comfort and good feelings surrounding doing something we watched our mothers and grandmothers do, and learned to do in their kitchens.

Meanwhile, across town, my DIL was enjoying her own "foodie" tradition, roasting the turkey with butter/herbs under the skin... delicious as always.

Her mother brought the mashed potatoes and gravy.  DIL also tried a new recipe for cranberry sauce that included the berries, and it was wonderful!  Tasted like cherry pie filling, only cranberry flavored... the texture was mindful of a cherry pie.

All three of us ladies met the 6-year-old's approval with our offerings.  He ate a whole turkey drumstick on his own.  When asked to go around the table for what we're thankful for, his other grandma wanted to go first because she wanted to start us off with being grateful that our foster grandson could celebrate with us!  FGS went next, and he was thankful that his other grandma brought the mashed potatoes.  Typical little boy, whatever food he's currently tasting is the best ever!  We all grinned.

So it went, we have so many blessings, the greatest of which is being together!  If I remember rightly, the roots of Thanksgiving were gratitude for surviving a Winter in a new land. 

After the meal, the dogs helped with the cleanup. They brought their energy and chaos into the house while we put on Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol on the TV.  I brought Ember home after dark (remember dark starts at 5 p.m. these days). We can add to my thankfulness that she did not get carsick either going or coming, and that she was well enough belted in so as not to reach the pies in transit!  LOL!

DIL is discovering the joys of parenthood and how something has to make room for the extra things one does with a child in the house.  She decided she did not need to save the turkey carcass to make soup stock for the coming Winter.  Guess what?  It's one of those "nice if you have the time and energy" things... she did so much with the cranberries from scratch, and the turkey roasting... that's enough for one holiday.

Ember is quietly napping in her crate this cold Friday morning, while I'm updating the blog.  I expect she won't complain much about me deferring her leash walk until later in the day when it gets above the freezing mark.  It was 17F when I got up.

Hope everyone who celebrates had a fine Holiday... and that we are all a little more appreciative of all the good in our lives because of it!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Day 45 and Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  Happy Thursday to those not celebrating because they already did at the start of this exercise!  

Yesterday, day 45, I told Facebook that I was thankful for books and movies, so that we don't always have to "live in the present".

Today, Thanksgiving Day, I gave a joke gratitude... I am thankful that I think I remember where I left my eyeglasses last night.  I was right.

You see, yesterday afternoon/evening was spent with "the pandemic five" plus the foster child.  We met at the pizza place across the street from the arena where the basketball game was to be played.  

It was a great time, the home team won (although the star player got injured in the first minute of the game and did not play beyond that... got poked in the eye).  But the little fella (foster kid) had a fine time, there were mom/son memories of his days playing roundball, shared with my co-grandma, and it was dark out when we headed home.  And it was a joy to watch the one young man show off his dunking skills, too.  Crowd was very appreciative.

Naturally, this kind of outing disrupted the order as well as the time of Ember's "last call". Between retrieving laundry from the basement and a couple of delivered packages from the porch, and ... and ... well, those of you of my generation will recognize that when we disrupt routine, odd things get left out.  In this case, the glasses were taken off to put in the eye drops, and left where I had set them, atop the microwave, safe from Ember's reach.  Clearly I got by without them to get the rest of the way to bed.

Oh, you're wondering about the battered measuring cup?  That's a story on its own merit, related to Ember and her terrible horrible very bad morning on Wednesday.  We started out having to be dragged away from an excavation project in a neighbor's yard, mommy's hands near frozen despite wearing gloves, and the final bit was mommy tying her shoe, and Ember decided this was an invitation to play tug.  Mommy was not prepared for this regression step, and stepped into the X-Pen, and grabbed the collar to pull Ember toward her to release the tension (to make it not so much a game)... but Ember responded by changing her hold to mom's arm!  Yikes.  She bit hard enough that when mommy overreacted, skin scraped off... blood spots on the sweatshirt, bandages applied to the arm.

The measuring cup was also a casualty in that whole episode... before?  After?  During?  Who knows, but she stole it off the counter and chewed it up.  Sigh.  We had not had a biting episode in a couple of months.  Stealing things off the counter?  Yeah, we're still working on that, and some weeks are better than others.  

Thanksgiving morning has been similarly challenging to the pup.  Ember lost her leash-walk privileges by displaying teeth when I started to put gloves on... not as in growl teeth, as in "taste it" teeth.   I don't want her doing this, so, I put the gloves away, tried again, repeat, three or four times before I had the oldest pair on my hands, and she let them be.  

