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Mrs. City Boy

~ Our little corner of the Midwest!

Mrs. City Boy

Tag Archives: Dog

Splash Time

11 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Holidays/Seasons, Our Life and Times, Summer

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Angel Baby, babies, baby, children, Dog, granddaughter, Precious Baby, Summer, Swimming, swimming pool

1094812_10151828503121639_959669264_n

Precious Baby and her friend love splashing in the water on a sunshiny day — they just can’t get enough of it!  Especially when there is a toy to play with.  There’s only one toy between the two of them, alas, so what to do, what to do!

Where is Precious Baby’s friend?  Well, he is getting the toy.

Here he is!

1149410_10151828503606639_54419414_o

Meanwhile, at her home a little while away, Precious Baby’s cousin Angel Baby has a way of imploring with her eyes.

"Seriously, can I get in the pool, too?"

“Seriously, can I get in the pool, too?”

It is easy to understand why Frank’s baby granddaughters are the apples of his eyes!

Related articles
  • Baby Elephant Plays in Pool, Makes Splash on Web (thehollywoodgossip.com)
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  • Huggies Makes a Splash With New Hygiene Mat (thehotspotorlando.com)

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Dawn To Dusk

23 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Holidays/Seasons, Nature, Our Life and Times, Summer

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Beginning photography, Dog, flowers, miniature schnauzer, moon, nature photographs, nature photography, rabbit, Summer, Sun, Sunrise, Sunset, Supermoon

Mr. Sun got caught in the power lines when he rose early yesterday morning, so I helped him get loose — he thanked me by shining all day.

Our corner of the world was happy to see Mr. Sun, including the flowers.

Mr. Rabbit was so happy to see Mr. Sun that he allowed me closer than I’d ever been to get a picture of him.

But Miss Ladybug was scurrying around in too big a hurry to stop and let me get a clear picture of her.  “We’re wasting daylight!” she exclaimed.

So Lucy and I sat out in the sunshine and lazed around for awhile — well, Lucy chased birds and got into things.

So then City Boy took Lucy to be washed, clipped and groomed.

 

We stayed in the house for a while and I worked on some projects while Lucy rested from her grooming ordeal.  Then City Boy and I ran some errands.  When we got back it was evening and the sun was setting.

Looking up in the sky from our front yard we saw Mr. Moon shining brightly, while blue and pink clouds danced around him.

Mr. Moon wasn’t full, but he still made a good showing.

Looking up at the sky from the back yard found some pink clouds that had decided to call it a day and head home.  

City Boy, Lucy and I decided to call it a day too.  

I thought maybe I would try to get a picture of the Supermoon my friend Cindy reminded me about.  That’s going to be tonight — how exiting!

Have an exciting night and a week full of sunshiny days!

Related articles
  • 5 Sky Events This Week: Mercury Rising, Moon Meets the Lion’s Heart (newswatch.nationalgeographic.com)
  • Most “super” supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23 (earthsky.org)
  • Moonstruck, We Become… (philosophers-stone.co.uk)
  • Super Full Moon Shines Brightly This Weekend [YOUR PHOTOS] (wctv.tv)
  • Annual Supermoon appears early Sunday morning (fox13now.com)

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Iowa Travelers

14 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Our Life and Times

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

daughter, Dog, Family, family visit, grandchildren, Iowa

Earlier this month we were treated to a nice visit from my daughter Emily and her family.  They were on a trip from Iowa and we were also able to visit with Emily’s husband Jay and their children Gianna and Brisbane.  The children hardly noticed City Boy and I were there, because they and our dog Lucy zeroed-in on each other from minute one.

Gianna and Lucy entertained each other for a while.

Even though it looks as though Gianna is tackling Lucy in this picture, she was actually giving her a friendly hug.

After Gianna wore herself out with Lucy, she went in to where City Boy was finishing up some work and decided to chat with him for a while.

And now it was Brisbane’s turn for Lucy’s attention…

Hey look -- we found some M&M's!

“Hey look — we found some M&M’s!”

"No feeding M&Ms to the dog."

“No feeding M&Ms to the dog.”

