Scout Has Something To Say

I let Joey do most of the blogging these days because I have other things to do like sleeping.  However, I need to say something today.  People always comment on how big I am.  Many people think I'm a boy.  I'm tall and I'm long and yes, I am big-boned..  I'm taller than Joey.  I'm definitely a tomboy.  Well, let me just say that if I wasn't a big girl, I would have a real problem with Joseph.  The boy is a bully!  He loves to push me out of the way when anyone is petting me.  He doesn't want their attention, he just doesn't want me to get it. When we are waiting to get our leashes on to go outside, Joey bumps into me.  Daddy says we are playing bumper dogs.  If I was a small girl, I would be flying across the room instead of standing my ground.  Yes, sometimes it's good to be big.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Can Hold Her Own Next To The Big Boys

A Mama Funny

We are tired this morning!  We went to the park yesterday and I think it was more of a short hike than a walk.  We walked through mud, water, tall brush and we climbed over trees.  I kept thinking that this must be what the hikes are like for my sister, Bunny.  I didn't know that you could go off the trail.  I thought you had to stay on it, but we there was a huge tree blocking the road and we had to go around it.  It was fun.  The trail ended at a cemetery that was started in the 1800's.  It's where the founders of the town are buried.  Their family gave the land to the state and that's why it is a state park now. 

We came home and slept. 

Then we watched the sun set.

Then we chewed some bully sticks.

Then we slept some more.

It was a good day!

Okay, so do you want to hear the funny about Mama.  Scout said I should tell everyone.  I'm not sure why she wants me to do it and not her.  Do you think she is trying to get me in trouble?  She's actually smarter than she lets on.  Anyway, I'll go for it.  Mama hurt her back on Thursday.  She wasn't having the normal spasms that she has when it acts up, so that was good.  However, on Saturday, her legs were really, really hurting.  She said her legs had never hurt that much before.  It was really hard to walk with a back that hurt and now her legs hurt, too. She thought maybe her legs were hurting because she was walking funny.  See, when her back hurts, she can't stand up straight and she kind of tilts to the left.  Saturday night, a light bulb went off in her head.  She was really embarrassed when she realized why her legs were hurting.  Are you ready for it?  Her legs were hurting because she had been told to stretch her back out by laying on the floor and lifting her knees to her chest.  She did that several times on Friday.  Well, Mama is so out of shape that her legs were just sore from exercising.  ROFL  Her legs were okay on Sunday.  Silly Mama!   Her back is better.  It's still sore, but she can walk pretty normal now.  She can almost turn over in bed without too much trouble.  I think she will be all better in another day or two.  She thinks her back problems stem from a car accident she was in when she was 12.  She hit the windshield and broke it.  That was before you had to wear a seat belt.  That car didn't even have seat belts!  Can you imagine?  Well, she hurt her neck in the accident.  About ten years later, she remembers her back going out and since then, she has had trouble  She tries not to lift anything heavy, but sometimes it just goes out.

It's going to be a beautiful day here.  I am going to spend the day on the deck.

Joey
The Greyhound Who Has A Funny Mama

It's Fun Day Again!

Daddy arrived home from California very late on Thursday night.  It was almost Friday morning.  We were very excited to see him, but disappointed we had to go to bed right after he got home.  He had to work on Friday, so we didn't really see him until Friday night.  It's nice to have him home again.

Mama's back has been hurting since Thursday.  She lifted up a bag of salt and that's all it took for it to act up. Scout says it doesn't take much for her back to get messed up.   You should have seen how funny she was walking yesterday. She said it's feeling better today, so we might be able to go to the park. We are just waiting for the final word on that.

Here we are waiting.

 I probably should get a power nap in while I wait.

The weather is supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow.  I will definitely be camped out on the deck soaking in the sun.

Joey
The Greyhound Who Loves The Weekends

...But I Like The Rain

Yesterday, we had a rainy day.  I don't mind the rain. I wanted to stay out all day.  Mama didn't agree.

