No name yet but getting closer....

The morning after we got the pup we went to garage sales and didn't want to leave her home until we were confident she would be okay. Sooooooo she went with us and slept (as puppies do) most of the time we were out and about.

We are still working on names and hope to come up with just the right one soon. Thanks for your input. We'll let you know when she officially has a name.

She is really trying to get on Lady's good side - but Lady is still not sure what to do with this little spitfire. She has been very patient with her. Snickers, on the other hand, has very little tolerance and has used her vocals hissing to let the pup know. I think she is actually warming up though.

The pup has chew toys and while she loves them she has also discovered rocks. See all the rocks? She thinks they are for the mouth!

Here's her mouth. I was trying to take a really cute picture of her but she is like a whirlwind - moving faster than the camera can capture! She yawned just as I snapped this picture.



I decided that the best way to keep rocks out of her mouth would be to take her out in the backyard with her collar and leash. I didn't expect this result.....

She wanted to pull on the leash with her teeth which kept her busy and away from the rocks so this method really did work - just not the way I thought it would!

Lady & the pup posing with me. It only took four or five shots to get one of the pup cooperating enough to see her without the blur!

Time for bed. She is very comfortable in her crate. She pretty much sleeps through the night which is a real blessing anytime a new puppy comes into the home!

Good night!

New addition to our family

This precious little English Springer Spaniel joined our family today! She will be 10 weeks old on Saturday - born September 13th. She is so lovable and softer than I could have ever imagined. Larry has been looking for a puppy for several weeks and we took a 2 hour drive out to Globe, AZ and picked up this little girl. She is still looking for a name so if you want to give a suggestion just leave a comment at the bottom of this post. The breeder said she is a lemon and white - not the more typical liver and white or black and white. Some names we are contemplating are Peaches and Cream and call her Peaches, and.... okay, none of the rest are even in the running as far as I am concerned but Larry disagrees - Sugar & Spice, Snow Globe, White Rose, Rose White, Lemon Drop, Lemon Meringue, Sugar Baby, Sugar Bear, White Satin, Sugar Pie Honey Bunch...See what I mean? We really would appreciate any suggestions you might come up with and be willing to share!

So any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Oh, by the way, Lady went with us to pick out the pup and she is very non-committal about the relationship! She is warming up a little bit. Snickers, on the other hand, is staying her distance. The pup didn't seem to mind Snickers because she was raised with a cat.

More pictures to come.....

Cranberries anyone??????

Somehow I let Larry talk me into getting a picture we didn't have room for and didn't match my color scheme. Silly me. Turns out I loved the picture and made room for it on the wall between our kitchen and family room. That was just the beginning.....well, maybe not the beginning...

It began at a garage sale when he vetoed me and purchased the picture for $5. Okay, no big deal. We could get that out of it - or more - if we couldn't use it. At another garage sale we found the table for another $5 (which I didn't think we needed) but moved another one out of this spot and gave this guy a new home. Well, one thing led to another....meaning I hung the picture and then found hurricane lamps - I mean huge hurricane lamps new in the box at a garage sale for $7 (yeah for all three). Next thing I know I find large candles to fit the hurricane lamps in gold and cranberry for $1 each. What next? Well, who could resist the lamp with a cranberry color lampshade? Not me for $2. Then to tie in the other side of the room with this side I found cranberrry curtains for $1. So I think this room is finished ----- at least for now.

Election Day 2008

The first thing we did this morning was go to our local polling place and cast our votes. See my sticker?













Next we ran errands and ended up buying Lady this Rudolph outfit. She was really not very happy to try it on for size.

Can't you just see the pleasure in her eyes?

Okay, maybe not.

She is telling me she has had enough!

We completed our day with popcorn balls I made ala Dennis. He could make the best popcorn balls and would graciously share them with me (and many others - including our daughter and her family) since I was such a big fan of his wonderful creations!!! Must have been Halloween and the fact that Larry & I each had a not-so-good popcorn ball that triggered my craving for Dennis' popcorn balls. Seems it was about this time of year I would get his gift of five or six that I would joyfully devour!!!! Thanks Dennis!