"We're done with our candy -- it's tackle Dad time!"

“We’re done with our candy — it’s tackle Dad time!”

"Lucy has some fun noisy toys!"

“Lucy has some fun noisy toys!”

"See?  I washed my shirt."

“See? I washed my shirt.”

Once they discovered how bouncy the couch was there was no going back for Gianna and Brisbane…

We always enjoy our visits with Emily, Jay, Gianna and Brisbane, and always hate to see them leave when they head home.  Seems like it’s a little too quiet afterwards!  We’re looking forward to seeing them again next time they are down this way.

The weekend is fast approaching, so everybody out there plan on having a fabulous one!

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Bunny Hopping To Texas

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Holidays/Seasons, Nature, Our Life and Times, Spring

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

baby, baby photographs, baby photography, Dog, Family, miniature schnauzer, Missouri, road trip, Texas, Travel, Traveling

Last weekend City Boy and I (and, of course, Lucy) had the pleasure of being able to visit Frank’s family in Texas for Easter weekend.  It’s a long drive, but Lucy rides well and loves traveling.  I, unfortunately, don’t travel well.  So, a few hours into the seven-hour trip I started doing goofy things to stave off the boredom.

Getting out the camera is my usual go-to activity, but you know how those “blue” pictures go.  You’re speeding along a highway, so the pictures will be blurry; you’re not wanting to roll down the window, because the wind hits you and blows everything everywhere and the husband is yelling at you to close the window, but the windows are dirty and covered with raindrops, all of which shows up in the pictures; not to mention the “blue” effect that comes from shooting through a (tinted?) vehicle window — the pictures have a blue cast to them that is hard to edit out.

Now that my warnings are out of the way, I thought I’d post some of the pictures from the highways and byways that came up between Missouri and Texas.

A few “blue” pictures:

We must have passed about 15 lakes it seemed -- this is one of them that I don't know the name of

We must have passed about 15 lakes it seemed — this is one of them that I don’t know the name of

Dang, from the looks of these pictures I would have been better off napping

Dang, from the looks of these pictures I would have been better off napping!

Lucy does very well traveling.  Here she is, riding along snuggled in amongst the luggage (a few pieces of which consist of trash bags — we travel in style).

We made a stop at Braham’s, and City Boy went in and got us some ice cream and was coming back out.  That’s not how he usually looks — he made a face when he saw me taking a “blue” picture of him through his dirty driver’s side window.

Frank has lost a lot of weight -- I think he's trying to put it all back on

Frank has lost a lot of weight — I think he’s trying to put it all back on, lol

Random boredom and more “blue” pictures — so sorry.

Ah, finally in Texas!  I think this was at the Welcome Center — I was so mind-numbingly bored by the time we arrived here that I was almost in a coma, so I didn’t even ask what this place was.  I was just elated to be here!

City Boy took this opportunity to take Lucy out of the truck, and Lucy was elated, too.  As I mentioned earlier, Frank has lost quite a bit of weight lately, and it shows.  A shopping trip for smaller clothes was in Frank’s near future — I’m proud of him.

Lucy always waits with much anticipation for Frank to return to the truck.  She hardly even knows I’m still in the truck with her.

Waiting in the driver's seat -- she thinks she's going to drive

Waiting in the driver’s seat — she thinks she’s going to drive

There he is!  Oh, goody, he's coming!

“There he is! Oh, goody, he’s coming!”

We arrive at our destination, and what awaits us but a warm welcome from you-know-who!!

A wiggly Precious Baby! She looks stunned to see us!

Becca and I visited and I got to know Precious Baby — I was so excited to finally meet her!

While Frank rested, Becca and I spent a little time taking pictures of our little ever-moving bundle of joy.

She looks like she's seen a ghost!

She still looks stunned to see us!

This was SO worth every excruciating minute of being on the road to get there!  I’m not good at traveling, but I remind myself that the destination is what matters!  I really enjoyed being able to see Frank’s family, and Steven and Becca were fantastic hosts to us during our stay!  We also stayed one night with Frank’s daughter Melissa and her family before heading back to Missouri.  Thanks so much, Becca, Steven, Robert and Melissa for your hospitality — we hated to come back home!

