Tuesday, September 19, 2017

BABYSITTING SUNNY

Yes, we're babysitting our five-month-old doxie granddawg Sunny while her family is on vacation. It's like having a toddler in the house! Oh, she's sweet and cuddly, but also curious and "bitey"!  She is so cute, too. She has helped me to heal from the loss of Duke, and for that, I'll forever be grateful.

Here are some photos of her time with us:

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Helping my husband with the cleanup
from Hurricane Irma

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"What did you say??:"
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Peeking over my shoulder at the neighbor's house

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em, especially when they are so doggone cute!

Monday, September 11, 2017

DUKE'S GRAVESTONE ARRIVED, AND IRMA IS ON HER WAY

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Duke's gravestone arrived on Friday. Isn't it beautiful? Our daughter and son-in-law, Kurt and Bethany, provided that for us. We'll place it on his grave after Irma has departed.



Speaking of Hurricane Irma, she is expected to visit North Georgia later this afternoon. Winds and rain have already heralded her impending arrival, and they are both picking up as I type. We do expect power outages here, and we've been told it will be for several days.

Clark and I are as ready as we can be: we have assembled flashlights, candles, lighter, paper plates, plenty of food, water, and other necessities. We have even packed "getaway bags" just in case we must evacuate. Our church is opening its doors to evacuees, and it's only a half mile from our house. We are thankful that it won't be nearly as bad here as it has been farther south. Pray for those where Irma has wreaked havoc.

Power may go out later today and stay out for a number of days, so I'll resume blogging afterward. Stay safe wherever you are, pray for those who have lost everything, and keep looking up. God is in control. Is mankind listening?

Granddaughter and granddawg!

Friday, September 8, 2017

PRAYERS FOR THOSE IN THE PATH OF HURRICANE IRMA

Have a great weekend, doxie lovers, but please don't forget to pray for those dealing with the fires out west, those recovering from Harvey in TX/LA, and those who will be in the path of Hurricane Irma: FL, GA, SC, NC. We live north of the metro Atlanta area, and right now, it looks like we'll mainly be facing high winds of 60 mph. That can change hourly, as you know.

In any case, FEMA and volunteer organizations now allow pets to come along when rescuing people. That is definitely a step in the right direction, because beloved pets ARE FAMILY MEMBERS and deserve to be taken care of like the rest of the family.


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See you on the other side of the hurricane. Don't know if we'll be without power, water, or what--but I do know God is in control.

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Thursday, September 7, 2017

FALL, Y'ALL!




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I know I'll have rotten tomatoes thrown at me, but I'm so glad summer is waning and fall is coming! Summers, especially here in Georgia, are too hot and humid for me. SO IT'S MY TURN!! There's a cool, crisp feeling in the air now; nights have dipped into the 50s, and the air is clear because of lower humidity.

In that vein, I look forward to the colorful leaves, pumpkins--the whole nine yards. I wrote a fall article (included below) which was published in The Christian Post in 2012. It states perfectly how I feel about the fall season:


IN A BLAZE OF GLORY

Golden yellow . . . burnt orange . . . flaming red . . . the fall of the year is literally a feast for the eyes as trees turn from various shades of green to all those bright hues that beckon us to the mountains, the woods, or even our own backyards.

Image result for colorful fall leavesWhen we were children, I remember jumping joyfully into piles of raked leaves; now, I can't recall why that was so much fun! As adults, I suppose we often think only of the work it takes to get those leaves into piles and removed from our yards. Back then, the fall season was exhilarating—it represented the start of school, frosty mornings, clear sunshine, the anticipation of wonderful holidays to come, and especially the anticipation of snow.


Image result for fall imagesMy family lived in Virginia near the Blue Ridge Parkway for eleven years. Every October, we made our annual trek to the Parkway to view the glorious foliage, and we were never disappointed. Along with the stunning colors, we were delighted with the nip in the air, apple harvests, picnics beside mountain streams, and walks along wooded trails. We often collected those bright leaves to make collages, tangible reminders throughout the year of God’s color palette and His striking creativity in nature’s shapes, sizes, and hues.

Still my favorite time of the year, fall always evokes fond memories, but also creates new ones. My husband, then my fiancĂ©, returned home safely in November 1970 from a tour in Vietnam. We were married in December of that year. Every fall generates a happy recollection of that memory as we look forward to celebrating another wedding anniversary together. Today, with our children and grandchildren, our family enjoys celebrating birthdays and other anniversaries together in the fall as well. And, even after all these years, I still see young children today excitedly jumping into piles of leaves!

To me, those gorgeous colors of fall represent nature’s cycle of life—before the leaves wither and fall to the ground, they go out in a “blaze of glory,” painted brilliantly by God’s own hand. We can take our cue from those leaves, realizing that our lives are like tapestries woven by God’s hand as well--but He often allows us to choose our own colors as we make our choices and decisions that ultimately affect the final design.