Mama: "Joey, it's 34 degrees.  You can't stand in the rain."

 Me: "But Mama, the bunny is out in the rain!"

Me: "Besides, when I come in, you wrap me in a warm towel."

Me: "I'm dry now.  Can I go back out?  Please?"

Mama said I pushed her buttons yesterday because I wanted to be out in the rain ALL DAY.  Honestly, I don't know why I can't just stay outside.  It's a lot more fun than being in the house.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Likes A Rainy Day And A Rainy Night

Anniversary Wishes / Leg Update

Thank you everyone for the six month anniversary wishes.  Mama and I read through the blog from the time that I came home until now.   We had forgotten all the rough times that we had with the cast, the medication, using a sling, worrying about sores, etc., etc.  We are so glad that it is now and not then.

We were asked how my leg is doing.  It's not as good as Mama hoped it would be, but we are still hoping it will get better.  We are hoping that once the plate and screws come out that I will feel better.  I took off running in the house right before Christmas and that hurt.  Little red dots showed up along my scar, so we think that was from the screws.  I limped for quite a while after that and Mama put me back on full doses of my medication.  I'm better now and normally just take a half of a pill a day, but some days I need a full pill.  I'm stiff when I first get up, but I think that is just normal for me.  My foot doesn't really place correctly when I stand, but that could be from my bones being fused together.  I don't always put full weight on my foot.  The cold weather bothers my foot because that plate gets cold in my foot.  I'm supposed to be able to run in another month, but after my house run in December, Mama doesn't think I will be able to run until the plate comes out because of those screws.  I will have to have a surgery to get the plate out, so that's a little scary, but in the long run, it seems like it will be for the best.   Don't get me wrong, I really don't feel bad.  The pain medication works. Mama just didn't think I would still need it.  I hope this doesn't sound like we are down about my leg, because we are not.  We are just hoping that it improves after the plate comes out and if it doesn't, well, I may just have to take medication when necessary.  It's definitely better than it was six months ago.

This is how I spent my six month anniversary.

In the evening, Scout and I chewed on bully sticks.  We also had some boiled chicken.  Yum!

Daddy is out of town this week.  Mama said we are not driving her too crazy this week.  The last time he was out of town, we really pushed her buttons.  LOL

Joey
The Greyhound Who Is Very Happy But Will Be Happier When His Daddy Is Back Home

I've Been Here 6 Months!

Today is my 6 month anniversary of living here.(The above photo is me coming home for the first time.)  It's really gone pretty fast considering everything that has happened to me.  I had my surgery a month after moving here.  I stayed in the hospital for ten days.  Then, I wore that silly cast for 6 weeks and then I had to wear that even sillier bandage for 3 weeks.  Mama and I had battles over me taking medicine, but now I love peanut butter, so it's not an issue anymore.

I don't think we are doing anything to celebrate.  Daddy is in Los Angeles this week. I wanted to go, but he said I wouldn't pass for luggage.  Mama said we can break open the big dog sampler pack that we got from Best Bully Sticks last week tonight to keep us entertained since we really miss Daddy when he is away.

We did go to the park yesterday. We saw deer and I got really excited over them. They were shaking their white tails at me.  They reminded me of bunnies with their white tails.  We walked in two different area of the park, so that was really fun.  The new area had all sorts of new smells and Scout and I could have stayed there all day.  We hope the weather remains good so we can go back next week.

Joey
The Greyhound Who Has Been Home For 6 Months

Sundays Are Fun Days!

Sundays are usually the best day of the week for me.  Saturdays are good, but the folks usually go somewhere without us.  Sundays are usually family days.  We spend the day together and most of the time we go the park.  We are getting ready to go to the park, but we are waiting for the temperature to go up a little.  It's 36 degrees and windy.  I'm ready to go, but Mama said we need to wait a little longer. 