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  • Chilling with my Peeps (wyff4.com)

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From Ernest Borgnine to Lucy Again

16 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Our Life and Times

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

cookies, Dog, dog groomer, Ernest Borgnine, little dog, miniature schnauzer, schnauzer

This last month has been a real busy one for a lot of people, and City Boy and I are no exception.  Frank’s schoolwork has had to be sandwiched between work and getting things done here.  We’ve put a lot of things on the back burner, and unfortunately we’d let poor Lucy get a little…well…overgrown.

Lucy

Frank says she looked like Ernest Borgnine.  I thought she was getting a little werewolfy looking, and her long hair was getting very difficult to keep clean and harder to brush.  Even brushed, it looked like she should be running around in a dark wood with her pack of hellhounds.

So, Frank finally got a day off and made an appointment for Lucy to get a grooming.  She hates baths, so City Boy decided that, despite his embarrassment, he would forego her bath at home (he just didn’t want to give her one) and let the groomer give her one.  I was so glad I wasn’t going with him to drop her off.  I could only picture the looks of shock from the groomers.

While Frank was gone I decided to make some easy and fast cookies.  It would be a nice surprise for City Boy when he got home, and he likes treats.  Wouldn’t you know, I had everything I needed but one ingredient.  I guess I could have walked to the store, but I was irritated that Frank had not told me we had been out of butter AND margarine for a week.  Why was this Frank’s responsibility?  It isn’t, but I don’t like being irritated at myself, and it would really not make sense to blame the dog.

So, City Boy packed up a disgruntled but neat and clean Lucy from the groomer’s after she was done, and decided to get her picture before she could get home and get dirty.

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Then I had the same idea as soon as she got home, because I know how she is.  So I caught her as she was begging to go outside, probably to dig holes and bury her nose neck deep rooting for whatever she thinks might be there, and quickly took a picture for posterity. 

Lucy

These pictures are the last anybody will see her looking this way for a while — by tomorrow she’ll look like she’s been in the barnyard running with the pigs. 

Oh, and I told Frank about my idea to make him some cookies (the ones I reblogged from Katy yesterday), and he seemed pleased.  Then I told him about the butter (I stopped short of telling him how it was his fault and all).  I think he must really have wanted cookies, because when he went to get printer ink he brought back butter, too.  So, tomorrow after church I’ll be making cookies.  You’ve heard the old saying about the way to a man’s heart, right?

Related articles
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  • Groomed to death: Scandal of unregulated dog salons where family pets are suffering horrific and fatal injuries (mirror.co.uk)
  • Grooming and Cuts for a Maltese – PetCareRX (petcarerx.com)
  • I Took the Dogs to the Groomer (cookingforthechemicallysensitive.wordpress.com)

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Sorting Memories

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Holidays/Seasons, Nature, Our Life and Times, Winter

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Dog, Family, family photograph, family photography, Humor, miniature schnauzer, nature photograph, outdoor photography, Photography session, Scarlet Fever, Sunset, winter sky, winter sunset

This week has been sort-through-all-the-photos week.  Some I went through were very old (like the ones in a previous post I made about my dad) and some have been taken as recently as this week.  I thought I’d post some of my “finds,” but keep in mind that I did not say that all of these pictures were filled with the expertise that you have come to expect from a stellar photographer like myself (okay, stop gagging — I was being sarcastic).

I found some pictures from a family photo session of my parents and brother from a little ways back-in-the-day.  I know a bunch of old photos of people you don’t know aren’t usually all that interesting, and these were done in 1991.  But I found them kind of comical and I just had to show them to you.  These were done after my older brother and I had left home and had families of our own, so it is just my parents and younger brother Perry in the pictures.

English: Photographer: Alicia Williams User:Es...

English: Illustrations of children with Measle...

My brother was an average sweet baby, and then ended up with a bad case of Scarlet Fever when he was very young.  Back in those days Tylenol and Children’s Motrin had not been invented, and high fevers like that had to be brought down any way possible.  So, the high fevers left Perry with some damage to his brain.  Scarlet Fever exists today; they just call it a form of strep and give out antibiotics and fever reducer.  My own son had it as a kid.  But back in the day when my brother was little, it was a much bigger deal.

