The Right Stuff

My Grandfather was an engineer. He taught me that to do a job right, you need the right tools. I have a lot of tools for specific jobs and I love the tools as much as the finished project. I enjoy looking at and handling the tools.


I love the floss colors used in cross stitch, the subtle shading that can be accomplished with the right floss. One day several years ago, Rob and my best friend, Sue's husband, Steve went to a craft store and each bought two skeins of every color of floss for us. It was a wonderful surprise and I laugh when I visualize them going back and forth in the row picking up floss. Yes, my best friend is also named Sue and yes it can get confusing at times. I have a storage box of floss so that if a bobbin runs out I usually have a spare. When I use the spare I buy two more skeins.


For knitting, of course, you need needles. I had needles in most sizes that I had purchased over the years, but when my Mom died, I inherited hers, too. I also have the sets of double points and the circulars. They didn't make it into the picture. I have never figured out a good way to organize my needles. I keep them all in a box and have to sort through every time I need a pair. There must be a better way, but it needs to be easy or I won't keep it up.


Knitting requires other tools besides needles. I keep my finishing needles in an old prescription bottle so that I can always locate them. The stitch holders are kept in a zip lock bag. I lose a lot of markers. They pop off when I'm moving stitches and I can never locate them at the time. Later I find them between cushions on the sofa or stuck in my clothes. I'm sure a few have been eaten by the dogs.


Sewing projects have their own set of tools. There are lots more, including the sewing machine, patterns, thread, etc. I keep patterns in big boxes and have smaller boxes for thread.

I love buttons, too. My Grandmother had a tin button box and I played with the buttons every chance I got. I sorted them and lined them up and passed many hours with her button box. Now I have my own button box that holds buttons I bought for a certain project, then changed my mind and didn't use them, or buttons left over when I only needed two and the package held four, or buttons I just liked and bought with no specific project in mind. A couple years ago I saw that someone was selling his mother's button box, full of buttons, on e-Bay. I bought it and had so much fun looking through it. It was just like being six years old again.

I have a section of our office in which I keep my crafting supplies. My sewing machine is there and my craft books. Thanks to Gaylen I am now thinking of it and referring to it as 'my studio'. That makes me happy for some reason. We hope sometime to enclose the shelves with mirrored sliding doors. That will not only keep my supplies clean, but look less cluttered in the room.

More Mouths to Feed

It's very, very cold here today and the wind is strong, as it has been all winter. On days like this when most people don't want to be outside, consider the poor birds who still have to go searching for food. They'd probably prefer to stay puffed up in their nests, but they have no choice.



Here are my basic supplies. I have a container of thistle seed for the Finches, suet for the Woodpeckers and mixed seed for everyone else. The sunflower mix is in the garage, so I'll get that the next time I take the dogs out.



The two Finch feeders are in the front corner of the porch. We get a lot of Goldfinches on those feeders and we can watch them from the kitchen. They and their duller Finch relatives visit on a regular basis and seem to come in groups. We'll have six or more on the feeders at a time.Very pretty.



On the side of the deck is a small feeder that attracts mostly Chickadees and Juncos. My pet birds waste a lot of seed, so when I feed them I save what they haven't eaten and put it in this feeder. The wild birds then finish it off. The two large feeders hang from the back deck. I fill them with sunflower seed mix and all the birds seem to like that.



In the winter I put out suet for the bigger birds. We have three sizes of Woodpeckers that visit, along with Jays and some of the smaller birds will also eat the suet. In the hot summer months suet becomes too messy, so the big birds are only served seeds then.



Some birds such as Cardinals and Doves are ground feeders, so I put seed on an old roof shingle on the deck. The terra cotta saucer usually holds water for them to drink or bathe, but in this weather the water freezes so I filled it with seed today, too.



The squirrels are hungry, too. They can be very destructive, chewing through bird feeders or their favorite game of throwing the feeders on the ground, so I spread seed on the rail of the deck for them. That way the lazy fellows can come eat with out getting into trouble.



My birds are in the dining room. Holly can see the outside birds from her cage and gets very excited when she spots a pair of Cardinals that live in the front hedge. She enjoys watching the antics of the dogs and likes to chat with me when I'm working in the kitchen.



Cloud is shy and it was hard to get a picture of her. She likes to hide behind her toys. She's the last survivor of my Budgies and she spends a lot of time talking to Holly who's cage is next to hers.

The Boys

My PWDs each have very different personalities.