We got as far as harness and leash on, gate down, when yikes!  I had left the hall closet door open after putting away my coat after the basketball game Wednesday evening.  Straight for the snow boots... Ember got one out with which to play tug or keep away... and mom got frustrated, and when I eventually got the boot back and put away... decided no walkies.  At least not yet.  

I went out on "poo patrol" and collected three bags of the stuff, from last night and this morning.  Three bags won't quite fit in the Schitty kit's rubber bag, so I had one of them dangling, and guess who wanted it.  I let her sniff and carry it for a while.  Eventually I got the poop into the pail in the garage reserved for this kind of waste, but I'd already decided she was too full of herself to trust myself and her on a leash out in the neighborhood.

I prepared and ate my own breakfast, putting Ember to bed for puppy nap #1 in the usual routine as I sat down with the oatmeal.  Then I came up to write this blog before I start with the pumpkin pie preparation... there's a six-year-old across town waiting to judge my efforts later in the day!  And hopefully, before then, I will find time to get Ember more properly exercised!

Life is Good.  Keep Sparking!  

Day 44 - Today I am thankful...

 Late posting as a blog, but this morning I told FB that I'm grateful for the patience and grace my Maker has bestowed upon me.  I view it as God modeling proper behavior for His children, including me... how we should treat one another with patience and grace!

In today's puppy news we have Ember crunching the ice found in her outdoor water bowl.

We did not have a neighborhood walk today because Mommy was too cold to venture beyond our own yard.  I had a workout with the trainer to begin at 9 a.m., and so did things in a different order.  Also we were having issues with wanting to nip at Mommy's gloves.

Still we made it through the day, with some toy tossing and retrieving in the back yard for exercise.

Tomorrow evening I'll be leaving her in her crate while I go to a college basketball game with "the pandemic 5" plus foster grandkid.  Then Thursday is Thanksgiving Day when I shall bake a pumpkin pie for the family feast at son's home... and Ember will come along for that outing.  

We've come a long way since Easter, my little fur-love and I.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Day 43 - Today I am thankful

Today I am thankful for music.  For the calming music on Dog TV that I stream for the puppy.  For the classical music that my mom used to play, and the Broadway tunes, and the top 40's of my youth.  For the music of my son's generation, which are now starting to be considered oldies.

I am thankful for this non-verbal form of communication across the generations.  Listening to the music of another generation or understanding the history of the era in which it was initially produced can bring insight into why grandma kept playing the Big Band records (or why I fall back on Beatles and Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, or The Eagles).

Music can make us relive our lives in memory!

Ember is thankful mom's starting to reintroduce the couch as a place to nap!  At least until she starts fussing with the slip covers and couch protectors, then she has to go back into her doggy containment areas.

Life is Good.  Keep Sparking!

Day 42 - Today I am thankful...

I told Facebook this morning that I am grateful for grief, and how it teaches us the far reaches of love.  I have been thinking about one friend I'd been praying for, the one who lost his fellow hunter in the UTV accident.  I was thinking about the hunting dog that my friend found and brought home with him.  The piece I left out of the account is that early this month, that same friend had to let his own hunting dog cross the rainbow bridge.

When I wrote my gratitude, it was with these people in mind.  Yesterday afternoon, my friend posted to Facebook about the hunting dog he helped to recover.  When they got to his friend's truck, she jumped in, then searched the travel trailer, looking for her owner, who is no longer with us.

Dogs are sensitive souls.  I hugged Ember extra after reading that.

This is Jazz, the dog my friend recovered, having breakfast with my friend.  He mentioned that Jazz has been very good for him.  With this photo he also posted that he would take her hunting, but he doesn't know her commands.  Into the void, he asked her departed owner if he had written her commands down anywhere?  I do hope he gets an answer, from someone else in the man's life.

As many of you know (some may not), the commands or cues that we give our dogs in training are often specialized to the dog and their human.  Especially a sporting dog.  So, for example, I don't use the word "heel" with Ember, but I do use the cue "hip" to put her nose in her reward zone, by my hip.  If you have a trained hunting or herding dog, you need to know what human words they are trained to.

I'm wishing Jazz a long and happy life as she returns today to her owner's widow today.  I do hope that woman can take great comfort in the link Jazz will provide to her loved husband, now that he's gone on before.  In the interim, I'm sure her presence with my friend for a few days has helped him with the loss of his own dog.

Life is good.  But always too short, be it human, canine, feline, or avian.  Cherish every moment.  Tears are cleansing.  Grief is just another extension of love.  Spark on!

