And It Was Good!

Since the hubby had to work all weekend, I figured I would take the kids down to my folk's lake house and let them play and swim. It's amazing what a great baby-sitter water is! The day started out beautifully and Iraq much enjoyed the flying holy noodles of Antioch!

Hover noodle... hovering!

Flower fly-by!

And the spirits that dwell within the forbidden game system clenched the unfortunate teen creature within their steely grasp. The teen struggled against their great power, but they had him fully suspended, like a boat on a lift. The poor boat can see the water... can almost taste it. The water just below its belly teases it, begging it to come play... but it is a slave to its captor... much like a teen with a video game...

And suddenly, as if jealous of the struggles and merriment just out of its reach, the house spirits spewed forth their anger at our insolence...

And sent us scurrying back into the safety within it's walls...

Where books were waiting...

And Sponge Bob and Pop...

And the teen creature came in to rest upon the Chair of Power.

And The Skink proclaimed that it was time for her to bring forth Pancakes from the magic dust...

And so, she waved the sacred spoon...

And spoke the magic words...

And she studied her creation and saw that it was good!

And she said, "Eat this. This is a PANCAKE!"
And after her creation had been admired (and consumed) by all, she caused her clothes to disappear and a cacophony of joy emanated forth from her...

And emanated...    and emanated...                and emanated...                                           and emanated...

and emanated...
Much to the joy of her loyal subjects...

who eventually wandered off to play Old Maid,

and watch Sponge Bob,

and work on a 53 billion piece puzzle.

And it was good...

Until we had to drive an hour back to our own dwelling, across a mountain pass and through a torrential rain storm... behind a moron...

And when I got everyone in the house and the little ones were finally snug in their beds, my dear husband asked me how our day was, and I spoke the truth when I said...

"It was good!"

And it was!
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Fun Filled Family Friday

I read the most wonderful blog this morning about a mom who took her daughter to the beach and had a glorious time! It was beautifully written, beautifully illustrated and it inspired me to gather my flock and take them on my own adventure. I haven't been grocery shopping in a while, so we stopped at KFC to make sure we had the makings of a delightful picnic.

With the car smelling of  hot chicken and fries, we wound though the mountain roads of the Blue Ridge Turnpike to find the perfect picnic spot. As we rounded a curve, we came to a construction area where we had to stop and wait behind a line of cars for about half an hour. What a FUN way to start our magical adventure! "Moooooom... how much loooooongeeeeeeerrrrrrrr?" "Why aren't we gooooooooinnnnnngg?"

With the car smelling of slightly colder chicken, fries and diesel fumes, we stopped at the first "scenic overlook" we came to and, starving, jumped out of the car and set up our picnic. We had to wonder why it was called a scenic overlook... it was a field surrounded by trees and we couldn't even see the mountains from it, but it seemed a nice place to set up before we all keeled over from starvation.

We put out our colorful blanket and within about 2 minutes Iraq succeeded in spilling her drink on it. The Skink ran off in one direction and Brandy started drooling on Broadway's arm at the smell of all the food. I stuffed a few pieces of chicken into my mouth and ran off after the Skink after Broadway warned me she might get chigger bites sitting in the long grass. The moment I got The Skink back to the blanket, she ran off again. In the mean time, Broadway and Iraq had a bet going with me as to whether the animals in the adjoining field were horses, or as I thought, mules - so they headed off hoping to prove me wrong as I went running after The Skink.

Brandy was left guarding all the food by her little lonesome... instead of eating it as I was afraid she might, she decided to head off after Iraq and Broadway. What a GREAT dog!!

Yup... mules! Really sweet ones, too :o)

Smart dog - she found some shade!

Yummy strawberry-leopard... My favorite!

Run, Medusa! RUN! The mules want to eat your snakes!
(I did try to brush her hair this morning, but she was not interested!)

So, with the sun beating down on us and the coarse grass tickling our legs, we packed up the food and the blanket, retreated back to the air-conditioned van and drove back down the mountain.

So... it was nowhere near as romantic and magical as that blog I read this morning... but we DID have fun... in a scratchy, sweaty, chigger-bitten sort of way. And if you want to read a romantic, magical blog, you are seriously misled if you think you're going to find it here, so click here instead --- > Enjoying the Small Things

Enjoy!

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Asleep On Her Feet, Part III and IV

It's one thing to fall asleep on your feet after a long day of fun in the sun...