Fudge can be goofy, stubborn and silly. He can be obedient if he wants to be or he can act up. He can be a bully or extremely sweet. Lately he has decided that he's my guardian. He parks himself in front of my chair in the evening and if the other dogs get too close to me, he'll climb into my lap. That might look like I'm protecting him, but in his little doggy mind, I believe he thinks he's blocking me from danger.

Fudge seems to really enjoy our obedience work together. He holds himself proudly, head high and he pays attention to what I tell him. Our competition experience was a little frustrating, but having lived with this breed for so long I shouldn't have been surprised. They get bored easily and during training we have to vary our routines or they either start creating their own routine or they just shut down completely. Fudge did well the first two days of the competition but on the third day we were doing the same moves, so he decided to show the judge that he could do other things, too. He did his jumps and roll overs and spins. I'm sure he thought he was doing a great job. The judge didn't agree.

Fudge stays near me at all times. He follows me from room to room and will settle down where he can keep an eye on me. In the morning he greets me with a 'woo-woo' noise and usually brings me a toy. At bedtime he gets up on the bed at my feet for a few minutes before going to sleep. If I wake up during the night, he's usually asleep on the floor beside the bed and I have to step over him. He's very loyal. He also still acts very much like a puppy and gets into trouble often.

Sky, who is Fudge's son, is totally different in personality. He's calm and except for his backyard barking, he's quiet. In the backyard he barks even though there's nothing to bark at. He just stands in the center of the yard barking, announcing to the world that he's arrived.

Sky is larger than the standard in height and weight, but is an impressive looking dog with his black and silver coloring. He's enthusiastic about doing things with us, loves to retrieve and usually has his ball somewhere close by. He's a bit lazy and doesn't run as much as the others unless we throw the ball for him. When walking he sort of lumbers, not a great gait, and doesn't always carry his head high.

He's more independent than Fudge and will go to his favorite spot, the window seat in the living room, and stretch out to nap. He comes when called and knows several commands, but isn't as fond of working as Fudge. He loves to ride and is one of our best passengers in the car, looking out the window for a while then going to sleep. He is friendlier with strangers than Fudge, who needs time to get to know people.

Sky doesn't counter-surf or steal. He does spin a little when he's excited, but in general he's a well behaved fellow.

Noah is a teddy bear. He loves people and loves attention. He'll happily climb into a lap for a good cuddle. He's quieter than Sky and more active. He isn't quite as pushy as Fudge but they're a lot alike. Noah loves to do his obedience work with me. If I give a command to Sky, Noah beats him to it. He enjoys going for walks and riding in the car.

Noah gets on the furniture, which Sky has never done. He also counter-surfs and steals. In other words, he's a typical PWD. Noah is small, shorter and lighter than any of the others which gives him even more of a puppy appeal.

Because Fudge has claimed me as his property, Noah has decided to claim Rob and sits next to him in the evening. One nice aspect of that is he wakes Rob up instead of me if he needs anything.

The boys all get along to a degree. They enjoy playing tug with a toy and racing each other around the yard. There is a little friction between Fudge and Noah at times. They are both intact and the sexual tension can cause some posturing and growling. I try to stop it and Noah has been avoiding those situations where Fudge tries to assert his authority.

Sky is the peaceful one who gets along with each of the others. He and Noah are best buddies and sometimes sleep together. Sky and Fudge also get along well and will share a toy. There are no major problems and they're a lot of fun to live with.

Speaking of DC

Rob and I lived in Maryland for ten years. We made occasional trips into Washington D.C. and we've been watching the news coverage leading up to today's inauguration with interest.I dug out some pictures of the landmarks that impressed us most.

We've always been history buffs and living where we did, with so much access to Civil War battlefields, we were especially interested in that period. We are members of the Surratt Society
and took part in one of their John Wilkes Boothe Escape Tours. A group of about thirty boarded a school bus one cold October morning at 5 AM and for the next twelve hours we followed the exact route taken by JWB. The trip started, of course, at Ford's Theatre in DC.


We sat in the audience and looked up at the Presidential box where Lincoln was sitting when he was shot.


Directly across the street is the house where Lincoln was carried after being shot. He died there several hours later.


I think my very favorite monument in DC is the Lincoln Memorial. Having only seen it in pictures, I was overwhelmed at the size and the solemnity of the structure.


This is a very moving monument.


Probably one of the most popular and most heartbreaking of the monuments is the Viet Nam Wall.


To actually see all those names and to see the gifts and letters left at the wall caused me to reflect on those times still so painful to this country.


Looking across the Reflecting Pool we saw the Washington Monument, beautiful in it's simplicity.


Here is the home of our new President and his family.


One of the most breathtaking buildings in Washington is the National Cathedral. The inside is as beautiful as the outside and the rose window is worth the visit.


