A hunting we will go....

I told Cuddle Buns when we got Rudy that he could be a hunting dog. He knows the commands COME and SIT if he thinks there might be treats involved. (Rudy knows them, not Cuddle Buns.) I'm not sure what else he'll need to know before he goes out with Elmer and his brothers Elmer where they carry guns and blend in with the landscape. I'm thinking SLEEP would be a good one to know.

His Auntie Donna brought him some hunting gear yesterday, although he has a bit of room to grow in it. That's fine, because I don't think I'll really let him go hunting until he is at least 10. I probably should get him a bright orange collar, too.



Rudy has another Auntie Donna who gave him a present when we saw her on our way back into town from Iowa.



Every dog should have his own tire.
Now he'll be ready for our trip to Iowa next year as we pass through Oakland. (Iowa)



I have no idea what GH A6 is. I think you'd need to know more about tractor pulls than I do. At least those in Oakland, Iowa.

What a wasted Wednesday

Apparently, the bad economy has really hit downtown Houston hard. My dear son and The Zoe and I took a trip to the Aquarium this afternoon. We usually all have a great meal and a good time riding the train and playing in the water. Gracious. Things have changed. The restaurant, in an attempt to cut costs, is now only displaying fake fish.

Shoot. The mechanical scarey shark wasn't even working.


CUDDLE BUNS: PLEASE READ NO FURTHER

OK...We did go to the Aquarium, had a great meal, Zoe had fun watching the fish and naming them after family members, and we did ride the train.






Cuddle Buns just sounded so....so pathetic when he found out where we were. So I didn't want him to think he had missed anything, and since he's the only one I know of who regularly reads Rudy's blog, I thought I'd make stuff up about a terrible time.

Honey, I know you're still reading: The mechanical shark was not working. For real. It was a wasted trip.

PS

How much fiber fill does it take to stuff one monkey??!! It keeps popping up everywhere!

He's Gone Savage!

I came out of the shower last night to find that Funky Monkey...a dog toy with a past to begin with...had been mauled. It wasn't pretty.

Funky Monkey was torn limb from limb.

His innerds were all over the kitchen floor.

Please-no comments about the dirt and dust mingling with the monkey guts.

When in Rome...

In just a few weeks Cuddle Buns and I, along with his 2 brothers and their wives, will be jetting to Ireland for "The Anniversary Tour". His little brother, known to many of you due to the fact that he is on the no fly list and has probably held up your flights on occasion while the authorities read the letter he must carry stating he does not belong to any group despite having a good, strong Catholic name, thinks he is 100% Irish. Even though his mother is NOT. (I know. She told me.) Get a couple beers in him, and his Irish brogue couldn't be picked out in a pub lineup.

ANYWAY, he has planned this trip for us. (I love traveling when I don't have to make any real decisions.) He and his wife, who have made trips to Ireland a time or two, have found the church that the grandparents attended. There the six of us will be renewing our vows. To our respective spouses, not to the family in general, which I would NEVER do having attended nearly every family reunion for 30+ years and have still lived to tell the stories. (Not that I don't love you guys....just saying.) Why this year? It is a monumental year. Cuddle Buns little bro and wife have been married 30 years. We have been married in perfect bliss for 35 years. Older bro and wife for 40 years. (Can these guys plan it, or what???)

In anticipation of cooler weather, I have been knitting up a storm. I have finished the actual knitting on The Rogue Hoodie for me (just need to do the blocking and seaming) and have now started on the Iain Sweater for Cuddle Buns. I'm knitting it from Eco Wool from Cascade, for you fiber lovers out there who love the smell of sheep when they knit. (Hope it doesn't rain while Cuddle Buns is wearing it. He'll be warm and dry but will stink of the sheep pens.)

I've made a little headway on it since I've been back. Rudy has been helping.

PS...The guys had an older brother who passed away 13 years ago. If he were still with us, he and his wife would have been married 45 years this year. Cuddle Bun's mom says that says a lot about the men-folk in the family. We think it has more to do with the women they married.

We miss you Tom!

Re-entry...

I'm having a hard time getting motivated. Can't unpack. My suitcase has been repurposed.

Plus, The Zoe is here with Elmo Giant.

So, the list of things I think I SHOULD do has been shoved under the clean laundry to be put away.

I had someone ask me on Monday if I had the feeling that I should be somewhere when the teachers all go back to school. I didn't even know they HAD gone back to school. Poor things.

CLICK CLICK CLICK

There's no place like home, there's no place like home.

OKC DOT question....

We've lived in Texas for 32 years. Early on, our only vacations were to NW Iowa. I figure we've made the trip over 30 times. We never flew, always drove. Usually, there was construction either in Oklahoma City or Kansas City.

Several years ago, my son and I made the trip together. We were driving through Oklahoma City in what seemed like a WAY OUT OF OUR WAY detour. The speed limit on this route was posted at 54 mph. 54.

This trip, again there was construction in OKC. Minor construction, but the digitally posted speed limit was.....wait..... 48 mph.

Now, I'm thankful even numbers were used. Those who know me may be aware of my need for even numbers or those ending in 5. But....54? 48? Can someone explain the need to diverge from standard road speeds??

Rudy didn't seem to mind:

Guess where I am now....

Not home yet....but in the hot, muggy state, at least.

Little Big Man

Rudy went nameless for about a week after we got him.

We had a 65 pound Springer Spaniel until a little more than a year ago. Murphy thought he was a lap dog. Now we had this lap dog acting like he could do anything. The first day we had him, weighing in at 2.7 pounds, he tried to jump on the couch. Kept trying. He carried Cuddle Bun's size 11s around. They not only were bigger than him, but weighed more. Played fiercely with a huge lab pup and barked his first bark at him.