When my brother was around 5 he was labeled “retarded,” which was the actual clinical label they used, along with “mentally retarded” (ugh).  Fortunately nowadays, they use much less demeaning terms, such as “Special Needs.”  Anyway, that’s the only sad part of this post — flash forward about 25 years and back to how this applies to why Perry reacts certain ways to photo sessions: At an early age, Perry began to realize that he hated the flash from a camera (who can blame him?); he didn’t understand the flash, and so many pictures of him show him reacting to just that.

So, there the family was, at the photography place for a family photo, my dad, mom and brother.  First they started with my brother by himself, because my parents wanted a great picture of just him.

Perry

Nope, try again.

Perry

Cover of "My Name Is Earl - The Album"

Nope, not this time either.  This looks like “My Name Is Earl.” 

On the third try (some sort of record; it usually took more times than three!) a picture of him with his eyes open finally emerged.

Perry

Doesn’t he look happy??

Next were the family shots.  As each progressive picture is taken with Perry’s eyes closed in them, Mom’s expression gets progressively unhappy.  Dad, on the other hand, looks great in all of the pictures!

Family Photo

Family Photo

Family Photo

Finally, the photographer gets a shot in which Perry looks great — eyes open, pleasant look on his face — perfect!  Except that Mom has finally lost total interest in even looking at the camera.  Woops.

Family Photo

Well, better luck next year.

Anyway, I thought they were funny (guess you had to be there)!  

Here’s another set of photos (not very good quality ones taken by me) from when I moved a full-length mirror into the living room and Lucy saw herself for the first time.  The mirror is directly in front of where she is staring …

Lucy In Mirror

Lucy In Mirror

Lucy In Mirror

Lucy In Mirror

Aw, she doesn’t like the mirror any more and this next look says it all:

“Please get that scary other dog away from me!”

Lucy Scared

Who could resist a plea like that?  So, I moved the mirror back where it belonged — away from Lucy.

A week or so ago I tried to get a picture of the sky one evening just when the sun was slipping down.  When you live in town it’s hard to get a decent picture of that because of my number one nemesis in photographing outdoors, power lines and power poles.  So, I captured a few pictures, one out my back door and one out my front door, of what little of the sky did not have power lines or poles, or rooftops.

Winter Sky

Winter Sky

 I’m really pumped to go a little ways out of town and take some really nice pictures of trees and sky — but (sound of whining) it’s cold!  I’ll muscle some fortitude up one of these days soon, because there are really pretty sunrises and sunsets to be photographed (assuming I can get my butt out of bed to do the former).

So ends today’s random photo display — I really do hope you got a kick out of some of it!  

Today’s reminder:

5881202_sRemember your special someone on Valentine’s day!!  Six more days to prepare something really awesome! 

Related articles
  • Scarlet Fever In Children (mademan.com)

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Perception

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Feeling Better, Our Life and Times, Tips and Tricks

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Bird, bird photogrph, body perception, Dog, Human physical appearance, Humor, lifestyle, Perception, physical appearance, Psychology, reality, Valentine reminder

If you take a psychology course there will probably be a whole section of your textbook covering how people perceive certain things in many different ways , and how it effects our way of life.  Aspects of this are also taught in Sociology.  What does any of that have to do with a Plain Jane housewife from Missouri?  

I’ll admit, perception doesn’t really run my life, but at the same time it can play a sizable part.  For instance, how does a Plain Jane housewife perceive her physical appearance?  Not many will perceive it the same as they perceive what they want it to be, and many will even perceive it differently than the way they think other people will see it.  It’s different for everybody, and I would say I am really weird different, but here’s how I usually fantasize think about physical appearance:

Fantasy figure and the fantasy style I'd like to pull off if I had the fantasy figure

Fantasy figure and the fantasy summertime style I’d like to pull off if I had the fantasy figure

Fantasy figure and the actual style I'd probably pull off if I had the fantasy figure

Fantasy figure and the actual summertime style I’d probably really pull off if I had the fantasy figure

