Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Snow In July?

Yesterday right before Dad and grandma came home from work the weather got really nasty. Mom heard some weird noises outside so we went to the patio door to see what was going on and Mom saw huge balls of ice coming down from the sky! Then all of a sudden the were coming down really fast and a lot all at once. Here's a picture out our front window. Doesn't it look like it's snowing?
Mom wanted to get a picture of how big the hail was, but it was coming down so hard and fast that she wasn't going to step outside. This is looking out the patio door onto our covered patio. The pieces were way bigger than they look in this picture because the pieces would break up and bounce.

I'm usually really good when the weather gets like this and Sasha goes and hides under the bog bed. During the 5 minutes the hail lasted Sasha, Gunnar and I were really close to Mom and followed her to each room to check windows. We didn't like it at all! It started raining and the hail stopped so we were okay again. Mom said even she was a little nervous. She grew up where Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas all meet and hail there usually meant a tornado was near by. Mom never saw a tornado whiel she was growing up but when the hail started coming down they had to be ready just in case.
When Dad and Grandma got home there was still ice in the grass. Dad said the hail where he was wasn't that big and Grandma said they only got rain where she works. It's amazing how different the weather can be in 3 mile drive.
THEN last night when we went to bed, there was lots of lightning and thunder. I didn't like it, but I stayed in my bed and tried to ignore it. It was hard because you could see the lightning even with your eyes closed and the thunder rattled the decorations on Mom's dresser. Sasha couldn't stand it anymore and had to get in bed with Mom and Dad and lay between them. Gunnar wrapped his arms around Dad's legs for protection, too. Luckily that didn't last long. Once the lightning and thunder was over, Sasha went back to her bed and Gunnar stretched back out into his normal sleeping position and we all slept very well.
On the news this morning we found out there is a lightning fire newarby, but thankfully it isn't too bad AND there is a highway closed because of a mud slide!!! CRAZY!!! Mom's tomato plants didn't really like the weather and a few of her roses are a little droopy. I hope we don't get any more hail any time soon. Mom, Sasha, Gunnar and I all agree hail is not fun!
Stay safe everybody!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tired Puppy

I got over my tummy problems in time to have fun with the kids this weekend. They made Peanut Butter cookies with Mom and they were very happy to share the cleanup duties with Sasha and I. I LOVE KIDS!!!!!!!! I also learned it's not just 2 year old little boys that taste good. 6 year old little boys also taste very yummy!!!!!!
I didn't get to go ride in My Jeep with them, but that was mostly because I was exhausted. I didn't even whine when they left. Mom and Dad took them home Sunday morning and I slept all Sunday, all Monday and most of today. I miss them. I hope they can come visit again really soon.
I'm goging to go take another nap now. Just remembering all the fetch I played and all the water fun we had and all the other fun makes me tired.
OH! One more thing! My mom got a letter in the mail this weekend saying she has to go take a test on July 31st to earn an interview for a job. On July 31st at 1:00 pm Mountain Time, if you and your parents wouldn't mind sending Mom some good vibes, she'd raelly appreciate it. It's not a test you can study for, it's a bunch of questions to make sure she can read and do math and stuff like that which makes her even more nervous. She applied for the job weeks ago and figured since she hadn't heard from them, she didn't pass the application stage. If she does good on the test, she earns an interview which will also make her very nervous so hopefully I'll be asking you to send her some good vibes for that, too. I'll keep you posted.


Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Sick Puppy

Hey everybody, this is going to be a quick post to tell you about my weekend. Saturday morning I woke Mom and Dad up at 5:30 a.m. with the noise all parents of pets dread - the Horka sound. Mom let me outside and went to start cleaning the carpet in the bedroom. She kept smelling a nasty smell in the kitchen but couldn't find the source so she thought I only did it in the bedroom. Mom can't see without her contacts in and she hates wearing her glasses but she finally decided to just deal with the glasses because she couldn't see me when she looked outside to check on me. After Mom cleaned up the mess in the bedroom, she came outside and sat with me! How many people do you know that would sit outside in the very early hours of the morning with their sick dog? It felt good to sit out in the cool night air. Finally I decided I was okay enough to go inside and Mom told me to get up in the bed. Usually if I lay right in the middle of her spot on the bed, I have to move but not that morning! Mom and Dad moved around to make sure I was comfortable. After a few minutes of laying in bed with Mom and Dad petting me and worrying about me, I had the feeling again so I stood up. Dad at first was trying to convince me to lay down, but Mom said NO! and her and I ran to the patio door again so I could go outside. Mom knew the signs and I made it outside in time. THEN Mom AND Dad came out and sat with me for a long time. When we went back inside Dad walked through the living room and found the source of the smells. Mom cleaned up those messes and Dad tried to make me comfortable.
Dad had to go to work so Mom and I spent most of the day on the couch together. Mom was really worried about me because usually when I get sick like that, I'm okay after a few minutes. I couldn't keep anything down all day long. Mom said it was really hard watching me go potty, too - we won't get into the details of why. Mom got some Saltine crackers out and gave me a couple and that seemed to help a little. She knew that all the advice people out there tell you not to give your dog food for 24 hours in this case, but watching me throw up clear liquid made Mom think about all the stomach issues she's had over the years and she knew I needed something in my tummy to help soak some of that up. I was glad she did because I started to feel better. I was drinking a little water, but not a lot so when Dad got home from work they went to the store and got me some of that Pedia-Lite stuff for human babies. I tried it, but it tasted NASTY! I knew Mom and dad really wanted me to drink it and I trust them so I kept trying but just couldn't do it. Dad tried it and here are his exact words: "THAT'S NASTY!!!! I'm pouring this crap out! There's no way I can force her to drink this crap!" So a little later Mom and Dad made a trip to the gas station for some Gatorade. That stuff is very yummy! I think Mom and Dad should keep that in the fridge all the time for me!
Mom called Aunt Gillian to see if she could come use her magic carpet cleaning thing because by the time Mom and Dad found my accidents in the living room, they had soaked in and Mom was having issues getting the stains and especially the smell out. She came and made the spots go away which also helped me. I feel so guilty when I have accidents and anytime someone would go mess with the spots or walk near them, I'd put my ears down and tuck my tail and look even more pathetic than I already was. Once the spots and the smell were gone, Mom and I felt a little better.
Mom made me a little bit of plain rice for dinner because I was hungry and she knew I better not tr my regular food, but the rice came back up a little later. That made Mom really worried that I was still throwing up so we curled up on the couch again and once she thought my tummy was settled a little, she brought the Saltines out again. The combination of the Gatorade and the Saltines made me feel really good. We were all really tired from being awake so early so Mom laid on one couch and Dad laid on the other and I curled up on blanket beside the couch Mom was on so Mom could rub my belly. Mom said when she was a little girl and had a tummy ache, she loved when her Mom rubbed her tummy. She knew exactly how to rub my tummy to make it feel even better.
We went to bed early Saturday night because Mom and Dad were supposed to go on a fishing trip the next day if I was feeling better. They both said they weren't going if I was still not doing good. Mom didn't sleep good at all because she had her Mom radar on high alert. She listened to all of us breathe all night long and was pretty sure she could hear Gunnar breathing in the other bedroom. She said I slept really good and in the morning we let Mom stay in bed for awhile while Dad gave me some more Gatorade and a few more Saltines for breakfast. Mom and Dad decided I was doing okay enough for them to go fishing for the morning and Grandma was staying home all day so she would check on me. Dad put a little food in my dish and told Grandma if I acted like I really wanted to eat, to go ahead and give me the little bit he put in my dish. If Mom and Dad had stayed home, I would have been trying to follow them like I do every Sunday so them leaving actually made me rest which was what I really needed. Grandma gave me my breakfast and I ate it and kept it down. She called Mom's cellphone to let her know and Mom said that made her relax more so she could enjoy their fishing trip. Mom caught 4 fish and Dad only caught 1 and they both had a lot of fun.
Mom wouldn't let me play fetch on Sunday and told me that I needed to relax instead. I was bored, but I really did feel like I needed to rest so I did what Mom said. She said I could play fetch as much as I wanted on Monday. Mom listened to me all night again Sunday night so she was really tired Monday morning. I laid out in the yard while Mom and Dad did some yard work and then we went inside to try to cool off. Mom was attacked by a horsefly while they were fishing so she was dealing with itchy legs all day. Mom says her left leg must taste better than her right leg because there's more bites on her left than her right leg. Her right foot is also all swollen from a huge bite so she thinks she must be a little allergic to horsefly bites.
Dad tried playing fetch with me, but I was still wasn't 100% yet so I would play a little and then go lay down. I was a lot better than I was on Saturday, but still needed to rest and drink Gatorade.
Mom told me I have to rest all day today and all day tomorrow because there are kids coming to visit this weekend! They are my mom's friend's kids and they are coming Thursday and Mom and Dad are taking them home on Sunday morning! Their Mom has to go somewhere and Mom and I are going to take care of them and then on Saturday we're going to take them for a ride in my Jeep!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
I'm feeling a ton better now and I have to thank my Mom for that! It's hard to take care of someone that can't tell you what is wrong or what they need and Mom did a great job watching for my "signs" and just knowing when I needed a tummy rub, an ear scratch or a kiss on my nose. Next time ANYBODY says anything about my mom's care taking skills that isn't good, I'm going to bite them!!! Or maybe Horka on them! LOL!! Mom went to Denver with Dad today for a meeting for Dad's work and then tomorrow I'm going to make sure Mom and I both get lots of rest so we'll be ready for the kids on Thursday. I might not be able to post again this week (I think I'm averaging 1 post a week anyway right now) so have a good weekend everybody! Hopefully I'll have some fun stories to share with you next week about taking the kids for a ride in my Jeep!

