"Secret Hideaway" by Martin Figlinski

I ran across this guy's website and fell in love with his work.  Here's another one that makes me think of the courtyard of the apartment complex in Jamaica where my Dad stayed while he was there.  I visited him and I was in total awe of that beautiful courtyard.

"Palm Entrance I" by Martin Figlinski

Gorgeous, huh?  Anyway I just had to share since his work is so beautiful.

I've been lazy the last couple of days, reading blogs but not commenting much or posting.  What was it that Dazey called it?  Blog Stutters?  Good description, Daze!

Ginger, Jana and I went to the Aaron Tippin concert and just about froze our patooties off!  But it was a good show and the two mile walk back to the car when it was over kinda helped to warm us back up a little, lol.  Yeah, I'm exaggerating.....it couldn't have been more than a mile and a half. lol.  I called the City Clerk today to talk to her about a grant check and she sounded just awful!  So I asked her if she had the flu?  No, she said.....I went to that concert Saturday night......      (Poor girl).

Our puppy is so precious and sweet.  I realized that every time I picked her up and talked to her, that I started out with "Hi, sugar.  Howya doin?", so since she is white, I thought it just fit her since I was already calling her that anyway.  Ice likes the name also, so although we got some really good suggestions from you guys, (I was leaning toward "Pearl"), I think "Sugar" fits her to a tee.  White and sooooo sweet.

Little Peanut is still just doing great!!!  But his hair is so long and fluffy that he looks a little like a bear, lol.  So I called and got an appointment Wednesday with the groomer.  He's going to look so much better, although the shaved area for the surgeries and the new skin he has grown over his right leg still look kinda funny.  Where new skin has grown has very short black hair, so I don't know if it will turn or not.  We may have to call him "Callico" after this, ya think?  lol.  Naw....Peanut will always be Peanut and I don't care if he's twelve different colors as long as he is healed, happy and healthy. 

I sat out on top of the storm cellar after work and got to spend some time petting our little "Miracle Dog" along with the rest of them.  Junior immediately plopped in my lap and Prissy wasn't pleased (that's her territory, she thinks), so they tussled around in my lap til I finally had to make them both leave.  Of course they came right back, so I managed to give them both attention enough to settle them down. lol.  They're a trip, for sure.

Well, that's all the useless drivel I have for now, so I think I'll head for bed and snuggle with my man. 

Catch ya later!

Pup

Okay, it's Saturday morning and I have a full day planned with daughter and grandaughter.  After reading Scratch's comments about those who are afraid to take a fish off the hook (me too!), I was thinking about people and their phobias.  So I'll name mine if you'll name yours.

My number one phobia is swimming in water that I can't see through.  My vivid imagination conjures up all kinds of huge creatures that are swimming toward me and about to bite my legs off, and I'll panic.  This has been since childhood.  Then "Jaws" came along and just cinched it for me. 

So, it's your turn...........WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER ONE PHOBIA????

I breezed through my day, got a lot of work done, then rushed home to gather up Junior, Sally and the puppies and head to the vet's office.  The puppies are starting to get roudy and are sooooo cute!  They had to go for their three week checkup today and the other two had to get their yearly shots. 

This was Junior's first visit since he was a puppy, so he wasn't real game on the idea and Sally had been there before, so she was terrified, lol.  So they were a little difficult to handle, to say the least. 

Then Doc totally shocked me by mentioning that Junior only had one testacle........ 

WHAT????? 

Sure enough, I looked at this dog that I have been bathing, grooming, and scratching his belly for a year now and Doc was right!  How could I have missed something like that?  Doc says he actually has another one, but it developed in his belly, rather than outside his body.  Nothing to worry about, Doc said.  But I felt like a total idiot.  lol

I guess I'd never really focused on his "privates", lol.  I even have him lay on his back so I can trim him really good around "that area" and never noticed that what I was careful not to clip looked a little odd.  Damn, I must be getting old or senile, or both!  Heck, now I'll be turning every male puppy upside down every day to count their jewels, lol.

Out to the kennel I'll go.....

Ice:  Hey, whatcha doin with that upside down puppy?

Me:  Countin' nuts

Ice:  (rolling his eyes) Hon, puppies don't gather nuts.  Squirrels do that.

Oh well, nuff of that nonsense.  I was over at Belle's reading everybody's facts and ran across a couple of references to Gene Watson and his song "Farewell Party".  I was tickled to my toenails cuz ole Gene is one of my all time favorites and one artist that I feel has always been under-appreciated.  He lives a few miles from here and Ice drives by his ranch twice a week. 