Actual figure and style I pull of with actual figure

Actual figure and year-round style I do currently pull off with the actual figure I have

At least thinking that way is relatively harmless, right?  I mean, I can separate fantasy from reality (to some extent).  My son, whom I love beyond measure, perceives things in a totally different way than I do, and I often think he is not realistic.  But then I am told that this is typical between parents and offspring.  One thing we differ in completely as far as perception is his vehicle.  He is the proud owner of his first car, which he worked for and paid for on his own.  But we think very differently as far as the physical appearance of his car (yes, I guess I’m stuck on physical appearance — I’m so shallow) and even the way it runs.

The lad's perception of his car

The lad’s perception of his car

My perception of the lad's car

My perception of the lad’s car

The lad's actual car

The lad’s actual car

Okay, so maybe I can be a bit unrealistic too.  But this kind of thing could be fuel on the fire of family disagreements if not held in check.  We’ve had to step back many times and take a close look at how we were perceiving things and what the reality of a situation really was.  I felt that my son, for instance, was driving around in a death trap.  My son did not realize this because he thought his car was the greatest car on earth, when really neither one of us was seeing total reality on that.

City Boy and I perceive ourselves as being Lucy’s owners who care for her every need.  Lucy, however, perceives us as being her naughty slaves who don’t always do her bidding or give her snacks when she begs so she has to punish us by chewing up our Valentine decorations and jumping on the furniture.  That’s just a hypothetical example.

The great hunter dog Lucy stalks her dangerous deathly prey

The great hunter dog Lucy stalks her dangerous deathly prey

The dangerous deathly prey

The dangerous deathly prey

City Boy and I perceive the rabbits, birds, squirrels and other wildlife that teems into our backyard to be a natural wonder, while Lucy perceives them as playthings to chase down.  She wouldn’t know what to do with any of those creatures if she ever caught up with one of them.

Okay, so, we’re not expected to perceive things the same way animals do, but I did say I was being hypothetical.  You believe that, right?

11806688_s

Related articles
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  • Whose Perceptions are Your Reality? (iwishisaidthat.com)
  • Cultivating Perceptiveness. (godlyvirtues.wordpress.com)

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It’s Still January?

25 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Holidays/Seasons, Our Life and Times, Valentine's Day

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Apple, Apple cider, Apple juice, Cider, Dog, food labels, Pneumonia, Valentine, Valentine decorations, Valentine's Day

The comfort of warm chicken soup or apple cider can be the most amazing thing on a cold day.  Feeling the warmth as it goes down and seems to warm your whole body is like a few minutes of heaven.  When you’ve got the creepy cruds down in your chest, as is common this time of year, warm fluids can even give a little respite and help you relax.  And, in either situation, something that normally seems so-so suddenly tastes so wonderful!

This morning I decided to break open a box of apple cider packets my husband had bought for me a long time ago.  They sat up in the cabinet, untouched, for a month before I finally thought to make myself a soothing warm cup of cider.  My chest was aching some, so it just seemed appealing.

Apple Cider

The front of the box is so inviting.  Apple cider.  Mmmmmm.  Nothing to indicate that it is anything other than apple cider, or at least partially apple cider.  Then, after drinking some, I knew I’d made the right choice.  It was very soothing.  Something made me look at the side of the box.  Partly curiosity, and partly having to keep an eye on how many carbs I consume.

Apple Cider

No apple juice?  Really?  The front of the box gives no indication that there is NO juice.  Hmm.  Well, that was kind of disappointing, but it still tasted and felt good going down.  Then I noticed something else on the label that seemed to be contradictory.

Apple Cider

English: Self-photographed by Patrick Geltinge...

Okay, so, the label says it doesn’t have ANY apple juice or juice of any kind, but it contains “apple juice solids.”  So, does this mean it contains apple juice that has been dehydrated and is now a solid?  Which begs the question, if the mix has 0% juice (according to the label), but has solid apple juice, then ISN’T THAT JUICE??

Oh, well — these mysteries of life are never-ending.  Maybe someone who works in the nutrition field can straighten this out for those of us who are not label-savvy.  

