Wonderful Wednesday Personal Blog
1/7/2015 0 Comments After-Christmas PostIt looks like we are back to normal at our house after the holidays. Or, as normal as two corgis and a German Shepherd can possibly be. The tree survived, but only because it never made it out of its box. I think we will put up a real tree next year. Hopefully, Freki will be mature enough to not pull it over- just for fun. I found her pulling limbs off a small shrub in the backyard today, though. So, no promises for next year.. We had a great Christmas. Our Christmas Eve dinner was a success with the family- green chile stew, sweet potato cornbread (a huge hit), home-made salsa with chips and flan for dessert. Yummy! The Christmas Day menu went to the other side of the family with smoked turkey and a prime rib roast. We had plenty of people to eat it all, with just enough left for a turkey sandwich or two. Will all the bustle, the dogs were home alone more than I'd like, but they got new toys and seemed fine with the temporary change in their schedule. If Santa was a bit late arriving at your house, well, it's possible he and his elves were delayed here a bit. Happy New Year!! From our dog-crazy house to yours!
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12/30/2014 0 Comments Ben's Christmas Post(An aside: I forgot to post Ben's blog last week. Don't tell him. We were, as he says, very busy.) Mom is busy, so I said I'd post on the dog blog today. Also, I am the only one who agreed to wear the silly elf hat long enough to get a picture. It's my hat, anyway. Two years ago, mom told me it was my job to watch the house. At Christmas, that means to be on the lookout for funny-looking little men with funny hats and pointy ears. That's where I got the hat. It is my prize for a job well-done. I'd rather have a new couch pillow, but, hey--I was just doing my job. It started like this . . . Here I am, guarding the gate. It's a little bit fancied up, but mom does this every year, and it lets me know it is time to watch for elves and a jolly, round man with a red coat and a beard. Apparently, the big guy, whom they call 'Santa', has been here before, and they added his head to a wreath and hung it on another gate. Perhaps it is meant as a warning, and maybe the elves were here looking for him, but I was watching and nothing slips past me. OK, if I'm napping on the couch, I'm obviously not working. But even asleep, I will still beat anyone to the door if squirrels invade the yard. Did I mention I want a new pillow for the couch this year? I think Freki wants more toys. She has plenty, but ate the noses off two bears and a pony last week. Dixie wants chew toys. She is easy to entertain. Just give her a quiet spot and a bone, and she is happy. Oh, and she likes tummy rubs, too. So, here I am, master of the yard, elf-frightener and new owner of the elf-hat. Santa looks a bit perturbed, though still jolly, and maybe I'll get that new pillow after all. 12/10/2014 1 Comment Decorating for Christmas with FrekiThis is potentially a very short post. We don't have any Christmas decorations up. But that isn't really the end, and Freki isn't the entire cause of our lack of holiday jingle. We have been tossing about ideas on where to put the tree (behind bars? in a cage? on the roof?) for a couple of weeks, but Freki has developed a great love of pulling limbs off the pine trees in the yard, and it has been pretty clear a tree in the house would delight her. Us, not so much. I have put a Christmas tree in a playpen in years past when there was a very young toddler in the house, mostly to keep the child from pulling the tree over on himself, but I doubt it would deter Freki, and the playpen is long gone. And how to explain the lovely round balls on the tree won't bounce like the tennis balls, and they are fragile and not good on the inside of a puppy? With some misgivings, I pulled the love seat away from the window, blocked either side of the open area, and put the tree- still in its box- behind it to acclimate Freki to its presence. And then we bought a house. So, in all the ensuing muddle, we have no tree. There is no nativity on the table or lights on the eaves. It will wait until we are moved into our new house. There is wrapping paper scattered about, holiday songs in the air, and cookies in the oven. My family is happy and healthy, and we have a new grandbaby to spoil this year. And Ben is guarding the house against elves... 10/1/2014 2 Comments Wonderful WednesdayThis past weekend we joined a group of friends at the lake for a bit of pickin', a bit of fun, and a lot of food. It took some packing to get Ben and Freki ready- water, bucket, towels, blanket, crate, treats, poop bags, chew toys, spare leash- but it was worth it. Poor puppy was worn out by the end of the day, but had fun meeting a lot of people who petted her, and barking at several dogs which ignored her. We continue to encourage Freki's interaction with everyone. She enjoys being around people, but is still unsure about strange dogs. Her 'alert' and 'let's play' wind up being a lot alike, and even dogs that want to play are a bit tentative. Of course, a barking puppy coming at you with front feet flying is a bit disconcerting even if her tail is wagging. She also swam in the lake. Twice. Yes, she is a water-baby, and the waves only bothered her for a short time before she plunged into the water. She was on leash and didn't get very far, but loved every minute, paddling like a pro. Ben waded chest-deep in the water and enjoyed it, too, but I am still unsure of the physics of those short legs in deep water, though I have seen other corgis swim. Cleaning out the cooler was also a lot of fun. The sound of the freezer door opening sends her hightailing it to the kitchen for an ice cube, so how much more fun to play in a whole cooler of ice? She is a busy girl. Plays hard, naps hard. And gets into mischief. Today she found the toilet paper roll. (Permit me an eye roll, here) She has learned to climb onto the couch unassisted. (Sorry, Ben, your safe place isn't so safe anymore) Housebreaking is going better since she learned she gets to go outside when she rings the bell on the back door. She does a hilarious dance at meal-time, complete with running commentary. She has also learned to look out the front window. She watches for dad coming home, me watering the flowers, and talks about it. The dishwasher seems to be a wonderful way for Freki to taste-test our meals and she is not convinced she should not climb in if the door is open. And she rides well in the car- front seat or back. She naturally prefers the front. Did you know Ben does not have a tail? Neither does Dixie, because they are Pembroke Welsh Corgis. The Cardigan Corgi does have a tail, but the Pembroke does not. Not a great revelation to most of us, but to a little girl we met this weekend, this was a huge deal. Rumor has it, the people who bred the corgi in the Welsh countryside hundreds of years ago were too poor to feed a large dog, so the corgi is necessarily a very tough dog in a small package. Also, dogs were often taxed unless they were needed to work the farm, so to avoid paying a tax on their family dog, their tails were docked to prove their working status. Or so the story goes. This past weekend, we took Ben and Freki to our local town festival and walked the streets, socializing our puppy, listening to live bands, and just having fun. Ben is an old hat at this, but seemed a bit surprised to find he was not the center of attention. Freki hogged more than her fair share. However, that was after she realized Ben was enjoying being petted by innumerable strange people. And since she always wants whatever Ben has, once she realized it really was fun, she was quite the ham. One little girl petted Ben, her hand in his thick coat.. I pointed out the differences between the two dogs- never miss a chance to educate- and she peered at his short, stubby legs and dense, red hair. Then I mentioned he had no tail. With a jerk of her head, she threw a questioning look to her mom, then took a step behind Ben, squatted down, her hands on her knees, and stared straight up his, er, rear. With astonishment, she announced, "His butt has no tail!" Quite right, my dear. His butt has no tail. But he wags it just the same. |
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