There are gargoyles and carvings all over the Cathedral and we managed to find one with dogs. This one is of Huskies.


There are street vendors all around Washington selling coffee, hot dogs and popcorn. The birds fill the trees around the carts and wait patiently for someone to share with them.


The Obama girls will undoubtedly visit the National Zoo. We spent a whole day there and still didn't see everything. What a wonderful place.

Do I Smell Bacon?

Morgan is obsessive compulsive. There are many ways this manifests itself and over the years we've learned to deal with most of them. My living room windows are covered with dog spit from her licking them and currently we can barely see through them. I need to get out the vinegar and a scrunge to scrape them off. Of course as soon as I do she'll be right behind me licking them again.

We are forever telling her not to lick the eyes and ears of the other dogs. They don't seem to mind, but she'll continue to lick until she makes them sore.

When she gets a new toy, she becomes obsessed with destroying it. She can't rest until it's a pile of torn fabric, cotton stuffing and a chewed up squeaker.

Well, we have a new obsession. Bacon. During the summer when Rob was home in the mornings, we usually went out to breakfast. Morgan always went with us and waited patiently in the car while we went into the restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely meal. When we came out we always carried a little white box that contained several bite sized pieces of bacon.


Morgan would eat the bacon in the back seat, then she would lie down and sleep as we drove home.

We've been eating breakfast at home since the beginning of the year and it almost never includes bacon.

For the last two days Morgan has been very agitated in the morning. While we're in the kitchen making coffee, she stands at the foot of the stairs and scratches on the door going into the garage. She whines and moans and won't stop. When we finish breakfast she remains upset and starts turning over waste baskets and pulling things off shelves. Yesterday I leashed her and kept her beside me until she finally settled down and fell asleep.

This morning I got up with the dogs at 6:30. I fed them and let them run around for awhile, then I went back to bed. Rob was up and started the coffee. At 7:30 he came into the bedroom and asked me to get up and make some bacon. While I made the bacon, he took the dogs out again. When the bacon was ready, I broke it into bite sized pieces and put it in a white take out box.

Rob brought in the other dogs, but put Morgan in the car. We drove to a nearby cemetery and parked the car. We walked Morgan for a few minutes, then put her in the back seat and I opened the box and fed her the bacon. She was one happy dog. When the bacon was gone she settled down on her blanket for the ride home.

Well, we found the problem behind her behavior. She thinks she's supposed to go out for breakfast every morning. Now the question is how do we break this pattern.

Thank You Notes

We decided today to say thank you for a few things that we appreciate.

First is one I never really gave much thought to until recently. Yesterday it was cold here. Large parts of the country have been really cold this winter, but it only hit us a couple days ago. We were all snug here in the house. Rob and I drank hot chocolate and the dogs all found warm places to curl up and snooze. Before bed I stick their blankets in the dryer for a few minutes to get them warm and toasty. They seem to enjoy them that way.

Anyway, I had to break up this coziness and brave the frigid temps. I ran out of DMC embroidery floss number 3021 and I needed more for the cross stitch I'm working on. Rob and I bundled up and along with Morgan and Noah we headed for Hobby Lobby. The thermometer said it was 14 degrees. Now to the thank you part. I want to thank whoever it was that invented seat warmers in cars. What a great invention! We got in the car and it was cold, but within seconds my seat was warm and I felt comfy all over. Thank you, anonymous person.

My next thank you goes to Nichole. This one is from me and my furry friends. Nic made it possible for all my babies to have new collars for Christmas and not only new collars, but really pretty ones. It's taken me awhile to get organized, but this week I transferred tags and adjusted sizes so they could start wearing them. Boy, switching tags from one collar to another is a killer on nails. Imagine doing ten of them. I finally gave up and had Rob do some.

Fudge got one with Maple leaves. It's in shades of brown, gold and orange and looks great with his coloring.


Fudge says,"Thank you, Nichole."


Samba has the pretty red, yellow and black one. It looks like 'a leader's neckpiece'.


Sky has the blue one with moose on it, because Sky is a moose. Last week he weighed in at 69 pounds making him our biggest dog. He now outweighs Tsar who appears much larger because of all the hair. When I see Sky and Noah together it's hard to believe they're litter mates. Noah only weighs 40 pounds.

Tsar got a new black collar, which no one can see under all the hair, but he seemed excited to get it. It's always sweet to see how happy it makes them to get something new.

I decided not to change Morgan's collar. In her present confused state changes upset her, so we'll just wait and see.

Tess and Bailey each got a butterfly collar and Norma Jean has the ladybug collar. They declined the opportunity to be photographed this morning due to the fact that it's snowing and chasing each other through the snow is much more important than standing still for Mom.