As it turns out, it wasn’t flu I had recently and thought I was still recovering from, but another round of pneumonia, or else the same round from a few months ago that never went totally away.  So I’ll be drinking more hot “apple cider/juice” until I get over this round, lol!  At any rate, that would answer why I’ve been less-than-positive and kind of depressed of late — I’m not used to feeling bad for long periods of time and don’t handle it well.

This morning City Boy ran a few errands before work and decided to take our dog Lucy with him.  She loves riding in the truck and goes crazy if she’s invited along.  So, she had a nice little trip to the bank and grocery store.  Later, when Frank left for work, he told Lucy she had to stay home.  She apparently had convinced herself that she was going to be spending the day with Frank, because when he left her behind she spent the whole morning sulking and moping in her recliner in the office until he returned.  She wouldn’t even get up to play with her toys.

Lucy Sulking

Call us OCD, but we keep an old ratty cover over the recliner because that’s the dog’s favorite place to sit/lay.  Just saying — we don’t get our furniture out of the dumpster even if this picture of it makes it look like we do.  So, poor, spoiled Lucy gets to relax in Frank’s best recliner while she sulks.

Here’s today’s reminder about Valentine’s Day — you know I have to mention it lest some of you out there might forget it and get in hot water with your significant others.  I’ve done a modest amount of decorating, and so I’ll close out with a few pictures of the Valentine’s decorations Frank is able to tolerate.  Actually, he’s been pretty good about it — I think he feels sorry for me.  Hey, whatever gets the job done.

Valentine's Decoration

On the hearth

Valentine's Mantle

The mantle

Valentine's Buffet

The buffet — my metal rose collection. I know, right? Who collects metal roses? Lol

Valentine's LR

Valentine's Endtable

Valentine's endtable

Since we still had poinsettias from Christmas that we couldn’t see any point in throwing away, the Valentine decorations had to be worked around them.  But worse things have happened in life and here we are, still alive.

  There are no baby pictures from this week yet, so I’ll have to beg Becca for some more.  You know I love sharing them with you, whether you like it or not, lol!  So, have a safe and fun start to your weekend, and try to stay warm.  Spring is only a few months away!

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Lucy’s Phobia

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Christmas, Holidays/Seasons, Our Life and Times, Winter

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

barking, Christmas, Christmas decoration, Dog, poinsettia, Santa, Santa Claus, Singing, Wreath

Christmas decorations

Poor Lucy.  She is very glad to see the Christmas decorations put up and out-of-sight.  Why?  She’s scared to death of several of them.

City Boy doesn’t agree with me on that.  He says Lucy is trying to play with them, and that’s why she barks and attacks them.  Actually, she doesn’t have a problem with them (or at least she tolerates them) when they are just sitting there doing nothing.  But, unfortunately, there are a few of them that aren’t always inanimate.  

Once a button is pushed, and the decorations come to life and start swaying, moving around, and singing, Lucy flies at them growling, barking and biting.  Frank says if she was afraid of them, Lucy would hide from them.  I don’t really agree.

So, all through the holiday season, Frank has happily played his favorite decorations, much to the fun (trauma) of Lucy.

They look innocent enough when they’re just sitting there.  My Hallmark snowman looks rather cheerful, actually.

Hallmark Snowman

But in the evening, when the lights are low and City Boy gets a fun (mean) streak, it looks more like this:

Hallmark Snowman

Keep in mind that while it’s lighting up like this it’s also moving around, singing and playing music.  For a little dog, that can be kind of scary.  But, Lucy actually got used to my little piano playing snowman.  She realized, after awhile, that the snowman was actually every bit as cheerful as he looked, and she gradually got to where she ignored it.

The wreath, on the other hand, is a different story.  It, too, looks fairly cheerful and innocent when hanging there during the day not doing anything.  Granted, Mrs. Santa’s eyeglass frames make her look a little angry from this angle, but I don’t think that’s anything a dog pays attention to.

Wreath

But, at night, when Mr. and Mrs. Santa come to life, it’s a totally different story.  While they’re swaying back and forth and singing a cheerful rendition of “Home Sweet Home,” the way they look takes a really bad turn.