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Mom's Sewing

I have a couple of Mom's sewing projects to share with you. She's very proud of herself. There are a few flaws on both her projects, but for her first projects, they aren't bad.
This first one is a pillow. Mom says it's not that exciting of a project, but it was a good confidence building project for her first project.


This was her second project. Mom hates white everything and this house has white walls and white curtains. Mom is an artist and all the white is driving her crazy. Right now Mom and Dad can't afford to paint the house, plus Mom isn't ready to start choosing paint colors yet. It takes her forever to choose paint colors! So, the reason she decided to start learning to sew was to make custom curtains for the house. She wanted unique curtains. She found a pattern for these cool valances. The patterns said it was a "Sewing for Dummies" pattern. Mom says it must be for smart dummies because she kept getting confused. She'll be ready for the next one though. This one is hanging in our laundry room. Mom says the first one goes in the room that has a plant hanging in front of the window to cover up the "mistakes."
She really likes the curvy shape of the valance so she will be doing all the other valences this same way. She's taking a break for a few days and then her and Dad will go choose more fabric and hopefully soon I'll have another room to share with you. Mom says it probably wasn't a great idea to use print fabrics for her first 2 projects. Mom usually doesn't do things the easy way though. That's probably why the "Sewing For Dummies" pattern was confusing to her!!!
Maybe if Mom gets really good at this, she'll be able to start a sewing business. If she does that, she's going to get a new sewing machine though. The one she uses now is her Mom's old one that is older than my aunt and Mom is just a few years older than it. A couple of you asked about what kind of machine it is and really all she knows about it is it's a Brother with a BUNCH of missing pieces (my aunt had it for the past few years and lost a bunch of the pieces - luckily it wasn't any of the important pieces.
the air conditioner just turned on again so I'm going to go lay in front of a vent now. I now remember why I don't like the month of July. Sometimes I think the thermometer telling us what the temperature outside is, is going to say the same thing as the one that tells Mom what the temperature in the oven is!

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Funny Story

I have a funny story to help everybody smile a little.
Yesterday, Mom and I were hanging out watching Food Network and we saw an old lady and a kid started walking up to our door. They rang the doorbell and of course Sasha and I went into guard dog mode. Mom opened the big door and left the screen door shut and Mom had to grab my collar because I was going so crazy, I was stepping on Sasha. The lady was a little afraid of me. Mom wouldn't open the screen door or tell me to stop barking because she knew who the people were. The lady was holding a Bible and the kid had 2 bibles. The lady started talking about some invitation to a conference that she wanted to invite Mom to. Mom saw the title on the invitation and it was something about what to do when the end of the world comes. The lady was trying to talk to Mom and I kept on barking and barking but the lady wouldn't listen to me. mom didn't call me off and tell me it was okay so I knew Mom didn't want the lady here so I kept on barking. Finally the lady asked, "Do you ever put her on a leash?" Mom said "Not in the house!" Later she thought of something else to say since I am trusted off leash outside the fence and out when we're playing. She should have said "Not usually!" The lady left the invitation in the screen door handle and left. Once they pulled out of the driveway, Mom got the invitation out, let me smell it and threw it away. I heard Mom tell Dad that since they had 3 Bibles she knew they wanted her to invite them in so they could sit and read from the Bible but I guess since Mom doesn't keep me on a leash while I'm in MY house, she didn't want to read the Bible with Mom.
Last weekend one of Mom's friends came to town with her kids. Her daughter is 12 and her son is 6. I played the entire day with them and was exhausted when they left. Yesterday Mom got an email saying they're coming this weekend for 4th of July!!!! I'm excited because I really like playing with kids, but mostly because Mom and Dad are talking about doing a bbq and those kids thought it was fun to feed me pizza so I'm dreaming about the hamburgers and hotdogs they'll be feeding me this weekend! I can't wait!!! They are also going to bring their swimsuits to play in my pool with me! There were pictures taken, but Mom and I aren't going to post them for because of some family issues of their's. Just picture a couple of cute kids playing with me and that will have to work.
It's time for my afternoon nap. I'm doing a lot of resting so I'll be ready for Saturday! I can't wait!!!!!!!!