Noah has a new red collar and so does Bailey. Now I can tell Lola and Bailey apart from a distance.

Sky says "Thank you, Nichole. Here's a smile just for you."

How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?

'Designer Dogs' are hot right now. They are selling for big bucks. There are a few things people need to realize about these celebrity pooches. First of all they are mutts, mixed breeds no different from 90% of the dogs to be found abandoned in shelters across the country. Because of the fad and the money involved some people find it tempting to breed the family Lab with the Poodle across the street, wait two months for the pups to be born, feed and clean up after them for six to eight weeks, then sell them for whatever the market will bear.

The buyers are getting an adorable, warm, wiggly puppy, but they may be getting a lot more than they expect. All dog breeds have certain health problems that are genetic in nature. Contrary to popular opinion, mixed breeds are not healthier than purebreds. They could be if the proper health screenings were done on the potential parents and breeding was done accordingly, but in the rush to cash in, these are often overlooked. The results can be disastrous to the dog and the family that loves it.

Often buyers are told that the puppy is registered. There are many phony registries that will register any dog for a fee. When the new owner wants to participate in competitive activities with their dog, they learn that their dog is not registrable in the AKC or UKC, the two national registries that conduct dog shows and trials. Their dog is not purebred and therefore not qualified to participate.

Breeding dogs should not be a money making scheme. Generally if all the bases are covered, the breeder loses money.

Portuguese Water Dogs, just like all other breeds, have certain health conditions that are common to the breed. Gangliosidosis (GM-1) is a wasting disease in puppies. It kills young pups. Progressive Retinal Atrophy(PRA) causes blindness, Hip Dysplasia causes lameness and arthritic conditions, Juvenile Dilated Cardiomyopathy is a heart condition that kills young dogs, usually by two years of age. Hemangiosarcoma is a fatal form of cancer and Addisons Disease is a liver disease.

Through the hard work of PWD breeders, support by The Portuguese Water Dog Club of America and The PWD Foundation, ongoing research is being done on all these conditions and several have had major break-throughs.

Before even thinking about breeding, Samba had genetic tests done for GM-1 and PRA. Her eyes were examined by a canine opthalmologist. Her hips were x-rayed and evaluated by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. She was examined by a canine cardiologist and her DNA profile was done through the AKC.

When Fudge joined the family, the same screenings were performed on him. Although Samba is a PRA carrier, we were able to breed the two because Fudge is clear. Therefore, although some of the pups could be carriers, none will be affected by PRA and lose their sight. Both dogs are clear of GM-1 and their hips passed.

Even before the pups arrived there were expenses involved. Samba had to have daily blood tests to determine the exact time of ovulation. Vaccinations and wormings were up to date. Once the pups put in an appearance, the costs accelerated.

There was the initial first day exam to be sure mother and babies were healthy. On day four dew claws were removed. When we got Samba, she still had her dew claws and when she was two, she tore both of them, resulting in great pain. She had them surgically removed, which is a much more serious procedure when done on an adult.

There were wormings and puppy vaccinations. Each pup had a micro-chip implanted between their shoulders to identify them if they should get lost. The chips were registered with Companion Animal Recovery, run by the AKC and with Avid, the maker of the chip. All pups were registered with the American Kennel Club and The United Kennel Club. They each had their DNA profile done.

When I interviewed buyers, they were required to fill out a questionnaire and in phone and face to face meetings they were asked about their experience with dogs and their plans for this dog. If we agreed on the adoption, they were given a full pedigree, DNA profile, copies of all health certificates of the parents, registration papers, chip registrations with my name as back-up contact. They were supplied with the dog food the pups was currently eating plus nutrition info on the current food as well as the food the new owner planned to use. They were provided with emergency phone numbers of my vet, poison control, etc.

It was made clear to the new owners that if ever in the lifetime of the dog,they were unable to keep it for any reason, I would take the dog back. I brought those pups into the world and I will always be responsible for them. They are not under any circumstances to wind up in a shelter. I will always be available to them to answer questions or give whatever help I can.

I love mixed breed dogs. I currently have two and I mourn the loss of Monty and Lucy, but I am not in favor of intentionally breeding mixed breed dogs. Accidents happen and the pups from those accidents deserve loving homes for their entire lives, but to breed a mutt, then turn it over to someone and forget about it is totally wrong. Those breeders don't know or care if that puppy is thrown away because it was too much trouble to care for it.

Thank goodness for no-kill shelters, foster homes and the many good people who spend their time and money helping those animals find a forever home.