Scout says "Happy Halloween!"

It looks like Scout has gotten into the Halloween frame of mind. I took this photo this morning while Scout listened to a Halloween e-card that was sent to me. Notice the "fang" hanging out of her mouth and her "red" eye. Spooky!

Got Toys?

In two years, Jack has gone from these three toys that his foster Mama sent along with him....

To this:

This does not include about 5 toys that are awaiting repairs and the outside toys. I think there may be about 5 outdoor toys.

How did this happen? I hate to think how much money has been spent on dog toys. I have bought many of the toys on clearance or on sale, but still. We have only added maybe 5 toys in the past year and I cannot see the need for new ones unless they are really, really cheap.

Scout does have a birthday coming up, but she would prefer food over toys.

Does anyone else have this obsession with toys for their dog or cat?

Oh, no! It's laundry day!

My pups hate when I wash the sheets. I try to make the bed with blankets, but it is just not the same. As you can tell, Scout is not happy with her accomondations.

Jack asks "Are the sheet done yet, Mama?"

"They're done! I'll help you put them on the bed, Mama!"

Finally, life is back to normal for the brindle kids. Laundry day is exhausting!

We've been given an award!

We got this award from Camie's Kitties

And these are the rules:
~ Put the logo on your blog.
~ Add a link to the person who awarded you.
~ Nominate 10 other blogs.
~ Add links to those blogs on yours.
~ Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.


My nominees are:

http://smoothiesplace.blogspot.com/

http://msfrugalmcdougal.org/

http://nytrogirl.com/

http://threetimesabridesmaid.today.com/

http://cookwithme.today.com/

http://yummydown.com/rattitude/

http://www.friendsfurevercatblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.kaysk9s.blogspot.com/

http://jujuboo.blogspot.com/

http://willowscatblog.blogspot.com/

We just returned from a weekend camping trip at Meramec State Park. It's a park that we normally camp at a few times each season, but the park had flooding problems this year. We were not able to get everyone together until this past weekend.

http://www.mostateparks.com/meramec.htm

Many of the campers had their campsites decorated for Halloween. We were really surprised by how many decorated and to the extent that they went to with their decorations. We also decorated our sites and even had a few kids who came by for candy.

The pups really had a nice time. They had their skin cousins to pet them and they, of course, walked around the campground getting lots of attention.

We had four sites and were basically in a square. We used the middle as our central area. Since it was on a cool side at night, we had a hot chocolate area that everyone enjoyed.

We used a roaster for the first time camping and made chili the first night. The next night, we used to make baked potatoes. It worked out really well.

Grandpa planned out scavenger hunts for the kids and that kept them busy for a few hours on Saturday. We rode our bikes searching for clues. It was a lot of fun and good for the kids to learn to read instructions and pay attention to details. I recommend this activity for kids.

This was probably our last "family" camping trip of the year, but Jeff and I and the pups will go out a few more times.

Scout's Bio

Scout is an Oklahoma girl. She was born on November 19, 2005.

Scout had a career ending injury, well that's what we tell people. She has a foot injury and we do not think she ever raced. She has the tattoos, but nothing shows up concerning racing for her. Plus, the only name that shows up is "Scout". She's kind of like Cher, she only has one name.

We decided that we wanted a companion for Jack. He loves other greys and always seemed sad after meet and greets. We contacted our group and they started searching for a grey for us.
We were told about three greys and Scout seemed to be the best match for us. We were sent her photo and I spoke with her foster mom in Oklahoma a few times.

She came to us on September 29, 2007. It seemed to take her a little longer to settle in than Jack. She was not completely house broken even though she had been in foster care for a while. It seemed like forever, but after two months she was house broken. Jack came to us knowing the rules of a house and while Scout did not. I guess I was spoiled by Jack.

Scout really didn't know about toys when she arrived, but now she enjoys them. She loves to run. The girl runs laps in the yard and at times she turns her head to look at me as she flies by as if to say "LOOK AT ME, MAMA!"

She is not destructive, but the girl loves shoes. She collects shoes and rugs. She's so funny with her little collection.

Scout's foster mom told me that all Scout wanted was for someone to love her and I believe that is true. She is very affectionate and loves hugs, kisses and belly rubs. It has taken her a while to figure out how to position her body to land where she wants it to so she can get her belly rubs, but she's much better than when she first arrived. LOL Her aim used to be way off which caused me to laugh and for her to get upset.