Day 41 - Today I am thankful...

Today I am thankful for vacuum cleaners.  LOL.  Dog.  Fur.  Crumbs.  Dust in general.  'Nuff said.

I've been noticing how far Orion (the constellation) has progressed in the sky when I get up to take Ember out for her first morning pee.  A couple of months ago I blogged about Orion rising in those wee morning hours, now he's setting about sunrise.

I vacuumed out the X-Pen while Ember was napping.

The report on the cookies that went to son's family... foster kiddo likes them.  We now have a request to repeat the "mistake" cookies for Christmas.  LOL.

I had an eye doctor visit on Friday.  There is a new prescription, post-cataract surgery #2.  He says eye health is good, healed as it should.  But I've been having double vision on the operated-on side, so the new glasses should help a LOT!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Day 40 - Today I am thankful...

 

Hard to see here, but there are slivers of ice on the deck, broken off from the layer that built up in the outside water dish overnight.

Friday morning, I told Facebook that I'm thankful for full bellies and warm hearts.  Seemed appropriate after a very filling family dinner at the Asian Buffet.  Also thankful for the comfort and healing that prayer can bring to many of us.

I had received prayer requests from a couple of different directions amid my circle of acquaintance... one related to a young person who left a suicide note then went off grid, and prayers were for hope for that young person... another related to the tragic loss of a friend in an off-road accident involving a deer in a tree line...

In any case, I responded as one does, with prayers for the situations.  In the one case, a follow up status showed there was some hope for the young person... still praying for that one.  In the other, the good news was the recovery of a hunting dog that had been with the people in the off-road accident.  Still praying for one of the human members of that party, too, as they are fighting for life in a hospital.

When things are going well in my own life, I find it good to remember that all our lives have that roller coaster quality and while I might be at a high point, someone else may be hurtling down a steep slope, or in the low parts.  Compassion and a helping human hand are certainly also in order, but prayer does help comfort, and I have to believe that God knows better than I the specific needs.

Oh, and for those who prefer humor in gratitude:  I'm grateful for the cold temperatures this morning because frozen poop is so much easier to pick up and dispose of!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Day 39 - Today I am Thankful...

Today I am thankful for warm clothing, a working furnace, and baking season!  It's below freezing out there in the pre-dawn morning on Thursday, and my trainer texted me that the heat is still not working at the gym (they are waiting on a part).  Fortunately, it hasn't been as cold as it CAN be this time of year, so it was 50℉ when he got there at 8:15 a.m.  No problem, just wear long sleeves for my workout.

Somebody who lives at my house seems to think it should not matter how cold it is outside; she wants to occupy the threshold.  It was 36F when I snapped that particular photo, and even colder when we had our most recent mom-puppy "discussion" about gloves.

Still, we managed a fairly quick around the block morning walk, but then Mommy balked at anything beyond back yard play for the rest of the day.

Puppy is now put down for pre-bedtime chill time in her crate so her hu-mom can go have family dinner with the other humans at a restaurant.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Day 38 - Today I am Thankful...

Today I am thankful for my personalized tour of the universe, which about 20 minutes ago started a fresh new revolution of the sun.

I have a "new" kitchen (only the appliances, mind you, I didn't change and cupboards, counters or walls).  The call from the delivery guys came on the dot of 8.  They were ten minutes out.  I explained the electrician wasn't scheduled until 8:15, and they accommodated by checking with their second delivery and did that first.

The electrician finished up just about the time the delivery truck rolled up.

The "college hunks" left still within their time window.

Shiny!

I celebrated by playing with my new kitchen.  I baked "comedy of errors" cookies.  This is cookies where I thought I had certain ingredients on hand, but as it turns out, what I had was something a bit different.  I made the cookies with the "wrong" ingredient chips.  I gave a cannister of them to kid sis Alicia when she came over for her after-work visit.

The rest I intend to palm off on my son's family and in-laws!  Presenting oatmeal Scotchies, made with mixed peanut butter and milk chocolate chips!

Life is good!  Spark on!

Day 36 and 37 - Today I am thankful...

Today I am thankful for handyman services.  When I was a kid, we used to troop, along with our cousins, to Grandma's house, twice a year, to put up and take down her storm windows and screens.  Grandma was a widow, so her son and son in law did this kind of thing for her.  Or her neighbors.  Like Grandma, I'm an older lady living alone, and I'm not particularly handy.  So when I need something done, I have to find someone who can do it.

