Beneath the Wraps

             I don’t know how many times there have been dogs that have wandered into our yard.   Somebody’s pets at that.   Some have had collars.   Two had even come with names.   Only one had come with a phone number.   Weird thing was it was for the animal shelter in Roseburg.   I personally would not be thrilled to have to drive up all the way to Roseburg to fetch Bonnie for instance knowing that she had been found in my neighborhood in Myrtle Creek.   But we do have tags attached to Bonnie’s collar.   One of them has her name and a phone number that will contact her owner. Duke did not even have a collar on him when he showed up in our yard.            Whenever lost pets wander into our yard we will try to keep them there and pray for the owner to come find it before Richard calls animal control – which is always his solution.   But Jaime and I said to give the owners a ch...

                This morning I took Bonnie for a longer walk than usual – or rather she walked me.  I don’t know why she thinks she has to move at freeway speed.  I know it isn’t comfortable for her to have her collar choking her as I am leaning against the leash trying to slow her down.  She never learns.  For the most part she has pulled either me or Jenna along.              I don’t know what triggered my memory of Houdini or entering him in the pet contest at Cinco de Mayo celebration that Kearns does every year – or at least each year we had lived there.   We had this hairy dog who loved his boys and would often “escape” to look for them – sometimes ending up at the elementary school or pound.             There were several categories in which we could have entered Houdini.   He would have blown all other dogs out of the water ...

            After over a month of parking our cars in the street we got our driveway back – at least for the time being.   The exterior of our new room is finished; we now have to work on the interior.   Plus there is still the issue of the floor.   The wet spot in front of the toilet seems to be growing. Roland and I painted the sides – mostly Roland.   He ended up purchasing a spray painter and moving it was a two man job.   I finished restaining the front dek and will continue with the back stairs – a chore I would prefer to have completed before 7:00 a.m. Today Jenna and I took Bonnie for a walk.   We walked to a house where a new family has moved in.   There were several cars pulled around waiting for the new owners who got stuck rerouting themselves due to accidents or fires.   I walked Bonnie home after learning the new move-ins had dogs and so did the neighbors.   There were five dogs in the driv...

                 A few days before our family’s arrival, Jenna pointed out the chickens in the cucumber garden.   No cukes this year!   Roland is mad!!! He decided that we would quit feeding and watering the chickens and return them to where they came from and pen them in so they cannot come on our side.   I told him to wait until after the kids arrived as I thought perhaps Randy could assist as he is tall.   Before we sent them on their way, I was hoping Devan would have at least one experience with feeding them and collecting eggs. Carrie enjoyed the free-range eggs and says it is something she will splurge on as the free-range are healthier than most of what is sold at the grocery store.   I personally don’t care about the cucumbers.   I couldn’t see Richard eating all that would grow – but now we will never know.   Not this year anyway. The chickens are still in the yard.   Levi’s dog had c...

When Jenna was a tot, all she had to do was flash her smile and a member of an older generation would whip out a quarter and hand it to her.   She hasn’t outgrown her charm and charisma, but I’m happy to say no one financially pays her for it anymore (I think with the age she is now that I’d be worried)   One time we had gone to Big Lots and some guy on his way in had asked if I wouldn’t mind hanging on to his enormous Great Danes while he went inside.   I was hoping to get Biff’s attention so that he could get a picture of me hanging onto the leashes of these gigantic animals.   The owner had called them “Scooby Doo” dogs.   So now everytime I hear the name "Scooby Doo" I think of that time with Jenna.                                         https://saveadane.org/2012/03/great-dane-ranking/ When he had finished his business, he came out of the store and pr...

            Sabrina, from next door, came over to apologize for the cries of her young kids (goats) Truth is I don't even hear them unless I happen to be outside and behind the house.  Sometimes I hear Jack through the kitchen window.  I think Sparky may answer him, but Jack is definitely louder.             Sparky is the dog who lives next door.  He shares the fenced yard with the goats.  Jack lives behind us.  His yard isn't fenced.  He feels free to go wherever he pleases at any time.  I don't know all of his daily routine, but it appears to me that his morning routine is to descend the hill that leads from our yard to his and torment Sparky.             I don't speak dog, but this is what I hear, "Ha, ha.  You are stuck behind a fence all day. I am better than yo...