Just a walk in the park......

Today Lady & I decided to go to the park. Okay, I guess I decided but she was quick to go along with me. Instead of walking I decided to ride my bike and let her run/walk beside me. This was kind of an experiment because I haven't done much riding with her at my side. I wasn't sure how she would react - all the while hoping that we both wouldn't end up in a heap on the road! But she did not fail me and all went well. Here she is enjoying herself immensely - smelling the smells of other animals!!! While her hearing is gone and her eyesight is failing, her sense of smell is still strong. Guess that's a good thing since it gives her so much pleasure!

Lady is really living in the moment! Should I mention here that the weather is perfect this time of year. Tomorrow (Halloween) it is supposed to be 93 degrees. After the weekend it is predicted that we'll be in the 70's! Last night Larry & I took a walk at 10 p.m. (with Lady, of course) and enjoyed the nice weather, beautiful skies, and Halloween decorations!

The sand in the kid's play area is not used much except by the local birds!

And here she is smiling! See those pearly whites? That was all the thanks I needed!!

And just so I don't show favortism, here is a great picture of Snickers. She loves to pose for me. Notice her paws so well positioned?

My current WiiFit age!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Growth......

Before running errands today I grabbed my camera and decided to take pictures of things I have been wanting to photograph but didn't because the camera wasn't with me. Believe me, you don't want to leave your camera in the car even for an instant around here!

So having said that......the first picture is of my little Cholla cactus. I found this little guy in our backyard before we moved here. It was about four inches long and maybe 3/4" in diameter. During our monsoon season the wind blew so hard it knocked the planter behind it right over it and down to the corner of our street! In the process it broke the cactus in half! I wondered what to do with it for about a day and a half and then decided to put it back in place and hope for the best. Well, as you can see, it is doing fine. This particular cactus has a nasty habit of throwing it's little spikes at you if you get too close. So I am really not sure why I am nurturing it except it is really a beauty!

If you look really, really close at the second and third pictures you will see a little rose bush tucked in under the other flowers. I brought this little guy back from Mark & Linda's in Vancouver, Washington in September. I planted it out in the open thinking that it was probably cool enough for it to survive. WRONG! It didn't take long for it to fry! So I rescued the little darlin' and nestled it into this very cozy spot. While some of the leaves and branches still look a little scorched, the rest of it is doing nicely. I am pretty confident it will do well in it's new home. When the time is right I will transplant it to a new space where it will enjoy full sunshine!

The next picture is Texas Sage (I think). They are blooming everywhere around here right now. If it is Texas Sage they bloom after there has been some rain. Let me tell you, I never knew we had so many honeybees until these guys go into full bloom! And they bloom every time it rains! Just for your information, that has been about six bloomings this summer!

Next we have the bridge being constructed over the Santa Rosa Wash. Right now the road goes down into the wash and when it rains the wash generally floods and traffic is detoured. We wondered about that detour route until the first time we had to take it. It really isn't that bad but it certainly will be nice to have this new bridge finished!

The next thing I photographed was our new library! It is about 8,500 square feet and construction was just started about a month ago. It should be completed by spring. Our current library is a little modular building that is probably 1,500 square feet. It will be wonderful to have a new library!

And last, but certainly not least, is our new WalMart - all 200,000 square feet of it! It is also scheduled to open sometime in the spring. WalMart is about a mile or so from our home and will be one of many stores in a new shopping area. Home Depot, a hospital, theatres, restaurants, small shops, etc. are all scheduled to be built. And all will be within walking distance which will really be nice!

Shopping is way fun!

Larry & I went shopping yesterday and these are the items we came home with. I didn't want to get the picture but Larry was sure we could find a place to hang it. I wasn't! But we bought it anyway and after some thinking I found the perfect place to display it. Now I even love it!

We also found these lovely drapes to hang in our bedroom. The colors in our bedroom are brown, white, and kind of a Caribbean blue. The drapes can be pulled together in case we ever get tired of seeing the sun! Not that that would or could ever happen! We love the sunshine! Guess that's why we live in the desert now!