Or when you just don't know when to stop playing with that little girl in the mirror...

But falling asleep on your feet on your way INTO bed???

Yes - this is how I found her just minutes before posting this blackmail shot on my blog
: P

UPDATE: After taking this picture, I put The Skink all the way in her bed. Apparently I roused her just a little, because when I went back up to check on her, I found her like this:

Please note, she took the time to bring both her favorite cows with her (you can just barely make out the brown & white cow under her right shoulder) AND she took some of the wash clothes out of the hallway dresser... maybe to pad the floor if she fell??? I don't know, but this sleep-standing seems to be becoming a habit! Is she trying to sleep like a cow??

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CapaBull - Training My Service Dog Blog

**Update (01/08/2012) Was I successful in training a bulldog to be a service dog? You bet! Brandy has been everywhere with us and has proved to be a priceless asset to our family - especially my middle child who is in the autism spectrum. Here is a link with a few pictures of Brandy in action.**

Original Post:

Who would have thought my big, silly-looking bulldog would do this well in Service Dog training? I suppose if I had thought it, I might have tried training her a long time ago. Bulldogs simply aren't known for their trainability or their intelligence, but then again, Brandy is an Olde Victorian Bulldogge (OVB)... not sure if that is really supposed to make a big difference.

OVBs were created combining English Bulldog, American Bulldog, German Boxer, Staffordshire Terrier and Olde Bulldogges - perhaps Brandy's surprising trainability comes from the influence of fine, German engineering? This far down the autobahn, we can only speculate. 

So to date, the biggest hurdle we've had is the "down" command. She sits, she stays, she takes one step at a time, she ignores lawnmowers and strangers, but she does not like to lay down. It's understandable, really. Who wants to be told to lay down on a filthy sidewalk? That, and having a sore shoulder doesn't help. 


I've added glucosamine to her diet, and I may have to add some aspirin or something just to help out a bit. I mean... the poor dog is 7! Not exactly a spring chicken. It's like telling Grandma to just make herself comfortable on the concrete between the green glob of gum and the bird crap.


At any rate, I took Brandy out today, worked her for a bit, and then gave her the "down" command. She made a face (she can make the funniest faces when she isn't really happy about something) and then lay down! I praised her, I gave her treats... and then I learned what her true currency is! Belly Rubs!!


After I gave her some hearty belly rubs, she lay down for me consistently for the rest of the training. Of course when giving belly rubs, it is imperative to rub briskly and firmly while saying "Who's da bestest puppy in da whoooooooooooollle world? Who? Who is it? YOU da bestest doggie! You is! Oh yes you IS!" Brandy got so excited each time, she wiggled back and forth on her back with her upper lips thrown back, exposing the pink underside of her face and her giant, bully teeth. SO CUTE! 


Of course after reviewing what I just wrote, I'm starting to think I should keep an eye out for Brandy's blog... "How To Train Your Human." If I find it, I'll be sure to pass along the link!


At this point I have the Service Dog patches, harness and other fun stuff, but I haven't quite gotten around to sewing the patches ON to the harness... which would allow Brandy to go pretty much anywhere with us. Where did I put those stupid sewing needles??  


Oh, LOOK! Super Glue!

Update - 01/08/2012:

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It's ALIVE!

That's right... the garden is still alive. Perhaps this makes me a reformed plant serial killer.

Most of the plants were lovingly planted in pots and have been kept on the sunny back deck. They have been upgraded them from cup 1.0...

 to pot 1.0...

and a few of the tomatoes are on pot 3.0 by now.

And we have NEWS! Apparently some of our tomato plants are expecting!

Aren't they cute??

And, the cantaloupes are taking over the world!

By the end of the summer I may have to use a hatchet to clean this area up, judging by the circumference of the stalks on these things. Will that make me a stalker or an axe murderer??

Iraq is thrilled with how beautifully her garden has grown. She has been snacking on fresh peas and strawberries, and is looking forward to some tomatoes, cantaloupe and peppers.

When we came in from watering the garden yesterday, The Skink made it abundantly clear just how she feels about gardening at this time.

Yes - we actually found her asleep like this yesterday. Despite her precarious position, I did run down stairs to get my camera and proceeded to take a number of pictures before my hubby scooped her up and relocated her to her bed.

Kids! Fresh from the garden!

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