Yesterday, Mama and Daddy brought home a fireplace.  It's actually for the motor home, but we are going to use it until we are ready to go camping.  Daddy has been talking about getting one for the motor home for a while and Mama didn't pay much attention until they went to the RV show last week. She loved how they looked in the RV's.  We have the perfect spot for it in the motor home.  We will use it instead of our space heater.  It's electric.

Here it is in our house.

The mantle clock was my Grand Dad's.  He died 25 years ago this year.  Mama has never had a place to put it until now, but this is just temporary since the fireplace will be moved in March.   The mantle on their old fireplace wasn't wide enough for it.

Remember the blanket that Mama got for Christmas?  It's behind me in these pictures.

Mama received a coupon code the other day and wanted to pass it on.
PhotoWeavers
CODE: LOVE1

Offer good for our Large Woven Photo Blanket (71" x 53")
Discount Expires 2/20/12 12:59 PM EST
Normal price is: $128.00 Price after discount is applied: $76.80

Hope everyone has a nice "Fun Day"!
Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Headed To The Park

Darn Bunnies!

As you know, we have a lot of trouble with bunnies here.  We wouldn't have trouble if Mama would let me off leash.  I know I could catch them.  I can get within two feet of them and then they move.  If I wasn't on a leash...well, they wouldn't be laughing at me.  I would show them how fast a greyhound really is.

Last week, there was snow on the ground.  Scout was outside in the enclosure and she was barking.  Daddy was outside watching her and Mama asked who was barking because we are not allowed to bark.  Daddy said it was Scout and Mama was amazed that Daddy was allowing her to bark because he really does not like us to bark.  He said she was barking at the rabbit.  Daddy then did something really amazing.  He took some snow and made a snowball and then he threw it at the bunny and hit it.  LOL  That bunny didn't know what had happened.  The bunny ran into our shed.  Mama was amazed because Daddy was on the deck and it is a pretty good distance to the bunny. 

 The shed that the bunny ran into.

 This is the bunny.  It's not a good photo because it was taken from the deck and it's pretty far away.

 Me watching that darn bunny!

Scout and I being teased by the bunny.  Mama threw rocks at him, but she didn't scare him at all.  We definitely need another snowball to get him.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Plotting A Way To Get The Bunny

Bully Sticks Are Here!

They're here!  They're here!  The bully sticks are here!  Mama also ordered us a variety pack for big dogs. We should be occupied for a while now. 

Life is good!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Having A Greyt Day!

We Have Lights!

What are they attached to?

The Greyhound Expressway, of course!  Scout is a little scared going out at night, so Mama thought lights might help her.  We have a light that comes on when we reach the bottom of the ramp, but we have to get there first.  We don't have a good place to put electric lights, so the folks bought us solar rope lights.

Our four day weekend has come to an end.  We had fun. We didn't do a whole lot, but we were with both Mama and Daddy and that's always fun, well, almost always.  We did go to the park on Sunday.  We didn't walk as much as we did the week before because Mama felt I overdid it.  We only did one lap around the campground this time.  I wanted to do more and even Scout wanted to walk more, but Mama said NO.  We drove around and saw all the other dogs that were walking.  I whined, of course.  I always whine when I see other dogs.  Heck, I whine whenever I ride in the car.  I drive Mama crazy with my whining.  I drive Daddy crazy with my drool.  I have a tendency to shake my head and drool flies in the car.  He is not amused. 

Any tips to help me stop whining?  

Joey
The Greyhound Who Likes Four Day Weekends

Snow Day - Part 2

We didn't have much snow yesterday, but there was ice under it and it caused a lot of problems on the roads.  Mama had the police scanner on most of yesterday and there were numerous plow trucks that went off the roads.  Our road is still bad.  They came by and put chemicals on it, but the temperatures were so cold that they didn't work.  It was 17 most of the day with a windchill of 3. That's quite different from Wednesday when it was in the 50's.