We saw him in an outdoor 4th of July thing last year and he was phenomenal!!  He's always been a short guy, but now he's almost as wide as he is tall.  But that voice is as good as ever.  And I hadn't realized that he had done some later recordings, but a couple of the songs he did other than the old hits were from his newest cd.  "Baby Me, Baby" was one of them and it totally blew me away!!!  So as soon as we got home, I downloaded that song and Ice and I play it all the time.  He sang all his old hits and of course saved the best for last.  When he broke out with "Farewell Party", everybody came to their feet and went crazy.  He hasn't lost it, for sure!

Speaking of concerts, Ginger and Jana are coming tomorrow and the three of us are going to the local Dogwood festival which also includes an Aaron Tippin concert.  I'm not that much of a fan, but maybe he will surprise us.  The only song I know of that I like is "Kiss This", so maybe he has some newer stuff I haven't heard.

Tracy Lawrence grew up a few miles from here also, and he does a concert in his home town every year, but we haven't been the last two years.  The best show of his that we attended was when he had Mark Chesnutt with him and Mark stole the show.  He started off with "Too Cold at Home" and later belted out "Beer, Bait and Ammo".  This being major redneck country, that song had everybody going crazy, lol.  We had a blast!  Of course all the men were sitting up in their seats already because Mindy Macready had opened the show in skin tight leather pants and a white jacket.  I felt sorry for her since it was in the hight 90's and the humidity was 110% (well, almost).  She was definitely regretting her choice of attire and eventually had to put her hair up. 

Now, how did I get off on all that?  Anyway, after I got the dogs all back home and into the big yard, I was standing out there watching them and realized I was bone tired.  And I still am, which explains my rambling.  I think I'll shut up now before I put everybody to sleep, lol

Later, gators!!!

Well, I should be hittin the ole sack, but I have a load of clothes in the washer that need to be dried tonight, so here I am. 

We both had to go back to the old grind today and that was kind of a bummer, but the trip we took is still fresh in my memory and I'm still enjoying it.  Plus, the drive to and from was phenomenal for me.  Everything was turning to that lush spring green and mere pastures looked like beautiful carpet with cows or round bales of hay here and there.  There is no painting in the world that can beat Mother Nature's landscapes.  Wow......I just couldn't get enough of it. 

It looked this way last year, but only briefly.  We didn't get the normal spring rains that are known to our little part of the country and the draught set in early with no relief til just lately.  So we were cheated of the beautiful green for so long that it's like candy to my eyes.  I didn't grow up around so many trees and lush green grasses, so I guess maybe I appreciate it more than some.  Ice mowed out in the dog enclosures today and the grass was such a thick and lush dark green that if I hadn't known about all that hidden "poop" under there, I'd have been tempted to just lie down in it.  lol

I watched Peanut this evening as he ran and played with the other dogs, full of energy and feeling good enough to be a pest to Buster and Junior again, lol.  And I was so thankful to see that little guy romping and playing with only the slightest limp.  The sight of it means as much to me as all that green grass. 

And as I swept the back steps and watched Ice on the mower, dogs running all around, supper on the stove, I realized that I love my life and wouldn't have it any other way, except maybe to retire and have more time for the little rewarding things that I've written about tonight.  I guess I'm ready to have the time I want and need to soak it all in as it unfolds.........and the time to enjoy it. 

Time to watch the love of my life go about his activities, which is a favorite pastime of mine...

Time to have nice long conversations into the night, then sleep late in our big bed.......

Time to snuggle a while before breakfast......

Time to pet each dog and talk to them enough so they will feel as special as they are to me.....

Time to visit my son.....my daughter......and their families more.......

Time to spend with my Dad, learning from him and enjoying him while I still can.....

Time to persue a hobby or two, and maybe a garden full of veggies.....

Time to travel with Ice, enjoying every minute together.......

Ah, what nice thoughts Spring brings to mind.

Good night, everbody!

Pup

Ahhhhhh, it's good to be home after a wonderful two days away.  We had a great time!!

Ah, and what nice notes we found on the fridge!  Thanks everybody for stopping by and thanks for leaving Ice some Corona.  The house looks better than when we left.......how is that possible?  Hmmmm.  And how did all the dogs get in the house?  Geeeez, there were Schnauzers draped on every chair and Junior was in our bed.  Oh well, they looked well fed and content.  But I think they broke one of my vases and hid the evidence under the bed.  Now, who says Schnauzers aren't smart, hmmm?  And Junior has since been following me around, barking and carrying on, so I don't know what that's about.  I wish he could talk.......

So, like I said, it's great to be home and other than the dogs dragging a bungie cord in the house while we were gone, the broken garage sale vase and the faintest of odors.......what is that odor?......kinda smells like, uh.......what?  Burnt beans maybe?  Naw, that can't be possible.  One of the dogs must have gas......oh well.  Oh, and the dogs must have scattered the cd's.  At least they didn't chew them up, right?

I've only taken the time to briefly surf the "stream" and need to get back in and see what everybody's been up to while we were gone. 

What happened to Lucy?  And where's Jonnie?

Pup