Riley

This past Sunday I welcomed a new addition to my family.  I had been looking for a pup who would 'fit' for me.  I'd been looking at Petfinder for a little while and hadn't found that special pup.  Then Friday there she was - she was listed with her brother and sister.  I kept thinking about her and finally filled out the application and emailed it to the person listed. She responded that someone was supposed to meet with her that weekend.  If anything changed she would let me know.  I was sad, but I knew I had tried.  Then she sent another email right before I shut the computer down for the night. The people had to go out of town, and they don't hold dogs.  So I went to the vet Sunday morning to meet her - the three puppies had been rescued from a kill shelter in southern Illinois and hadn't been placed with a foster yet.   Her brother was getting adopted right before I got to see her.  She was smaller than her picture - I think her fur made her look bigger, and the rescue person told me she was 5 pounds according to her vet records, not the 7 she had estimated on the Petfinder description. She claimed me immediately, peeing on me, but it was her cuteness and personality that won me over.  She's been here four days now and is settling in rather well for a puppy.  She sleep through the night in her crate next to my bed with just a wimper when I first put her in and then go to the bathroom.  She poops outside but we're still working on the pee.  She has gotten a bit more 'bitey' since she's been here - the rescue person had commented as we played in a room at the vet's that she seemed more kissy than bitey...she's still kissy, but has discovered her teeth.  She's not been destructive, which is good, and I've been trying to correct her when she starts  mouthing something she shouldn't.  And of course she has a carpet full of stuffies she's been showing who's boss.  We start our puppy classes at Petsmart on the 2nd.  She'll be a work in progress for a while, but I'm sure she (and me) will figure it all out.  In the meantime, welcome Riley to my little family!

For Tuni

This is Rainy sent to me by her mom.  Since I don't have a pup of my own yet, I'm including this picture in a tribute to little Tuni who loved her beds! I'm sure she's looking at all the pictures of pups in beds with a smile on her  little face and I hope that her parents find some comfort in all the people who loved Tuni even though they never met her. Tuni can never doubt that she was loved!

A Hiking We Will Go

Quechee Gorge

This past Memorial Day I went hiking in Vermont and New Hampshire with the intention of conquering Mount Ascutney.  We hiked it a few years ago in the fall which meant we were hiking through knee deep fallen leaves and the daylight was significantly shorter, meaning the hike was truncated because we needed to get off the mountain in daylight! The trip out east started with a visit to Quechee Gorge and some of the covered bridges that had sustained damage due to Hurricane Irene last year.  With the heavy rainfall from the hurricane and the many smaller rivers in the area, there were natural paths for the water to take, only the water overwhelmed the banks of the rivers, carried debris downstream, and deposited trees, mud and anything else carried along wherever the water crested. Most of the state didn't suffer damage and much of it has been repaired enough to bring back the tourists. The hiking started first with Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire since the elevation going up wasn't as much as Mount Ascutney, then we did Mount Ascutney two days later.  We made it to the top of both mountains and were rewarded with some spectacular views.

One of the damaged bridges

The top of Mount Sunapee

The path up Mount Ascutney

The view from the top of Mount Ascutney

For Tuni

It's been a rough time lately for the pug blogging community and another little girl has gone to the Bridge. I remember finding The Girls blog and seeing Sequoia and Tuni.  Tuni was such a tiny little pug and had a magical tongue.  She also had a very special friend in Winston.  Yesterday was Tuni's turn to go to the Bridge.  I'm thinking she was greeted by so many from the pug blogging community that she knew she was home and safe. She'll be looking down on her sisters Sequoia and Emma and her parents and her new brudder and making sure they are okay.  Maybe you can help her and offer some words of comfort to her family at this sad time.

Raise a glass

Yet another furiend has left us for the Bridge.  This morning it was Hanklin and I'll Tell Ya What   he's gonna be telling his stories, and rolling his eyes and causing happy chaos with all the other furiends that greeted him there. So raise a glass, or a can as the case may be, of some ice cold PBR to Hank! And maybe go give some love and support to his mom and dad who miss their little boy.

Pink For Payton

May is the month for flowers.  It's the second half of the saying April showers bring May flowers.  It is when you can safely put flowers outside (after Mother's Day, I'm told, so you know you're past the last frost). I don't have a yard; I don't have any ground to plant in; but I do have a balcony, that gets sun for the whole afternoon.  And yesterday I decided it was finally time to get some flowers.  I got some petunias - back where I used to live I would plant petunias in the border in front - they were easy, looked very pretty (even though the white ones would be eaten by the local rabbits) and were relatively easy to care for. I looked and looked before I found just the right ones. And there they were - white petunias that would make difficult rabbit food on my third floor balcony; purple petunias because my favorite color is purple; and pink petunias for Payton.  In a week of Midwest pug events, I thought it was a good time to remember Payton.  I'll see the flowers every day and I'll think of Payton, and her family.  

In the rising of the sun

And in it's going down,

In the blowing of the wind

And in the chill of winter, 

In the opening of buds

And in the rebirth of spring,

We will remember you. 

In the blueness of the sky

And in the warmth of summer,

In the rustling of leaves

And in the beauty of autumn,

In the beginning of the year

And when it ends,

We will remember you. 

When we are weary

And in need of strength,

When we are lost and sick at heart,

When we have joys we yearn to share,

We will remember you. 

For long as we live, you too shall live,

For you are a part of us,

And we will always remember. 

And in the pink flowers we remember Payton, a brave and loyal little pug, and her loving family.  Payton will always be there, always be a part of us because she touched our hearts. And we will always remember. 

Opening Day

It is somehow fitting that today is opening day for the Chicago Cubs.  With a late winter/early spring that found temperatures in mid-July form, a rebirth was beginning - trees started budding, flowers poked through the ground, the ivy was turning green on the outfield wall and a new management team was in place on the north side.  And this Sunday is Easter, probably the ultimate expression of rebirth.   Spring is the time for waking from a long winter slumber - not the hibernation of the bears but the dreary, sun-shortened days of winter.  It's a time for freshening your home, for a new spring wardrobe and renewed energy as the daylight hours are longer.  It's a time to come alive again, to live fully once again, to permit yourself a fresh start.  Through the difficult days of winter, through difficult days of loss, it is comforting to know that things do get better, that life goes on, that the spring will follow the winter.