Nowadays, that means the so-called "gig" economy comes into play.  There's not a lot of do-it-yourself.  I'm grateful for having found people at various times to remove a shed, replace a door, etc.  Today it will be making space for the new stove.  

It's raining.  One victory was that I convinced Ember to come outside to do her business, despite the rain.  We did not go on a morning walk, and I cooked and ate my oatmeal before 7 a.m.  The carpenter is not due until 9, so I spent the 7-8 a.m. hour clearing off counters, and clearing out drawers and cabinet shelves of the cabinet that I anticipate will be moved.

I got up on top of the 'fridge to clear off and found about five years' worth of crud underneath all the clutter of things I elevated to keep them away from the dog.

All this done, I sat down to breathe and found that the carpenter did not show up at the dot of nine as I had on my calendar, so I'm kind of guessing this is a "window" of time in which he begins to appear.

Still, within half an hour the doorbell rang, and it was not in fact, the carpenter, it was the guy from the lawn service, come to shut down the sprinkler system for the season.  He walked me through the process, which has multiple steps, and I'm thinking I will probably give them a call again in the Spring and let them do it for me.

The carpenter arrived about 10:45 a.m.  He's going to need help lifting the old stove out.  Once they got the old one out, they discovered that it's hard wired into the wall.  So now we need to have that changed to allow for a 4-prong outlet.  They are trying to get that scheduled yet for today.

Old stove out, waiting to be hauled off when they deliver the new one.

The trick will be keeping Ember from tearing into this pile between now and when it gets hauled away!

Empty space awaiting the new stove.  Note the power box there.  The electrician is due to come within the next hour or so to swap that out for a four-prong plug.

Welp, the electrician guy came, and started working on it, in fact did about an hour and a half, but he had brought the wrong receptacle... so he has to come back in the morning!  

I still don't have a time window for the delivery of the stove and 'fridge.

It's still raining, the backyard is flooding, making a stream.  Ember drinks from the stream and at least does her peeing outside.  Now she's back down for puppy nap #2.

Electrician Mike will come back at 8 - 8:30 tomorrow morning to finish the job on the outlet for the new stove.

Things got worse about 4:30 p.m. when the appliance store gave me a robocall saying my delivery window is between 8 and 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.  The electrician's appointment text says he's not here until 8:15.  Considering that the carpenter was supposed to be here at 9 and didn't get here until 10:45 a.m., I freaked out and called the store.  They told me they could deliver "drop off" but not install, and have the electrician install it?  Yikes, that's no solution!

To reschedule, they were four days out... which hits the same day as my eye appointment!  So that shoves it all the way to Monday.  So, I am rolling the dice and hoping that the ballet works out.  If I ask they to install the 'fridge first, then allow me to transfer the food from the old fridge to the new, then haul off the old appliances, and lastly put in the stove?  Could it work out?  Depends entirely on when who shows up.

So I'm all stressed out.  

Consequently, for Day 37 (Tuesday), my gratitude is for the philosophy, espoused by many, that "things could be worse".  It's kind of hard to argue with that one.  This whole logistical shuffle is such a minor thing in the bucket of life problems, don't you think?

Ember was a good girl all day as people came and went and did things with machines and things got moved around.  I only have to protect those wires from her for a few hours more.

Life is Good.  Seriously!  Spark on!

Day 35 - Today I am thankful...

 

Today I am thankful for the younger generation and their willingness to include us "seniors" in their lives.  As is traditional in my birthday week, we went to the "big" dog park with Carl, and this year, Ember got to come along.

Which leads to gratitude for the times when the puppy is fully exercised, and angelic in sleep!

I wish I could share photos of the outing at the dog park, and I am clipping some so that the foster grandchild doesn't show up.  I don't want to leave him out as he's a great kid and I'm proud to be associated, mind you, but it's one of those security rules for the safety of children.

Long grass, after the first frost, bespeaks of "hunting season" and the big dogs were ready for running room.  Daughter in law told me to smile... an easy thing to do when you're out in a beautiful setting on a nice day!  I clipped it, but you can see a pair of green pant-knees, up in that tree.  Somebody is a climber.

Life is good!  Spark on!

Day 34 - Today I am thankful...

 I just told the Facebook crowd that I'm thankful for videos that make me laugh and give me hope.  I had just indulged in a few minutes of watching someone's Golden Retriever who "loves pumpkins".  It was well produced and edited, and I'm sure for the life of me that I could not find it again to link here.  Bottom line, after a certain length of time, I grew restless with it. I have "stuff to do", as we all do, but I realized I was thankful that such diversions exist.  I am thankful that people spend the effort in making them available.