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There are times that dark, somber threads, representing difficulties we face, are woven into our tapestries beyond our control, but the Master Weaver knows what He is doing and wants to create something beautiful with our lives. We can rail against circumstances by attempting to rip out those dark threads which are, from our limited view, mistakes. But we can only see the underside of the tapestry, whereas God looks down on the finished side of the weaving. Those somber threads are actually there to refine, and thus illuminate by contrast, all the colorful elements of these tapestries to make them even more beautiful. God wants to refine our lives, sometimes through trial and difficulty, to make us more like Him, all the while weaving in beauty and texture that we might not totally understand or see at the time.


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Let us trust Him with our tapestries—not only with the wonderfully vibrant colors we get to choose, but also with those seemingly improbable dark tones He sometimes weaves into them. Our lives will then manifest a ”blaze of glory” like those beautiful fall leaves—for others to enjoy.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017




DOG LOVERS!

I AM SARGE, Book 1 of THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES, is only 99 cents in ebook!

Readers have fallen in love with this sharp-witted dawg and his zany humans. You will, too.  A perfect gift idea as well!


His stories have laugh-out-loud moments, adventure, and inside info on what this savvy dawg thinks about us humans in his "lowdown from the ground."

Sarge:
"Mama and Daddy adopted me at eight weeks of age, but I'm quite a handsome and intelligent dachshund now. I’m known as a chow hound extraordinaire, and believe me, I have earned the title!

"Mama says I’m too loud. (Isn’t that the point of barking—to be heard??)

"My humans are tricky to figure out, ‘cause they don’t always say what they mean—but I can handle them. After all, I AM SARGE. And I AM DACHSHUND, too!" (Book 2)

A heartwarming tale of family, joy, good food, and unconditional love, Sarge’s stories bring warmth and smiles to readers of all ages. 

Click on the BOOKS tab above for more details.

Free Kindle reading app for smartphone, tablet, or computer: www.amazon.com/kindleappwww.amazon.com/kindleapp
Amazon Prime members, read it for free or borrow it from the Kindle Owner's Lending Library.

~Also in paperback~

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

FAMILY = HAPPINESS


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Those who know me (if only in passing), realize that my family means everything to me. Although we can't all be together often, we keep in touch regularly by phone, text, face time, and social media. With that said, Clark and I loved having our grandchildren visit us this past weekend! Thankfully, they live only an hour and fifteen minutes away.

Holly and Philip came on Friday to drop off Sunny our granddawg to stay with me while they took the children on a field trip to visit a local Hindu temple as part of their study of world religions (Holly homeschools the kids). We wanted to see how Sunny would do with us here, as we are planning to keep her while they go on vacation soon. Their boxer Bruno stayed home, since he would probably be like a bull in a china shop at our house! He's a good boy, but large, muscular, and excited when away from home, so a friend was to stop by and check on them while they were away.

Sunny is very much a "mama's girl," being supremely attached to Holly, but she did survive! Clark was subbing that day, so she had to settle for lil' ol' me. Oh, she whined for about an hour, kept running to the door to see if they had returned, but finally settled down and played tug-of-war with me, chased her ball, then got on my lap to take a short nap. Below are a couple of photos I snapped as she's looking around for Mama and the rest of the family:

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"Where's Mama??"

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"When are they coming back
to get me??"
Photos of the temple they visited--no photos of the interior were permitted:

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Isn't the architecture beautiful? All the
carving you see was done by hand

Clark was home from school after they returned, so we visited for a few minutes, then we all went out to one of our favorite local restaurants that serves delicious home cooking. Later, Holly and Philip took Sunny (who was overjoyed at seeing them) to return home. Clark, the grands, and I enjoyed a Friday night Netflix movie at home, complete with popcorn!

Saturday was our only full day together, so that morning Clark made us a country breakfast: waffles, scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, grits, and toast. We did a few chores, like making beds, brushing teeth, getting dressed, and straightening up the living room. I played several games of gin rummy with the kids, they visited Duke and Shadow's graves, then watched some videos on Netflix. Steak and Shake was their choice for lunch, and afterwards attended an animated movie, Leap!,  here in town. Back home for dinner, we all made our own individual pizzas with flatbread crusts, adding our choice of toppings: pepperoni, sausage, green pepper, onion, cheese, and sauce. Annika and I made the tossed salads, Clark made a butterscotch pie with graham cracker crust for dessert!

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Working on our pizzas in our breakfast
nook--Alexa had already made hers
On Sunday, we left early to attend their church with them, since both granddaughters sing in the choir, and Alexa had a solo. We enjoyed seeing the many friends we've made in their congregation! Lunch at El Parian, the popular Mexican restaurant in their town, good-byes, then Clark and I headed home.

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L to R: Annika, moi, Asher, Alexa

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Asher and Clark
We had a great weekend, but I wish that Kurt and Bethany could have joined us--it was a bit far to get here for the weekend from Oregon, where they currently are!  Please be in prayer for all those wildfires in Oregon and Montana. Kurt and Bethany are headed for California tomorrow, and will eventually make their way back to home base in AZ (where Kurt's company is located. He works remotely when they travel). Below are photos Bethany sent us yesterday from Eugene to Medford, Oregon--notice the haze from the fires:

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Bethany and Kurt, our RV travelers

Dachshund granddawgs and family . . . you gotta love 'em!

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