We've come a long way in a year. A few months ago, I had a long talk with Scout and said to her "You know, this is your forever, ever home and you will never leave, right?" She responded with an enthusiastic kiss. I guess she knows.

I keep in touch with both Scout and Jack's foster Moms. Jack sees his foster Mom at our greyhound group's functions. Scout's foster Mom lives in Oklahoma, so I email her photos of Scout and let her know how she is doing.

Jack's Bio

I've already written quite a bit about my dogs, but I thought I should properly introduce them.

Jack was born on January 3, 2004 in Kansas. He had a short career of only eight races. He came in second twice. His last race was on 10/27/2005. We do not know his whereabouts from that time until about March of 2006.

Jack was found in a barn along with 24 other abandoned greyhounds. The barn was about to be torn and before it was bulldozed, it was checked. They found the 25 greyhounds that were left for dead. I am not sure how long they had been left there. Five of the greys were brought to St. Louis on Easter weekend. Jack was put in a foster home along with his half brother, Woody.

My husband and I met Jack at a Petco meet and greet. I was not interested in a male or a brindle. I really wanted the little fawn girl that was there, but since she wouldn't potty on lead, she was not right for us as we did not have a fenced yard at that time. A few days later, the group called and asked us if we wanted to participate in a parade with the greys. We said yes and I walked Jack. We were amazed that Jack was not scared of the bands, fire engines or other loud noises from a parade. He loved the kids. We decided that he was the dog for us. We planned on waiting a few weeks, but circumstances changed and my husband had to travel for an unknown amount of time. I didn't want to be home alone, so Jack came to us immediately.

We changed Jack's name from his racing name because we wanted to give him a brand new start on life. Also, his foster mom called him Ricky and that is my brother-in-law's name. I don't think he would like a dog being called his name.

Jack is such a funny guy. He makes me laugh every day. He prances when he walks. He loves his stuffies and throws them up in the air and catches them. He loves to hear them squeak. Jack loves to move me along when I'm walking down the hall of our house. I guess I don't move fast enough for him. He head butts me in the behind. He gets so excited when my husband gets home from work that he can't control himself... I mean, he has to run. We do not encourage this and it usually ends up in him getting yelled at. Zoomies are not safe in the house. Jack broke through a wall once. Yikes! So, we discourage running in the house now. Jack is such a joy to us. I can't imagine a better dog.

I just found out yesterday that Jack's real Daddy... TalentedMrripley lives at the Greyhound Hall of Fame in Abilene, KS. We hope to take a trip to Abilene next year and meet him.

Busy day for the Brindle Kids

The pups have been very excited today and haven't had time to nap. I got dressed and put my jeans on and also make-up. That only means one thing "Mama is going to town!" However, I got dressed because the chimney sweep came today. The pups were very excited when he arrived, but disappointed that they had to stay in the bedroom. They do not understand that not everyone wants to give them hugs.

They settled down for a few minutes and then the FedEx man arrived. What could it be?

Scout's birthday is next month, but since I placed a bone order I went ahead and ordered her toy.

I thought she would love it. She does not. She looks at it like "what the heck am I supposed to do with this thing?" Jack won't even play with it and he's the king of toys. He loves to toss them in the air and catch them. I am so disappointed that no one likes the Wiggly Giggly bone, but probably not as disappointed as Scout.

Why a greyhound?

Greyhounds are docile, calm, gentle, loving, funny. They are big couch potatoes. They have a burst of energy and then they want to chill in bed or on the couch.

I love to watch them run. They are built for speed from their ears to their tails. It's a thing of beauty to see them run laps in the back yard. I would love to see them run in a bigger area. They can get going pretty fast in our yard, but it's not all that large so they really can't let loose.

My dogs do not bark and shed very little. Some greys bark and some shed more than others. It depends on the dog. They are low maintenance dogs. Some greys only get a bath once or twice a year. They do not have that doggy smell that other dogs do.

I have only had greyhounds for 2.5 years and I am completely in love with them and the breed.

Meet and Greet

Scout and I just returned from a meet & greet with our greyound group, Greyhound Companions. A meet and greet is where we education the public on greyhounds. I'm sure you have seen them. We are in the pet stores with out pets and fosters that are waiting for homes.

Scout is an excellent promo dog, in my opinion. She loves people and greets everyone who comes near our area. She lays down when the crowd is gone and never whines. She stayed the entire three hours without a complaint. She is such a calm, relaxed girl.

Jack stayed home today and watched football with Daddy. Jack loves people, but he grows tired quickly at meet and greets and whines because he wants to get back to his couch at home.