Ember looks "leggy" in this photo.  Growing critters look gangly at times, chubby at times, and angelic when they sleep!

Her busy morning before this nap was in yesterday's blog.

Step one:  dishwasher installed.  No serious damage from the former machine leaking.

Step two:  Coming Monday... carpenter to deal with making room for the new stove.

Step three:  new stove and fridge arrive, on Tuesday.

In the meantime, today, Saturday, we have a play date to meet Carl and his humans at the dog park.  It is supposed to be a nice day again, and this is practically tradition for my birthday week some time!  This photo is from a year ago.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Day 33 - Today I am thankful...

 

I told Facebook this morning that I'm thankful for my siblings.  Seriously, who else shares the same but different childhood memories?

Since getting up this morning, I'm thankful for Ember "hurrying up" the last three blocks of our morning walk to get home before the dishwasher installer decided we weren't going to show!  We could see the truck in our driveway, and I hadn't been able to answer the phone while holding her leash on the far side of our walk.

I was impressed.  I was thankful that she let the installer hold the leash while I unlocked and opened the door.  I was thankful that she kenneled up for me so he could get to work.  Sometimes you have to be grateful just that you get things figured out and done!

I'm thankful for the support of the folks who read and comment on my blog!  I mean, when I'm feeling discouraged, they lift me up with the hope that it will all come out OK in the end.  Ember will grow into a mature and civil canine member of society and will not be jumping all over or nipping at people, but will settle down, as she did this morning for the installer.

I asked him if he had dogs, he had interacted with her so well.  He said that no, he does not have a dog of his own, but his job requires him to deal with them on the regular.  If he couldn't do this, it would be the wrong job for him, because about half of the homes he goes into, or even more than half, have pets.  I mentioned allergies, and he said sometimes when the pet hair is voluminous, he feels stuffed up.  That reminds me, I'm thankful for the meds that allow those with allergies to function in life!

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Day 32 - Today I am thankful...

 

I was having a hard time coming up with gratitude this morning and fell back onto the Anne of Green Gables classic of "a new day with no mistakes in it"...

Then I thought of the Wordle game which took me six tried today and ended up being a word I had forgotten was a word.  Not being a big anatomy buff.

Then when I started to write this blog, and looked for a photo to attach, last night's fiery sunset popped up.  There's always something to be thankful for, even if we are having a hard time.

Looking back at why I was having a hard time, it was related to Ember's regression, or change in phase to adolescence, or something.  Regardless, she was a pill during the rainy day yesterday and has been testing her limits.  And when her Aunt Alicia came over after her work day was over, Alicia tried to interact with Ember and was being ever so good to her, calming the little one, rubbing her belly, etc.  Then when she stopped, Ember jumped her from behind.  Alicia, quite sensibly, decided she had had enough, and left through the house while I contained Ember.

Naturally, I felt like an utter failure as a dog-mom!  My puppy isn't being civil to my human friends and family.  At least she wasn't yesterday!  Sigh.

Thursday is another day.  We woke to frost.  The welcome mat on the deck was frozen to the deck surface.  This gave Ember a "challenge accepted!" moment or sixteen.  She was determined to detach it.  Took her three trips outside before she managed to do so, but she did.

Our morning walk was marred by some evidence of fears resurfacing.  Another big dog accompanied by a similarly small woman... we were trying to negotiate how to keep the dogs separate and safe.  But Ember had been pulling me in both directions (and I'd been letting her direct our route, as I often do).  Finally had to force the issue.  The other lady took her dog off sidewalk into the drainage area.  I convinced Ember to cross the street to a place where there was no sidewalk (the continuation of the drainage area).  And we survived to get home in one piece although my fingers were pretty frozen up by then.

I had my workout with the trainer.  Only one this week.  Turns out the heat wasn't working at the studio, so it was 50℉ inside!  Not bad for working out, honestly.  It got up to 60 by the time I finished my workout.

I came home and got Ember up from her nap.  Took her on a long sniffapalooza in the park, and she got some pets from a neighbor man who'd petted her in the past.  Makes her day when another human not her mom pays attention to her.  But then right afterward there was another little dog being walked nearby and she got one of those fear/reaction zoomie things going.  Calmed enough to get home, let her loose in the backyard, and she zoomed some more.  Big dog.  Little human.  The challenge of the year!

Life is Good.  There is still hope.  It's what keeps a body going!  Keep sparking!

