Granddaughter's dog Sophie, waking up

Hang on, spring will surely come

Here's the forecast from Fox 4 News:  "WINTER STORM WARNING for the entire metro! Snow starts after noon, maybe heavy by the evening drive- could be 2" by 4 or 5pm. High near 21. Heavy snow this evening, with a total of 6"-8" for many in the metro by morning drive Thursday. MOST snow is over by THURSDAY morning, but THIS evening drive could be a mess."  


Oh joy.  Cliff and Tony (the guy he rides with) will be leaving for work just when it's starting to pile up, and who knows what it will be like when they get off at midnight?  Sounds to me like a good time to take a vacation day, but that's their choice, not mine.  
Actually, if it's going to be this cold, I'd just as soon it snows.  Snow is pretty, and it's fun to look out the window and see it falling.  It sure as heck beats the very thin coating of ice that was on our country blacktops and gravel roads yesterday morning; the daughter said she saw several cars in ditches on her way to work.  By afternoon, the roads were clear.  
The oldest granddaughter, Amber, is spending some time here; she and her mother needed a little time away from one another (can you say "cabin fever"?) so she's occupying our guest room.  She brought her mini-pin, Sophie, of course.  
Amber leaves for work at 3 A.M.; it's a twenty-five mile drive from here, and she starts work at four.  She leaves her dog in bed under the covers.  Sophie barked at me a few minutes ago, so I took her outside to relieve herself; once back inside, I put her back in the guest room on the bed and shut the door.  She barked a few times, then I guess she crawled under a blanket and went back to sleep.  I'll open the door and let her out when Cliff gets up; she loves Cliff, probably because he feeds her bites of whatever he's eating.  He doesn't worry about her weight problem.
  

Sophie, wanting me to help her off the tall bed.

The furnace problem at the old house was quickly dealt with, once the heating guy showed up; the igniter was shot, so he installed a new one and was gone in less than a half-hour.  It could have been a lot worse!  I must remember to call the other heating guy who was going to come this afternoon and tell him we already got it fixed.  I won't know the cost until we get the bill, but you know what?  It was worth it, whatever the charge.  There's something to be said for a man who will leave his warm house and brave the cold at 8 P.M. so a neighbor's water pipes won't freeze.  God bless him.  

Bonnie and Clyde spend most of their time these cold winter days with their heads in a bale of hay.  They're not worried about winter weight gain.   

Speaking of which, Cliff and I are steadily losing weight so far; there's something exciting about getting under 180, then under 170.  Seems like a cause for rejoicing when I can say I'm one hundred sixty-something, rather than one hundred seventy-something.  It only takes two pounds to make that difference, but it sounds like a lot when I say it.

A picture that tells it all

I don't quite look like myself in that shot, do I?  
Well, I wasn't myself.  
My dog, Mandy, had been killed that morning, hit by a car.  
When my granddaughter, Amber, called to ask if she could come out with her new puppy and spend the night, I told her I wouldn't be very good company because I was crying about Mandy being killed.  
Last weekend when Amber was here, I mentioned this; she said, "I can't believe I brought my puppy out here when your dog just died.  That's horrible!"  
Anyway, look at me in the picture:  Face all red, hair in a tangle.  Eyes teary.  Fake smile.  It's a portrait of grief.
Why on earth did I have Amber take my picture in such a state?  
Perhaps I wanted a picture to use in a blog entry, something pleasant I could talk about.  To take my mind off my loss.  
The next day, Amber and her puppy accompanied us to Wayside Waifs:  that's where we met Sadie, who insisted on coming home with us.  
Amber's dog got a lot of attention that day from people adopting waifs.    
If something should happen to Sadie, I have told Cliff, "Please just let me cry; I am not going straight to the pound to adopt a dog the next day.  Give me some time.  I might not even want another dog, but I won't know until I try living without one."  
Not that I'm sorry I got Sadie, mind you.  She never fails to pick me up when I'm down.  She makes me forget about political disasters and "these tough economic times".  

My grand-dog

We had our holiday dinner today (Thanksgiving/Christmas combined) with all family members who were able to make it. Granddaughter Amber brought her Mini-pin.

Cliff came in (from butchering pigs in his shop) to eat dinner, and Sophie went crazy smelling the meat on his Carharts. Please notice Sophie's little doggie-dress. (Oh brother!)

This is what people in my family do after having a huge family feast. That's my daughter on the left, and Sophie's mom (granddaughter Amber) vegging out on the couch.
Sophie is trying to see out a window where my dog, Sadie, is going nuts barking at neighbor dogs.

Although the doggie-dress is silly, I have to admit my grand-doggie is sorta cute.