Scout is now sleeping and I suspect she will have a "meet and greet hangover" tomorrow. It usually takes her a full day recovering from her promos.

My Calendar Girl!

I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl... come on sing along, I know you know it. LOL

Scout is in the 2009 Celebrating Greyhounds Desktop Calendar. We are so proud of her.

Jack was a little upset that he wasn't chosen, but he has appeared in the Celebrating Greyhounds Magazine twice this year. I have been shocked at the luck I have had in getting my "kids" published this year.

I have taken hundreds of pictures this year in hopes of having something to submit for the 2010 calendar and I have maybe one or two photos that I'm happy with. I have a few months, so hopefully I will take something that will impress the judges.

Swimming Season Is Over

I love the cooler weather and so do the dogs, but Scout is sad that her pool has been put away. She loves to run laps in the yard and then jump in her pool. The girl loves water. It seems like wherever we camped this summer, Scout was able to find water to play in.

Jack on the other hand, does not care for the water and it took him most of the summer to just get in enough to get his feet wet. He actually tried to go a little further once and he stepped in a hole and he thought he was going to go under. It took him a long time before he would get in the water again.

Scout doesn't realize that winter will be here soon and she will once again be able to run in the snow. She loves doing snow zoomies and so does Jack.

He's been taken care of!

The phone repairman just called me. He said "You will not be hearing that man on your phone any more. He's been taken care of." What did they do to him? LOL

Thought It Was Fixed...

The phone man called and said my lines were crossed, but he fixed it. I made a call about an hour later and I could hear a man having a conversation on my line. He told the guy he was speaking with that someone was on the line. They decided their lines were crossed. I told him to call the phone company, but he didn't respond to me. The phone rep just told me that it's whoever is on the phone first who can hear the conversation. He probably could hear me dialing.
So, we both yelled out that if he's listening to call the phone company. LOL

The phone man called as I'm typing this and he doesn't understand how the lines can still be crossed, but he will try and get it fixed today. I hope the other guy calls in to the phone company today because it will make it easier to figure out who I'm crossed with.

The good thing is that they are actively working on the problem. The last time I had a problem, extreme static, it took a week for someone to come out.

A Week Of Phone Problems - Okay A Half Of A Week

It seems like I'm always having problems with my phone and Internet service... just ask my best friend. LOL

Wednesday, road work was being done on the road next to mine. They cut my phone line. They fixed it on Wednesday and I was happy. Yesterday, my phone went dead again. I figured the repair was just temporary and the real fix was being made. The phone man actually came to my house to check on me because I did not answer the phone. He said that he received my service call just that morning and knew it was supposed to already be fixed. He checked on it and it was all messed up. He fixed it yesterday. Everything was fine until my neighbor started making phone calls this morning. I can hear him. He received a call from the phone company asking if he was satisfied with his service and he hung up. He is now on the Internet. The only thing I can hear now is his modem. I called the phone company and and the representative said she could hear it too, so a repairman will be out today. I am pleasantly surprised that they are rushing out today.

I just put some makeup on. I may have scared the repairman yesterday when he showed up at my door. LOL

Phases of Scout

Scout seems to go through a lot of phases. She recently decided that she was scared of crickets. We live in the country, there are crickets everywhere! I think she is scared of the noise they make and not the cricket itself. We had one living in the garage. We have to pass through the garage to get to the backyard. If she heard the cricket in the garage, she would immediately run back in the house. I ended up having to put a leash on her to lead her through the garage.

Then, she decided she was scared of our motor home. The motor home is parked next to the fence so she can see it from the fenced yard. She would be fine and then she would look up and see the motor home and run back in the house.

Her latest phase isn't being scared of something, but a new discovery. She has discovered that we have ceilings. She is constantly look up as she walks. She just stares at the ceilings. She even looks at the ceiling in the garage. I'm not sure what has brought on this recent phase, but she needs to be careful and watch where she walks instead of looking up.

Scout will be three next month and still is puppy-like in her explorations. She makes me laugh, but I have to try and not let her see me laugh. I hurt her feelings when I laugh at her. She's a sensitive gal.

Broke Out The Jammies Last Night

Jack loves to wear his jammies. He gets cold very easily and if he doesn't wear his jammies he wakes me up several times at night to cover him up. Last night, we broke out the jammies.


Jack even wears his jammies when we are camping. You should hear the laughter from the other campers. Jack doesn't care. He just prances around the campground showing off.