Day 31 - Today I am thankful...

 

Today I told Facebook that I am thankful that the recent precipitation (including overnight Tuesday to Wednesday) came as rain.  If this is the result of global warming, that's the "good" part... where Winter is not quite as long.  I know it's a lot more complex than that, but for now, I'm grateful not to be shoveling the white stuff just yet.

Aftereffects from yesterday seem minor, yes, when I remember that I took a small tumble at the paws of the pup, I can take inventory and draw conclusions, but I'm not sidelined by that issue.

The challenge of rain is that Ember doesn't like it and doesn't like going out in it to do her business.  Being both stubborn and sometimes practical, I invested in a package of "pee pads".  Today might be a good day to attempt to introduce them.  Wish me luck, friends.

In her X-Pen with her collection of toys and treats, following our cooperative attempt to take out a fly.  I think I need a few more fly swatters.

Today's adventure will be taking Dexter (the car) in for his semi-annual oil change, etc.  I don't put enough miles on him to make this necessary, but it gives me a chance to have them "fix" the air pressure sensor.  Honda Fit models of his era have a very sensitive indicator, and it comes on when the temperatures first start to drop.  If I don't have them adjust it twice a year, it is completely unreliable for its intended purpose.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Day 30 - Today I am Thankful...

Today I told FB I'm thankful for service people who put up with the little old lady version of me.  This is because of the ability to laugh at myself on these phone calls to handyman / carpentry folks about making space for the new stove.  They ask questions to which I don't have the ghost of a clue how to answer!

Ember is about 9 1/2 months old.  She may weigh in at 75 pounds but look at those paws!  She hasn't grown into them yet.  Look at the stuffed toy and the towel and how she snuggles.  Change the thought of size, and she still looks like a puppy!  She also acts like one.

In any case, Ember put herself to bed about 8 a.m. and I'm hoping that she lasts through the visit from Jake the handyman!  I really do love that she views the wire crate as her safe and valuable space to go when she's sleepy and she knows "it's time".

In the dark of the morning, when it was 37℉, Ember and I had "discussions" again about Mommy's hat.  This time I was bending over to pick up one of the glow in the dark balls we'd been getting her exercise with, and she jumped me from behind.

Yikes.  I actually went down, this time, phone falling out of the pocket.  I reached for the phone, Ember reached for my stocking cap, and off she went joyfully playing "keep away".  I picked myself the rest of the way up and let her run off with it, declaring that Mommy was done playing.

She took the hat into her X-Pen, and I shut the gate and left her there while I put myself back together again, physically and emotionally.  I got the dog laundry out of the dryer and folded it in her sight while I narrated the rules to her.  I doubt she understands the words, but if not for her, for me, I had to repeat the "no hat, no walk" lesson.  I did not allow the walk to start until Ember gave me back my hat.  I put the hat on, then I did a few "test" scenarios, bending down to attach the leash, etc., to cement the idea that the hat is a part of mommy.  She did not take it again.  This time.  I am grateful.

Two steps forward... 

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Days 28 and 29... today I am thankful.

For anyone who was wondering, yesterday's post about hunting dogs was a bonus blog.  It was not part of the gratitude sequence. 

Yesterday's gratitude was for this Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving tradition of posting gratitude, and how it keeps me grounded in the positive.

Today's gratitude is the classic Veterans Day... For those few who raise their hands to serve.

Status on the appliance replacement:  panicked over the whole "carpentry project" aspect of this, but I accept it just has to be done.  I Googled local carpenter services, picked one, and have a guy coming out Tuesday morning to look at the project (remove old stove and make space for the new), and give me a time and cost estimate.  Here I go again!

I already called the appliance dealer and put the stove and fridge delivery "on hold" until I get the carpentry scheduled.  Projects, projects.  And I canceled the personal trainer session for Tuesday because of the timing.

Oven mitt in the trash after "somebody" swiped it off the counter and eviscerated it.

Replacement oven mitt.  She's probably going to think this one is a toy, too, so I have to be in "protect" mode for it.

Meanwhile, it was chilly enough on Veteran's Day morning that I got out the Winter Coat.  We were doing OK until I tried to take for granted that Ember knew it was me out there picking up her glow in the dark ball.  Oops, tackled by dog with teeth out.  Shut her outside, brought her back in for "desensitizing" lessons (round two or three for coats).  We've kind of got it about gloves now, but we are doing a keep away game with mom's stocking cap.  Today she tried to swipe it when we were getting ready to go out for her walk, and I turned on my heel and said, "no hat, no walk".  She let me have the hat back then, and we went for our walk.

