HAPPY FRIDAY!

WAITING

I've never been very good at waiting for anything.  Call me impatient, call me immature, but that's the truth.  As I've gotten older, however, I've found that it does get easier to wait for things.  As a Christian, we are told to wait upon the Lord, and that is sometimes difficult as well.  When we are praying for something we deem as good, we often don't see why He doesn't act as quickly as we think He should.  That goes to "helping God out," meaning that we don't think He can "make it" without our help.  That is the wrong attitude for Christians to have.  God is in control, and we need to get with the program and trust Him.  He loves us, and by the way, He knows what He is doing!

In regard to waiting, one of the many things I love about dogs is how happy they are to see us--ALWAYS!  We can be away for five minutes or five days, but we get a welcome fit for royalty.

Our doxie Duke was very happy to see us after our eleven-day trip out west recently.  In fact, now he doesn't even like it when we go out to eat, to church, or whatever.  Perhaps he's suffering from separation anxiety, thinking we won't ever come back.  In his mind, he waited and waited, but we didn't come back when he thought we were supposed to.  I've read that dogs truly think we won't come back every time we leave.  I wouldn't go that far, but perhaps some pups have had that happen, perish the thought.


Often, we Christians are the same way about waiting upon the Lord.  We just assume that if something we want to happen doesn't happen in X number of minutes, hours, or days, then God didn't hear us and/or doesn't care.  How wrong we are to have that attitude!  God is never late, God is always on time, and He only does what is best for His children.  I can attest to that as I look back to certain circumstances that I thought should turn out MY way, when in fact, they didn't at all.  God was protecting me, much like the stressed driver who is in a hurry, only to be met by a roadblock of some kind.  Fuming, when traffic finally gets moving, he finds out about the terrible accident up ahead that happened only minutes before.  Perhaps God was protecting the driver from certain death.  "Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous."

In any case, I am glad to have my welcoming doxie to greet us when we get home.  Nobody "can do it" like a dog for making us feel special!  God will welcome us home to heaven someday like the prodigal son was welcomed or the joy our dogs have when we return home.  I think God made dogs for many reasons, but I see so many when dogs, truly man's best friend, represent God's unconditional love. We just have to recognize it.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.

DOXIE ATTITUDE IS ALIVE AND WELL

I've heard stories from other dachshund owners--I'm in seven or eight Facebook dachshund groups--that their bigger dog (pit bull, mastiff, boxer, etc.) is "terrified" of their doxie!  Can you believe that??  I can.  Dachshunds were bred to go down into badger holes and get 'em, whatever it takes, and badgers are vicious.  I therefore think it is inbred in doxies to be agressive, brash, in your face, and loud.

But the flip side of the coin is that they are also very loving, intelligent, comical, and sweet.  I'll take a doxie over just about any other breed of dog.  What about you?

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em, no matter if they terrify big dogs.

TODAY IS DOXIE PUPPY DAY!

I love dachshunds of all ages, but there's just a special place in my heart for doxie PUPPIES!  The innocence in those little faces, the way they run, their curiosity, those cute little barks--I love everything about them.  Therefore, I proclaim today as DOXIE PUPPY DAY on this blog--dachshunds one year old or younger.

We adopted Duke at eight weeks of age, so here are some of his baby pictures--Duke is introduced in I AM DACHSHUND, Book 2 of THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES:

"Are you gonna take me home?"

A scared little puppy going home

"I own the place now!"

And, here are some other lovable doxie puppies:

"We iz cute!"

"Where is Mama?  Is she coming back?"

The innocence of sleep

"What is this green stuff I'm sitting on?"

"No!  I don't believe it"

"Sunbathing is healthy"

Precious mama and baby

"Don't bother me--I'm thinking"

"Geez--I'm about to trip over these ears"

A trio of cuteness

"C'mon--you know you want to give me that treat" 

Sardines!

"Say what??"

Basketful of love

Dreamland

"I--can--do--it"

"I am sooooo tired"

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love em--no matter what age they are!

DETERMINATION: THY NAME IS DACHSHUND

DACHSHUNDS: ULTIMATE FOODIES!

We've taken to spelling food items in our house because Duke knows just about any food-related word!  Seriously--and he can hear that cheese wrapper or peanut jar opening a mile away.

I suppose it's their excellent sense of smell that gets them going--I've often called Duke just a "nose with legs."  And they don't make very good digestive decisions, either.  That's why we must be super diligent not to leave anything resembling and/or smelling of food where they can get to it--they might choke or get very sick.  I've also learned not to put ice cream sandwich wrappers in any trash receptacle in the house except the kitchen one with a lid, too.  *sigh*

What are your doxie's favorite foods?  Duke loves the aforementioned cheese, peanuts, plain spagetti noodles (cooked, of course), green beans, any kind of meat (but we're careful not to give him anything fatty, like pork), apples, sweet potato.  That's just a partial list, of course.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em:  and give 'em a treat now and then!

COCONUT OIL? FOR DOGS?

I ran across this the other day, and although I use coconut oil for myself, I never thought of its benefits for dogs.  Sounds promising!

MORE PHOTOS OF OUR CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP

Yesterday I promised to post more photos of our trip from home (Georgia) to San Diego, CA, so here you go:

Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, at sunset

Clark watching the sunset at Sunset Cliffs

Waffle in San Antonio!

Aboard the USS Midway, San Diego
Clark's dad helped build this ship in
Newport News, VA, after WWII

Relaxing with Bethany on the flight deck

USS Midway aircraft carrier that
saw service in Korea and Vietnam

Beef brisket in Mesa, AZ

Desert in CA - looks like Afghanistan!

Enjoying the Camellia Grill, New Orleans

Clark in the hot tub at our hotel
in Mesa, AZ

I'M B-A-A-A-A-CK!

We just returned home from our trip out west to visit our daughter and son-in-law in Mesa, AZ.  We already had our tickets to fly, but the day we were supposed to leave, our flight was canceled and I
woke up with a stomach virus!

Shelter Island - see San Diego skyline across the water?

Clark had gotten a really good deal on our tickets, but in order to change to another date, the transfer fees were ridiculous, and we couldn't get any tickets except for triple the price of the ones we had.  So, we took a refund and decided on driving.  We like road trips, anyway.  I haven't done much traveling before my knee replacements because it was too painful.  I'm announcing that my knees DID NOT HURT for the entire trip of eleven days!!

While we were in AZ, we all decided to go to San Diego for a few days.  Now that was a wonderful side trip.  The weather was beautiful, the area was beautiful, and the food was delicious.  Here's a photo of what was beside our hotel:

Point Loma in San Diego

We visited Shelter Island, which was right beside Point Loma:

We had many experiences while driving out to AZ and also returning here to GA.  Tomorrow I'll post more photos and information.

By the way, our doxie Duke stayed with our daughter Holly and family while we were away.  We really missed him:

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em!