I wanted a big guy name. Something like Jack Crabb. Fezzik. (Name those movies? Anyone?) My son-in-law said he need a gangsta name. My nephew suggested 20 Cent. My brother-in-law called him Killer. He was known at the vet as Baby Dog Burke.

Nothing really seemed to fit. He's such a little guy with such a big guy attitude and so dern cute.

Old Folk's Feet and Geeks

Upon getting the link to my new blog, my daughter emailed me, and I quote: "Oh no you didn't. DH. You're one of those people now."

What do you suppose she meant?

A geek? Yep. But she already knew that.

A blogger? I'm retired and the dog's cute. How best to show everyone? Or was it the use of DH? (My son and my DH, hereafter referred to as Cuddle Buns, have had fun figuring out the different things that acronym could mean.)

OR does she think I've become one of those crazy old ladies who talks to their dogs like they are babies calling them things in a really high pitched voice like HEY RUDY TOOTIE FRESH AND FRUITY, carrying them everywhere and dressing them in ridiculous costumes.

As an afterthought to my Iowa visit, why is it, do you suppose, that the parents felt the need to play with my dog with their feet? Dad did, too. At least my mom refuses to take off her shoes. She's the only one not to get a pieced toe.

Lampyridae

As I was walking around my sister's backyard this evening in an attempt to get Rudy to poopoo, I was utterly amazed at the fireflies. They seemed to be rising from the ground and up into the trees like Christmas tree lights. There were so many of them. It was magical. Really. OK, family members are rolling their eyes right now, but REALLY, it was magical.

Until I googled them. This is Wikipedia: Lampyridae is a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey.

Fireflies were doing it all over my sister's backyard. And it was magical!!

(PS...Rudy thought so, too. He chased a couple, got one, but I saved it. Just didn't know what I was saving it to do.)

I don't know how to tell Rudy....

Rudy's mom was a stray chihuahua who hung around the business where my husband works. For the first 6 months, she wouldn't let anyone touch her. Then she began to soften up, and Manny, who works with my husband and lives close to the business, became her best bud. Manny kind of adopted her, named her Princess, and let the pups be born on his porch.

Manny found her today by the side of the road in front of work. She had been hit by a car.

I had never met Princess, but I've been sad all day. Princess, you birthed one great puppy! Rest in peace!

We also said good-bye to my mom. I don't think Rudy, who kind of enjoyed rides in her wheelchair, really knew the significance of that last smooch. But I'll tell you, the best part of my day was, after I tucked her in her bed at the care center, hearing her giggle like days of old when Rudy licked her all over her face.

And in this corner...

Rudy is having a little fun with one of his cousins. Abby is kind of bi-polar. A lot of the time she wants nothing to do with him. Then she'll decide it's Wrestle Mania.

This is Abby. She's a Westie.



Right now imagine a cute little poodle signaling the beginning of the first round:










This is Maddy. She is a Bijon. She is the house Diva and prefers to have nothing to do with either of the wrestlers. She won't even officiate.

My Day

Mom: HOW BIG WILL SHE GET?

Me: He. Don't know. Mom was a chihuahua, but we don't know who the dad was.

Mom: HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD HER?

Me: Him. About 6 weeks.

Mom: WHAT?

Me: ABOUT 6 WEEKS.

Mom: HOW BIG WILL SHE GET?

Me: HE. DON'T KNOW.

Mom: WHERE IS SHE?

Me: Right there.

Mom: WHERE?

Me: RIGHT THERE

Mom: HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD HER?

Me: COUPLE OF MONTHS.

Mom: WHAT?

Me: Isn't he the cutest? I'm glad you like him, too. TWO MONTHS!

Mom: WONDER HOW BIG SHE'll GET?

Me: HE. HE'S A BOY!

Mom: OH, THAT's RIGHT. YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL.

Let the travels begin....

Know how you can sometimes get something in your head that you think will be absolutely awesome to do only to find out you are totally clueless? Am I the only one? Probably. Paranoia has served me well.

I decided that I would blog about my experiences with my new puppy. He is the cutest ever. It really is too bad about all of the other puppies in the world. I have the cutest. Smartest. Chewingest. I wanted to show you pictures of him romping through our adventures only to find out that the awesome photos of him hopping through the Iowa cornfields needed a little more Photoshopping than I know how to do. So, I've been stewing.

Rudy and I are on a road trip. From 105 degree weather in Houston north...slowly...to NW Iowa where the temps at night are in the 50s, in the 70s and 80s during the day. (HEAVEN!) Because Rudy and I have the same sized bladder, we took three days to reach our destination as opposed to the two it used to take me...before menopause and before Rudy.

Rudy is a traveling man! He seems to be able to adapt quite well to wherever we have landed. Only one accident in 7 days! Rudy had it...not me. I am so glad he is a good boy in the car. I love road trips and hope to make a few with him. My deep desire to be a hermit is served well during a road trip, at least until I reach the family I usually am driving to visit. Staying in a hotel alone is the best: I love having my own thinking time, knitting time, tv remote time. Of course, once here in Iowa, I've got one dad and a step-mom, one sister and bro-in-law, and one mom, and two dog nieces. All nuts in very different ways than me. (Of course, we're all nuts. Genetic freight train, according to my daughter.)(We're a fun group, though!)

ANYWAY, I've wanted to show you some awesome pictures of him going to the tractor pulls....but I'm going to have to present those as I learn. And learn I will!!

For now, I'm hoping you'll enjoy this photo of my Rudy shucking his first ear of Iowa sweet corn. The best sweet corn you'll ever taste. Well worth the trip to Iowa. Trust me. Trust Rudy!