Life is good.  Keep Sparking.

Hunting dogs

What is it that makes a peaceful person like me swell with pride over a hunting dog?  Is it that the hunting breeds were our first partners in survival?  Is it their strength, grace, loyalty?  Their intelligence and independence? 

Whatever it is, maybe all the Lassie and RinTinTin shows I took in as a kid (herding breeds, not hunting, but big dogs nonetheless), I have been a dog lover my whole remembered life.  We never had dogs in the home I grew up in, but there was a dog on the farm where I spent time during my 4th year while my own mom was out of circulation in a hospital.  My uncle always had a farm dog, and it was always named Spotty.  My mother often talked about her dog Deuce.  Deuce of course stayed with her parents when she married, and Deuce (named for the two spots on his eye and ear, respectively) crossed the rainbow bridge that same year.

When I married, we acquired a fluffy white cockapoo mix, who already with a name, Lilly.  She was our "first child".  While we were both crazy about her, she wasn't really my kind of dog.  My kind of dog came along a few years after Lilly left us for soft breezes across the rainbow bridge.  

The dog of my dreams was a purebred German Shorthair puppy, and my son named her Diamond Dot, for the shape of the coloring on the top of her head, a diamond shaped white patch with a liver "dot" in the middle of it.  We immediately shortened it to Diamond.

Diamond was nominally my son's dog, but she bonded with me, egged on by my husband's spinning her up to greet me when I came home from work.  At the time she joined the family, I was a traveling worker, flying out on Mondays, and coming home on Fridays.  Diamond had to greet me outside when she was a puppy because she was so excited that she leaked.

I loved watching her run across the fields, and she loved running through long grass.  She loved everyone, but she glued herself to me.  When she crossed over, 13 years ago, it was with me holding her head as they gave her the final shot that took away the pain she was trying so hard to flee from.  She was 14 or 15 years old, the memory fades and I keep doing my grandmother's "associate this with that" date math.

Ember is a Labrador Retriever, of the Charcoal variety.  She, too, has that noble look of a hunter, and that somehow tugs at my heart.  So much that I sometimes lapse and call her Diamond in conversation.

Saturday afternoon, in the blustery, cloudy air, Ember sniffed the breeze, and my heart swelled as it used to do when I watched Diamond run.

Life is Good.  Spark on!

Day 27 - Today I am thankful...

 

Today I am thankful for "black November" sales.  Remember the leaking dishwasher?  The one I had repaired?  Well, the repair didn't stick, and it's leaking again.  It's 24 years old, and I'm ready to stop nickel and diming it along.

Friday I took advantage of puppy nap #2 to go visit my local appliance store and found such deals happening.

The stove has been limping along for the past 18 years, with one heating element in the oven not working, and I'm on the third set of drip pans and the second set of knobs.  The fridge/freezer, I had repaired last year.  It's still percolating along, and probably could become a "garage fridge" if I wanted to.  18 years ago when the oven started glitching I was told they no longer make drop-in stoves.  I have just lived with the limitations for all that time.

I had initially thought I would replace them one by one, but the sale prices make a trifecta possible for me this year.  If I thought this year's "home improvement" spending was over, I was wrong.  With a little bit of logistical luck, the pumpkin pie will be baked in a new appliance in a couple of weeks!

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Day 26 - Today I am thankful...

 I told the Facebook world that I'm grateful for dreams today.

Dreams are the part of sleep that tries to resolve things and solve life's problems.  Last night (early this morning) I dreamed that I worked at Disney World.  I was new to the job and trying to "fix" a plumbing issue.  But I was lost.  I kept getting stuck at dead ends in a maze.  The layout looked amazingly similar to a mall I frequented in my childhood and teen years.  At places where there was more than one path to choose, I had trouble picking which way would take me back to my car, where I assume my tools were stored, or to the swimming pool, which apparently was where the problem needed to be fixed.  It was a doozy.  I woke up before solving the problem, as is often the case.

Keep Sparking!

Speaking of sparking, my "alarm weight" the lower limit, the one at which I go into panic mode of "I have to gain a couple of pounds here, for insurance" appears to have ticked up 10 pounds in the past ten years.  When I was actively running in endurance events, I would panic when the scale dipped to 113.  Now I seem to do so at 123.

As a consequence, I have a quart of Egg Nog in my fridge, and a pound of butter in anticipation of baking.  It's hard to bake with a dog in the house, but Thanksgiving is coming, and they expect my pumpkin pie to be available.