Wreath

Heck, at night that even kinda scares me.  Keep in mind that they’re swaying back and forth.  And Lucy is going nuts.

But, it’s Frank’s favorite wreath.  Matter of fact, he picked it out before we ever got Lucy, and he bought it during the day.  So now that it has turned out to be the wreath-of-the-damned, he is determined to try and put a happy spin on it so I won’t throw it away.

Now all there is left of Christmas is our poinsettia collection, part of which is up on the mantle, to keep them away from Lucy.  We don’t want to risk her deciding to attack them, since poinsettias are poisonous to pets.  Well, I guess they are to people, too, but Frank and I leave them alone until they die.  Nothing else Christmas left out to traumatize Lucy, and the house is, once again, without drama.

Bad, bad picture of three out of four of our leftover Christmas poinsettias

Bad, bad picture of three out of four of our leftover Christmas poinsettias

So, it’s all packed-up for another year.  Thank goodness.  May the wreath from hell rest in peace and “coincidentally” have stopped working next time we get it out.

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A Winter Night At Our House

12 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by becky6259 in Nature, Our Life and Times, Winter

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

country life, Dog, Ice, Ice on trees, lifestyle, miniature schnauzer, night rain, Photography, rain, rural life, watching football, Winter storm

CREAM OF WHEAT, BOYS PLAYING FOOTBALL

Tonight may have been no different from any other night.  City Boy watched football, something he loves to watch and I don’t.  He tried to impress upon me that this game was important because it led up to some sort of reward (trophy maybe?).  It was Baltimore and Denver, but it may as well have been Europe and Iceland for all I knew about football.  I don’t even know who won.

Don’t get me wrong, I do know how football is played, what constitutes a score, and all that stuff.  In college I watched football quite a bit, but it was more interesting because the players were people I knew, and that made it somehow more watchable and less boring.  But I’m not the avid watcher that everyone in Frank’s family is, and most people in my family are.

English: After the rain: "water football&...

So, City Boy came in after the game and said, “Oh, is it raining?”

“It’s been raining for hours.  Did you not even get up to get a drink of water or take a break during commercials?”

“I just thought it was wind I was hearing,” he said, “and I kinda knew it was supposed to rain.”

He looked out the window.  “No,” he said, “it’s beyond rain, it’s ice now.”

English: Soldier wearing night vision goggles.

Frank suggested I get a picture of the ice glistening off the trees.  I told him it was too dark outside and that my camera does not double as night vision goggles, not to mention that I really didn’t want to stand outside in the wet, 19-degree weather even for a few minutes.  But, he kept mentioning it (I guess maybe he felt I needed entertaining), so I gave it a couple of shots through the window.  Well, okay, so I don’t like going outside by myself at night.  It’s not like he was offering to escort me out there.  

Once I’d taken a few nighttime shots with my daytime camera, City Boy seemed to feel that he had kept me occupied enough.

Ice on Tree

Ice On Tree

LucyCity Boy ate a snack in the bedroom later on (eating on the bed has become more comfortable since his foot surgery), and scroungy Little Dog appeared from nowhere.  Whenever it rains, Lucy looks like a stray from the moment she goes out in it, even when she’s just had a bath.  She loves rain and snow, and makes sure she brings a lot of it in with her.  That’s why she is not allowed in our room, because we don’t want our sanctuary looking and smelling funky.  So when Frank sat on the bed and started eating, Lucy deserted her toys in favor of standing at the door and staring longingly at the Guy With The Food.

So now, at bedtime, we find ourselves wondering if driving to church in the morning will be safe for a guy with a compromised foot and a woman who is a bad driver.  Sigh.

Another exciting evening passes at our little corner of the world, and somehow we’re still awake.  Gosh, we’re getting more and more like an old couple all the time.

Related articles
  • Rain and Memories (spilledcookies.com)
  • Winter. (afancifultwist.typepad.com)

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becky6259

becky6259

My daddy married a city girl and put her in the country, and then I married a city boy and he put me in the city...for awhile anyway. We're now living in small-town Mid-Missouri and enjoying the best of both worlds!

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