Saturday, March 31, 2012

and then we were 6

about a week ago i chatted paul to see if he'd ever in a million years consider a westie-poo puppy i saw advertised through a friend of a friend on facebook. he said YES! but no sooner did he say yes than i realized the posting was 2 weeks old and the puppy was gone. so i called the humane society...i figured while the answer was yes, i'd just consider all the options. i told them "my husband and i always like westies...do you ever have dogs in that aren't on the website?" and she said "i've worked here for 4 years and i've seen MAYBE 2 westies come through." long pause and then in a hushed voice she said "but we just happen to have one under anesthesia right now. he came in as a stray from santa fe yesterday and he got nuetered today." after talking she said i could wait for his picture to come up on the website or i could put a $15 deposit on him and they could hold him for us to come see him.
i went down to see him and i didn't instantly fall in love. i just couldn't picture my house with another dog, a dog i knew nothing about, in it. but he was cute. he reminded me of my sister's dog who just passed away this last year and he was an amazing dog. because of his surgery we couldn't see him beyond just looking into his cage at the humane society. the next morning i took asher and tatum back down there. they brought him out and he played really well with asher. REALLY well. the thing you have to know about asher is that he is NOT good with pets, especially pets that have hair long enough to grab into a fisthold. it makes me so mad. i HATE when he's mean to the dogs. but we've been shouting "GENTLE HANDS! GENTLE HANDS!" when we can see it coming. and he did gentle hands with this new dog! with out being prompted. then they brought tatum out and she stood still and cold as a cucumber. she tightened every muscle in her body as if to say "how dArE you???" then we let them off leashes and she nipped him a couple good times, he gave her a play bow and let her take the alpha role and then they played like they've been missing each other for years. i've been wanting to get a dog for tatum for a couple years now. she's gotten more and more timid as she gets older and everyone i described her behavior to said "she needs a dog!" that night paul came to meet him and agreed that he was game if i was game. and so we named him gilligan and brought him home. here's a picture i took that night.

and here's what he looks like a week later after a good scrubbing and WAY more comfortable.

he has been so funny to have around. they guessed his age as 1 year and i think they are pretty close. he still chews alot so i know there's alooooot of puppy left in him. but he sleeps all day too (hopefully that doesn't mean he's growing!). i got him a BIG bag of bones last night and he's already eaten 2 of them. he's such a great playmate for tatum. he's shedding which i am NOT a fan of but i need to bathe him really good and it's spring. he's a wire haired dog so that should stop. he comes to his name and obeys some commands...not all. he can NOT figure out sit but i'm hoping tatum will show him the ropes with that one. karyssa has claimed him as her dog and after the first night when the shedding began paul said "well, it's up to you...i mean...i think he's cute but ...." so i guess it's a done deal. paul is hooked. he comes home and gets right down on gilligan's level and coos and greets him. gilligan has a little doll that he keeps pulling out of the toybox. he does it so gingerly and never chews on it...just snuggles it. he pulls the pillows down on the floor because he's learned he is not allowed on the futon even though tatum is. if i leave a blanket on there he'll pull that down too. and when he gets scolded he smiles. no lie. i wish i could get a picture of it. he pulls his lips back so that all that shows is just the very tips of every single tooth. it is adorable and makes me giggle even when i'm scolding him. if i forget to feed him breakfast he will help himself to ours if i don't clear the table right away. he's getting cuter and cuter every day and i am slowly falling more in love with him. he's gonna be a good dog...i just have to get over the part where there's actually two dogs in my house!

Friday, March 16, 2012

the most interesting thing i will ever find in bushes ever.

the other day i was looking at the new flowers that are popping up all over our yard. some of which i did not plant. and then i found this stray piece of paper in my bushes. dang it! i hate how the wind is pushing all the garbage all over...until i started reading what it was. this was no grocery list or note to self. this was almost the most interesting page i have ever read. and so i saved it to share with you:

page 533
...his son, so maybe it wasn't. if he was 21, he was just barely 21!

3-17-92
i called devere sunday night. his mother answered. he said his kids, his mother and aunts and ucles were there. wedding reception? i told him to call me back when he had time to talk. he hasn't yet, of course. the thing is, i didn't really believe he was getting married. i don't know if it was a bluff or if he was playing a card. whatever it was, he got me to fold! i'm certain it was for the best.

3-27-92
devere hasn't called. ray hasn't called. tom hasn't called. i shouldn't be depressed. i'm not.

we've been really busy. i worked last saturday and will again tomorrow. debbie and i worked until 8:00 or 8:30 three nights this week.

right after i got home saturday diane called. i went over and helped them move. sunday i went and helped her clean the house in [my neighborhoods name]. their house in berthoud is real nice.

sandy called me tonight in tears. she had yesterday off, michael didn't come over. he said he was going fishing. she thinks he lied and has taken his wife somewhere for the weekend. she says she can't take the loneliness. i told her she could if she made up her mind to live without him and live

page 534
her life for herself. when she decides to be alone, the loneliness comes seldom and is less empty. she also said she writes how she feels, i asked her if she wrote it with the intention that no one else would ever read it, or with the thought that someone else would. she said she writes it to michael. i suggested she start writing for the purpose of identifying her thoughts and feelings. she still thought of giving them to michael even when she thought she was going to write just for herself.

5-13-92
this is becoming a sex journal! i don't write until i've gotten laid!

on my birthday, debbie and scott and i went to the day races in loveland. we lost.

i went to an ABWA seminar in boulder (i've forgotten when it was). they auctioned a balloon ride. i bought it for $310.

the channel 6 auction was the end of april. i bought a lot of things. the most exciting was a $515 pentax camera for $275.

i was going to have easter because niki said "betty always has easter". on wedensday before mama called to ask me if i'd be mad if everybody didn't come to my house for easter. randy has had spots on his lungs for four years. when they first found them the doctors said it was...


seriously and for real i want the other 532 pages of this bad boy.