Scout does not wear jammies. Scout does not like wearing anything. I've tried hats and scarfs on her and it's like I deflate her when I do so. She is such a tomboy.

Jack is fine!

The vet could not find anything wrong with Mr. Jack. Jack wouldn't even cough for him. His coughing has really decreased since yesterday. The vet thinks what I first thought and that is that Jack may have had a piece of food caught in his throat. He thinks it is now gone and maybe his throat is now sore and that's what is causing the coughing today.

He checked his lungs, eyes, nose and ears and everything seems to be fine.

I probably should have just waited and not taken him to the vet, but I feared he had a virus.

Jack is headed to the vet today

Jack and I are headed to the vet this morning. His cough actually seems a little better today, but I am still concerned. My feeling is that he might have kennel cough. I did some research on it yesterday and even with the shot, he can still get it. The article said that he can go away on its' own, but I'm not taking any chances.

Scout will be alone for the first time ever today. I'm a little concerned about that, but I will keep her isolated to one section of the house. She is a much calmer dog than Jack. I hope she doesn't have separation anxiety. Jack did...big time. He ate our door knobs. We found that he did not like being kept in a small room and once we let him stay in our bedroom, he was fine. I should only be gone about an hour, but I will be worried the entire time. It's a good test to see how Scout does though. There may be other times when she and Jack are not left together. Wish us all luck today!

Jack may be sick

Jack woke me up at 1:00 a.m. coughing. I got up with him and tried to get him to drink water. He wouldn't. I gave him a homemade frozen treat and he ate that. Scout heard us up and decided to join in on the buffet that insued. After the frozen treat, Jack was still coughing, so I gave him a slice of cheese. Then, some lunchmeat. I really thought that he had a piece of kibble stuck in his throat and I tried to clear it away. I finally went back to bed at 3:00 a.m. because his coughing had calmed down.

He is still coughing this morning. It's not constant, but just a little cough. I'm thinking that it must be more than a piece of kibble in his throat and that really scares me. He's up to date on all his shots and has had the shot for kennel cough.

He is eating fine and even drank some water. He acts like he feels fine. I hope that I am just a worried Mama and it's really not anything.

If things do not improve today, I will make him an appointment to see the vet. I hate to think I am over-reacting, but then again, I don't want to wait too long.

(The picture that I included is not from today. It's just him being silly laying on my bed.)

Back To Work

Vacation is officially over now. It's time to get back to work today.

I have been a little concerned about how well Jack and Scout would fall back into the work routine after being on vacation for ten days. They appear to remember their duties quite well.
We have had our breakfast and they are both in my office ready for the work day to begin. They will probably make one more run outside before they settle in for a day of sleeping. Scout will get up around 4 p.m. Jack will be up and down several times. He is not a sound sleeper like Scout. He is up and down all night. Scout basically stays in one spot.

We really had a nice vacation. I was a little concerned about camping for 8 days straight, but we all really enjoyed it. It's time to make money so that we can go again.

Jack thought he was attacked by a chiluahua!

Last week at this time we were enjoying our vacation at Table Rock Lake. It is near Branson, MO.

Whenever we camp, my husband and I are on full alert of the dogs in the campground. It seems like there is always one owner who does not think they have to follow the rules which is to keep your dog under control at all times. We seem to run into this problem with people who have small dogs. Sorry, but that's been our experience. I guess small dogs owners do not think their dogs can do any harm and they seem to think it is funny for their small dogs to chase our big dogs. It's just not a smart thing. Think about it, small dog vs. a big dog's mouth. Our dogs are very docile, but I definitely wouldn't take a chance if I had a small dog. Back to my story... we were walking Jack and Scout and this chiluahua who had been tormenting our dogs all weekend started barking at us. It's owner laughed and told him to "Get them!" She was joking, I think, but the dog got loose. I yelled "IT'S LOOSE!" We immediately went into defense mode with our dogs. You may wonder what damage a little dog can do to a greyhound. It can do a lot of damage. Greyhounds skin is very thin and easily torn. A little bite can lead to stitches. My husband grabbed unto Jack's collar and then he grabbed his back end because Jack was on two legs and trying to back out of his collar because this small dog that looked like a rat to him was at his feet. When my husband grabbed Jack's behind, Jack thought he had been bite by the dog. I guess he thought the dog jumped on his butt. He started screaming as if to say "I'VE BEEN HIT, I'VE BEEN HIT!" The owner of the dog didn't even come and get the dog until my husband brought it to her. Grrrr! My husband told Jack that he screamed like a little girl. Poor Jack, he really thought that he was a goner. We stayed away from that area of the campground after that and Jack seemed to regain his confidence.