I drove Mama nuts with wanting to go outside.  She said "Joey, I don't think you are a greyhound. You are not supposed to like the cold weather.  You are not supposed to want to play for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time.  Are you sure you don't have a zipper on you that will expose another breed of dog?  Mama says I'm crazy, but I think she is crazy.  What dog has a zipper?  So, I spent the day whining because I wanted to go outside and sit in the snow.  Mama gave in more than not, but she says that is going to change. She was nervous each time I went out, but I was good and just walked around and sat in the snow.   Daddy doesn't believe I was a pain because when he came home I went to sleep for the night.

Mama decided that I needed to try on big brother, Jack's pajamas.  I felt silly and Mama said that Jack definitely wore them better than me. That's fine with me.  I don't need pajamas. Scout was scared that she was going to be next one to have to try on the jammies.

 
Daddy is off work until Tuesday!  That means Mama is off, too!  We have a four day weekend!  They are going to the RV show later today.  Scout says they go every year.   Daddy likes to look at the new models and dream and Mama likes to look at the gadgets and maybe attend a cooking show. We will be camping in just a few months!

Joey
The Greyhound Who Likes Snow

Snow Day!

It's a nasty day here.  We don't have much snow, but there is ice under it.  Driving is really rough out there.  We have our police scanner on and it's just a mess. The police keep reporting that it is a sheet of ice.  Daddy hasn't left for work yet because traffic is just stuck so Mama told him he would be better off sitting at home than sitting in traffic.  He actually listened to her this morning.  I think it helps that he is hearing all the accidents on the scanner. 

Mama is very nervous about me going outside.  She is so scared that I'm going to get hurt.  Are all Mama's nervous like that?  I've been good and haven't gotten too crazy with the snow.  I've done a couple of dances in it, but no zoomies.  I actually sat in the snow for a while.  It was cool on my bottom.  The cold and snow does bother my foot.  Mama says the Greyhound Expressway will be used on a limited basis today.  It's very cold here and the wind is going to get strong later in the day.

Our bird feeders are getting quite a work out this morning.

I'm already driving Mama crazy telling her that I need to go outside even though I just want to go out and explore in the snow.  She keeps telling me to take a nap.  Who can sleep when it's a SNOW DAY?

Well, Daddy just left for work.  We hope he does okay.  He took our Jeep.  Mama would have liked for him to wait a little longer, but he's stubborn.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Would Love To Be Able To Play In The Snow

Bully Sticks Are Coming!

Mama received a coupon code for Best Bully Sticks today, so she placed us a BIG order.  Grandma and Grandpa gave us money for Christmas, so we spent it!  We are so excited!  We love bully sticks!  I think Grandma was shocked when she learned what they were.  LOL   I guess when you think about what they are, it is kind of gross, but we like them. Mama read an article where Cesar Millan recommends them over other chews.  He said they are highly digestible and that's why he recommends them.  Mama likes them because they keep us busy in the evening and they help keep our teeth clean.  We like them because they taste good.

Here is the coupon code, if you want to place your own order: JANSAVE10.  It's for 10% off. It expires on Friday.  It's not the best savings, but I think the most they ever offer is a 15% off coupon and that only comes once a year.
  
Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Waiting Impatiently For Bully Sticks 

Surprise Visitor

Yesterday, we had a surprise visitor.  No, it wasn't a squirrel, rabbit or raccoon. However, there was a rabbit in my enclosure last night, but that's not what I'm talking about.  Mama's best friend called and said she was coming to town with her brother and wondered if Mama wanted to go to lunch.  They have known each other since second grade.  They talk every day, but don't see each other very often because she lives in another state.  They saw each other at Mama and Daddy's surprise anniversary party but before that, it had probably been seven years since they visited.  So, Mama said "sure, come on over!"  

