Things I Have Learned….

Since Ranger came to live with us, I have learned these things (at the very least):

*  When they make the movie about Ranger’s breakfast, it will be called “Gone in 30  Seconds”                           

*  When your husband is going to walk the dog and you hand the man a plastic bag, make sure the bag has a bottom in it

*  No kitchen floor is complete without muddy pawprints

* There are children who would like to live as well…and be pampered as much…as our dog

*  When my kids were little, I wasn’t as easy and forgiving to them as I am to this dog

*  I love the smell of wet dog…..well, I love the smell of this particular wet dog!

*  We often wonder what amused us, what we talked about, before this dog came into our lives.

 

In a Restaurant

They sit at the table, at a 45 degree right angle from each other.  Their hands are in their laps, their gazes, straight ahead, not intersecting or connecting.  They are two very prim ladies.  They have very little eye contact.  They speak very few words to each other.

Do you want more water?  No.

I’ll call the waiter and get you some more water.  I said no, I don’t want more water.

They speak so little during the meal that it makes me wonder.  After 82 years of being sisters, do they have nothing left to say to each other?

 

Washing Hands

After yoga and an early lunch, I went to work in the garden.  It’s a beautiful day in Golden and I dug weeds, planted lettuce and a bell pepper plant in the vegetable area and red dianthus and yellow marigolds in the flower garden.  When I came inside, hands grimy with dirt and nails full of healthy soil, I discovered the water was turned off while John worked on the plumbing.  But I did not make this discovery until my hands were coated with Bert’s Bees liquid soap.  So I did the practical thing…. lifted the lid of the toilet, found the only water in the house and plunged my hands into the bowl, sloshed them around and even used the nail brush before I pulled them dripping out and wiped them off, clean as a whistle.  I realize the porcelain bowl is Ranger dog’s favorite water supply so I need to watch that he doesn’t stick his head in for a drink before fresh water can be flushed in. 

Oh, come on, you probably would have done the same thing….you just wouldn’t have told anyone about it.

Kick It Up a Notch

My sister-in-law Judy gives me fashion advice.  She wants me to abandon my warm-up pants and Crocs for fitted jeans and flats and start wearing more interesting jewelry, especially earrings.  She wants me to “kick it up a notch.”  Since she is the best thing that ever happened to my brother Doug, I’m not offended but actually listening.

Recently, I walked into my daughter’s home and I was wearing a Gap denim jacket (very southwestern looking) and dangle earrings.

“Mom,” daughter Mary exclaimed, “Aunt Judy would be proud!”

Made my day.

Kind of dog

Yesterday, our church held its annual Mother’s Day plant sale to benefit the Hopi Indian youth.  As part of the fun, I had a table where kids could select a container, put potting soil and seed in it and then take it home to watch the growth experience unfold.  One articulate 7 year old began to tell me that his family has a garden but they have to be careful that the neighbor’s dog doesn’t get into it.

“What kind of dog is it?” I asked.

“Oh,” he replied solemnly, “it’s a bewareofdog.  My sister and I are afraid of it because it’s a BIG bewareofdog.”

A John Story

As I’m trying to decide what to wear, I say “I wonder what the temperature is going to be today?”

“Oh,” he replies, “it’s not that wet out…it’s raining.”

Ranger’s Life

Ranger came to us via Table Mountain Animal Shelter.  He was a stray and they called him Herbert.  Now, Herbert is not a name for a dog…..it was probably the name of your minister when you were a child.  So he became Ranger and it suits him since he is a German shepherd/chow mix and a medium size dog with a handsome western face.  Yesterday, in accordance with the guidelines of the shelter, Ranger went in for his surgery.  He is about 5 years old and no one had taken the time to have him neutered?  How can that be?  Didn’t the previous owner love this sweet animal?  Obviously, the answer is ‘no’ otherwise he would not have been a stray.  Anyway, we picked him up about 4:30 p.m. and he was still woozy from the general anesthetic.  I almost cried when we, with help from the vet who performed the surgery, lifted him into the car and he didn’t even hold his head up.  I felt a lot better when he stood up in the car, turned around and lay back down and fell asleep.  And to be perfectly honest, I felt relief and joy when he woke us up at 1 a.m. because he wanted to go outside and he was hungry!

He came home with a Certificate of Alteration.  I promised him that I would not frame his certificate and display it for everyone to see!  Next week, we go to training (where we the humans are trained in how to talk to our dog) and that certificate might be one to hang on the wall.  We’ll see.

Ranger Dog

Ranger has been with us for a week today.  He was a stray and the shelter, located here in Golden, thinks he is German shepherd/chow and about 4 yrs old.  He obviously was not in a healthy situation as he cowered at any quick movements during his first few days here.  He’s really getting into a routine now and seems calmer and happy.  He and John take a walk every morning about 6:30…they go up the South Mesa – well, maybe not all the way to the top.  They run into their friends and the dogs greet each other with yips and sniffs while the humans just say “Hello…”  We’ve had our first bath and our first vet visit and we’re adjusting beautifully to the cat.  Guenivere, The Queen of the house, likes to hisss at the dog and he totally ignores her.  We started them off by putting a baby gate at the top of the stairs so she would have her own space and feel secure.  On Tuesday evening, she started jumping the gate and on Wednesday, John took it down.  In the morning, I let her out in the backyard while Ranger and John are on their walk.  When she comes back in, she goes downstairs and I take her food down to her…ok, so she’s a little spoiled.  Then I make coffee (for the humans) and fill the food bowl (for the canine)….what did we do before we had these handsome animals in our house and lives??