Clearing Out The Closet

Why is it when I'm sick I think of a hundred things I want to do when I'm well and when I'm well, I don't feel like doing them? The same thing happens when I'm on vacation... I think of all the things I want to do when I return home.

My list of things to do is not exciting. I should exercise, eat better, clean the house, clean out the closets, etc.

My goal for today was to clean out a back closet and donate everything to Good Will. I ended up with 15 Old Navy t-shirts, 4 sweaters, 2 shirts and 1 pair of pants. I'm sure there are more things that I should donate, but I can't bring myself to do it yet. 15 Old Navy t-shirts? Yep, you should see all that I have left. I have been collecting Old Navy t-shirts since 1999. Each year, I buy myself and my husband about 5 t-shirts each. It's my summer wardrobe. I figure you can't beat the price at $5 each.

I also decided to donate a Winnie The Pooh and also an Eeyore t-shirt. I've decided that I'm too old to wear them. It's a very sad day for me, but I have to accept that I am now in my 40's. I hope that the shirts go to someone who will really enjoy them.

Survivor

Camping is supposed to be relaxing, right? It was very relaxing except that we could not get CBS to come in on our TV. How could I relax knowing that I was going to miss Survivor on Thursday night?

I brought along a radio that also picks up TV stations. The main reason I brought it was it is also a weather radio. Our last camping trip had us without TV reception during a storm and I was really scared not knowing what was happening. I was prepared this time for the weather. I started trying to tune CBS in on our TV when we arrived at Roaring River State Park on Tuesday. Our satellite worked, but local stations were not picked up. We ate at the park restaurant, so I asked the waitress which channel was CBS. She told me it was channel 10, but it would not come in on the TV no matter what I did to the roof antenna. I finally accepted that I was going to miss Survivor. I decided to give it one more try with the radio. I was able to tune in Channel 10 as long as I placed it on the roof of the picnic table and the wind did not blow and birds did not fly over. I told my husband that we would have to sit outside since it would not tune in if we were inside. He did not seem amused.

Thursday night came and to my surprise we could see a fuzzy picture on CBS. It kept going in and out though. I tuned in the radio and it also worked inside. Could it be that they power up the signal for Survivor? My husband and I took our places, but soon found that we had to sit certain ways or the TV lost it's signal. I had to hold my right arm up in the air and he couldn't let his feet touch the ground. I know it sounds strange, but whenever we moved, we lost our signal. It was a very long hour, but we were able to kind of see our Survivor sitting in our assigned way. It was such a relief when the show was over. I wanted to watch CSI, but decided it just wasn't worth it. I will catch it on re-runs.

I'm so glad we are home again and we can watch TV like normal people.

Back From Vacation

I just returned home from eight days of camping. We (my husband, two greyhounds and I) had a great time.

We camped at Table Rock Lake State Park and Roaring River State Park in Missouri.

I am so tired right now that anything I write will probably not make a lot of sense. I will catch you all up on our trip tomorrow.

Roomba Is Going Camping

I am planning on taking my Roomba camping. I wonder if anyone has every done this before?
I'm not a neat freak, really, I'm not. However, we are going camping for seven days and I don't think I can handle all the dirt that will be in the motor home over that period of time. There are 10 feet bringing in dirt and then you add in the food crumbs from the dogs... it drives me crazy after just four days of camping. I don't think I can handle seven days.

I mentioned bringing Roomba and my husband just rolled his eyes. "Can't you just use a broom?" he said. "A broom just doesn't work as well", I said. He got the broom out and demonstrated, but I was not impressed.

I think I will just sneak her in and by the time we arrive at the campground, it will be too late.

Fall

I love this time of year. The air is crisp. The leaves are just beginning to change. I have my office window open and I can hear the small water feature that is near my window. I can also hear my wind chime from time to time. I have a hummingbird feeder outside my office window and the activity at it has dwindled down to just one or two birds. This summer it was full of activity with more birds than I could count.

A family of deer just walked through my front yard. They were beautiful.

Spiders... oh, we have so many spiders this time of year. Is that a fall thing, too? There is no need to buy the fake spider webs for Halloween. I have the real thing all over the outside of my house.

As a child I didn't enjoy this time of year, but as an adult I think it's wonderful!