It was fun having her over.  I chattered and chattered.  She thought it was so funny.  I showed her my new ramp and my toys.  She laughed when I played with my toys.  I put on a good show for her, I think.   They went out for lunch and drove around all the areas they visited as kids.  They visited their old grade school because it has changed a lot since they met there 40 years ago.  Yep, they have known each other for 40 years.  That is crazy!  Mama had been wanting to do this sort of thing for a long time, but it had never worked out before.  Her friend lost her job in August, so now she has more free time and it just worked out that her brother wanted to catch up with an old friend of his.  It was a fun day for Mama and us.

I think today will be just a regular day and I hope I can catch up on the sleep that I didn't get to catch up on yesterday as planned.

Joey
The Greyhound Who Knows How To Entertain The Ladies

Nice Weekend

We had a nice weekend.  Saturday, we went to the park and walked and walked.  Scout thought we walked too much, but I wanted to keep going.  Mama said that I did walk too much though because my leg was sore after we got home.  It was worth it to me.

Saturday night, Grandma and Grandpa came over and got to see our Greyhound Expressway. Grandpa had helped build it, but he didn't see the official sign until Saturday night.  He thought it was pretty cool.

Yesterday, we just hung out.  I was tired.

Last week, we had computer problems.  A Trojan attached itself to our computer and didn't want to leave.  Mama kept removing it and it kept coming back.  It got so bad that she couldn't boot up the computer.  Mama decided to re-install Windows.  She didn't know if it would fix it, but she had to try.  She had read that all of her pictures and documents would be gone, but to her surprise, everything was still there.  She installed a new anti-virus and has been running the heck out of it and so far, the computer has been running great.  She still needs to back up all of our pictures in case the computer dies.  She does it from time to time, but hasn't done in the last few months. Scout said that Mama used to really get upset if the computer had problems, but I thought she was pretty calm about it.  I guess she is learning not to sweat the small stuff even though the computer is necessary for work.  She has a laptop, but it's harder to use for work.

Joey
The Greyhound Who Is Going To Relax Today

Joey Isn't Quiet When He Sleeps

Scout here with a video showing Joey sleeping.   Sometimes he makes a noise like a horse, but this is not it.  I would be embarrassed if I did this, but not Joey.  He's a typical boy.  He can do things and not care how he looks.  Mama said it's good that he can "dance like no one is watching".  I'm not sure what that means, but I'm too dignified for that.  It's like when Mama walks in the room and says "who has gas?"  Why does she even have to ask that?  We all know it's Joey.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Wonders If All Brothers Are Silly

It's Official...Greyhound Expressway Is Open

Yep, the sign arrived yesterday.  Mama said we should have some sort of ceremony but we were not interested.  I was just interested in enjoying the day.  It was 67 here!  It was so nice!

I definitely take after my big brother, Jack.  I love being out on the deck just like he did.

I know that he would have loved the Greyhound Expressway, too.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Has His Own Expressway To The Yard

We survived Jack's birthday.  Mama was sad and cried, but she is much better today.  She said we need to plan to be away on the anniversary of his death because it will be difficult to be here and remember everything that happened that day.  I'm sure that Daddy will be happy to take us camping on that weekend.

I am like Jack in that I love being outside.  I love the deck the way he did.

If I had my way, I would be outside a lot more than I am.  I was outside yesterday and it was 24 degrees.  I just laid in the sun.

Mama said "Joey, it's 24 degrees, get your butt inside."  I was like, but Mama, it feels good in the sun!

Do you like my enclosure?  It's pretty small.  We had it bigger, but it was going down the hill and Scout starting doing zoomies and jumping over the concrete steps and Mama got very, very nervous.  We will increase the size in a few months.  

This morning, there was a bunny in the enclosure.  I swear those bunnies are bold. 

Do you know what?  Dr. Bone, a doctor from the hospital that fixed my leg, was on TV last night.  He was on My First Place on HGTV.  They showed the hospital.  I thought for sure that I would be shown since I was there so much, but it was taped before I even came to St. Louis.  We thought it was pretty neat to see him on TV.  He is one of the people that signed my cast!

Joey
The Greyhound Who Loves Being Outside