Holidays, something to look forward to!

Life is good.

Day 25 - Today I am thankful...

Today I am thankful for "catch-up" sleep.  After the past couple of weeks, between the schedule for the surgery, the disruption of normal routines for the puppy, her side-trip through the vet, my sleeping on the couch, and then of course the "fall back" time change and the election, waking from time to time to see the progress of the count... it felt good to have a couple of "normal" nights to sleep.  And a few short naps, too!

I am thankful for a couple of sunshine hours yesterday, between the cloudy and drippy ones.

Ember got some new toys recently.  I'm starting to learn which ones will be hits and which ones misses.  The one in the photo is a crinkly one.  The strap is like unto a leash, providing a "Mommy end" and the crinkle fleece is the "Puppy end".  We don't exactly "tug", I flirt with her, she chases the flirt, catches it, and chews.  Slowly, she and I develop our own little routines.

Oh, and my kid sis Alicia started training Ember to "shake".  This is something that I never got her to do much.  However, it has come in very handy in administering the medicated wipes on her paws.  Another small thing to be grateful for.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Day 24 - Today I am thankful...

Today I am thankful that the political ads are going to be gone for a while!

I am thankful that dogs are not political.  I have rewarded mine with a fresh new beef center bone to chew on while I write this.

This morning, as I circled the block on "mommy's end of the leash" we watched people getting into their cars and driving off to their jobs.  The world has not ended, whether the election went my way or not (some did and some did not...)

There will be some mourning on the part of people who were emotionally vested in this election, and then there will be survival.  If we are praying folk, we will still pray.  If we are volunteers, we will still volunteer.  If we are compassionate people, we will still be compassionate people.

I for one, choose not to hate anyone.  It's one of the reasons I liked the yard sign that said "Dogs 2024".  I may truly hate/detest some of the words and actions that people take.  But I don't hate the people.  I may truly hate the expression of hatred in political speech that leads some people to violence "on behalf of" what they believe is a righteous cause.  But I still do not hate the people.  I hate the actions.

Remember this as we move forward... be kind to those who may be fearful.  

Life is still good, even when it changes and becomes darker.  We live through grief.  Use your disappointment as motivation to do better, to not return hate with hate.  Choose to heal one another.  Find a plan B.  Survive, and thrive, even in its face.

Spark on!  

p.s. YOU are loved!

Day 23 - Today I am Thankful...

 It is my tradition to begin a week leading up to Veteran's Day on November 5th, with my gratitude to those who wear or have worn the Uniform of the service branches of my nation.  This number includes both grandfathers, my son's father, my son, and various and assorted cousins and in-laws.  

Why do I start on November 5th?  Because on November 5, 2009, that "blank check" that all service members sign to the nation, "up to and including their lives" got very, very real for me.  I did not lose my son that day.  Instead, he lost brothers and sisters in arms, when a radicalized individual opened fire on his unarmed unit as they prepared to deploy overseas, at Fort Hood, Texas.

This morning on Facebook I expressed my thankfulness for the puppy taking care of business at midnight so I could sleep a little extra this morning.  This is the first year that I have led with something less sober on November 5th.  That makes it 15 years ago, today.  The losses of that day still tug at my heart, as I got to know many of the families of the fallen and the wounded at Yellow Ribbon events in the year and a half that followed.

I am thankful that despite the incredible cost and risk associated with serving, there are still those who are willing to serve, with honor and integrity!  I mourn their sacrifice, even while being thankful for their courage.

Life is good, and often too short!  Spark on!

Day 22 - Today I am thankful...

 I told Facebook this morning that I'm thankful for coffee!  This is due to my issues with the "Fall Back" time change, in conjunction with Ember's recent GI issues messing with my sleep schedule.

The photo of the day is "what mommy does when Ember has a spa day".  Yes, she's with Tony the Groomer this morning, so mommy reconfigured the X-pen.  That's the couch I am grateful is longer than I am tall, the one I slept on a couple of nights last week.

You can see how challenging it might be to contain an active labrador retriever puppy with that open floor plan.  Living room connects to dining room, connects to kitchen, connects to hallways (2) and stairs (2)... nary a door in sight.  Thus, the need for the X-Pen.

I am grateful to whoever invented X-Pens, and that even though I had to buy 3 8-panel sets to make the configuration I now have (includes the fence around the A/C unit outside), they are not so outrageously expensive that I couldn't swing it.

Life is Good!  Spark on!