              I remember being in the congregation during a sacrament meeting in which a newly returned missionary was giving his homecoming talk . As he shared various experiences, he would explain why he felt the need to share.  I remember him saying that all missionaries have at least one dog story.          “We do?” I had thought.           I must admit that I had missed his dog story as I had been thinking of my own.    One that actually brings a smile to my face each time I think about it.          I was serving in an area where each door had been knocked on (weekly if not daily) by one religion or another.    It came to the point that people just didn’t want to open their doors as they felt they were being bullied by religious freaks.    We had actually been told...

      The week before we left for Oregon, I had gone to the school to pick up Jenna. I was reading a book from my own collection and not the library as the parking lot started to empty. I wondered if she was dawdling again before I realized it was Thursday and she has an after school program. So my choices were to go home and return or continue reading.  Or hey, I could just go to the library that was near her school.  I chose the latter.        I looked through a few titles before picking up: “Girl’s Best Friend” from the Maggie Brooklyn Mystery series by Leslie Margolis.  It was interesting enough, but thought it might be fun for Jenna and I to read together.  And so I continued to look for another book before I settled on “A Million Ways Home” by Diana Dorisi Winget.  I ended up reading both at the same time and proceeded to mix up the characters and plots – at least in the beginning. ...

Ester doesn’t get to visit with Bill and Kayla’s kids all too often. She is their second cousin once removed on mine and Kayla’s side.   They are seventh cousins on Tony and Bill’s side.   Ester will always sit with the adult closest to the one holding B.J. Ester Loves looking at this little human who is smaller than her (though that’s bound to change within the next two to four years I think;   Ester’s small) Randy and Carrie have a dog.   They did not name him Iron Chops, but that is what I call him.   Even though he is still a puppy, he is three times bigger than Ester and oblivious at knocking over anybody or stepping on body parts.   Ester likes to watch him from a distance – tightly secured in someone’s lap and not anywhere near the same floor that Iron Chops occupies with his very long body. Highness is our dog Ester Loves him. Highness is old and s...

Biff’s girlfriend (at the time) gave him a puppy for Christmas – ironically the last year they were together.   They didn’t even make it to the next Christmas. The puppy was cute with his little brown patches and Jenna liked holding him and playing with him while his patches were still intact. As Buddy got bigger (just in the matter of months really) the patches disappeared and Biff had a large white dog who wanted to play 24/7.   Biff couldn’t give him 24/7.   We all needed to sleep sometime – except Buddy. Barked if we tied him up.   Lot of complaints from the neighbors. Buddy was no longer cute.   He was a nuisance.   Jenna loved him when he was a puppy, but when he got bigger than her, he was just too much for her to handle. He went through the chewing stage and managed to get some of her toys while indoors.   She hid all of her outdoor toys in his dog house – which he refused to take shelter in.   And that was okay by Jen...

  Noel took Jenna for half the day two Saturdays before Christmas.   In the process Jenna fell in love with Noel’s dog, Hallie.   Later, when Noel was traveling out of town, she was looking for a sitter to take Hallie for four days.   I volunteered – more for Jenna than Noel.   Unlike our dog, Highness, who’s only preferred activities are sleeping and taking walks, Hallie is an active four year old lab who LOVES to play – possibly more than Jenna.   I don’t know why Noel has her on such a strict diet, but I can’t leave food out for Highness to eat at his convenience as Hallie is supposed to eat certain foods at certain times – and Highness is such a fussy eater that he usually chooses NOT to eat what’s been left in his dish. Last week I watched Lacy – who belongs to Frank and Marie.   Normally I’d have said “No” except for they’ve watched Jenna on several occasions – not overnight, but several hours each time. Unlike Hallie, Lacy i...

         Children call her the animal balloon lady as she has brought her pump and balloons to various activities providing the children with a sweet gift to take home (provided it doesn’t pop first) Noel announced a service that she would be providing for parents to drop off their children for four hours and she would provide snacks for them and a play a holiday movie and provide other activities.  Sounded like a great bargain to me.           I signed up for Jenna’s sake more than my own.  I figured she’d enjoy the activities and association with whatever fellow classmates might have showed up.           Noel offered two shifts: 8-12 and 1-5.  I chose the earlier of the two – figuring there would be less children and it wouldn’t be so overwhelming for Noel to have a huge amount of children in her apartment.      ...