The Folks Are Sick

Mama and Daddy both have the stomach flu.  Mama got sick Sunday at 3 a.m.   I got really scared with her throwing up.  She said not to go into detail, but she was sick like that for 15 hours. I wouldn't go near her.  Daddy took care of us and her. He then came home sick yesterday afternoon.  Luckily, she is well enough to feed us and let us outside. She showered this morning, so she smells better and I'm not so scared of her now.  Daddy seems to not have it as bad as Mama, so that's good.  Mama is really tired today.  She said she will probably be better tomorrow. We hope so.  It's not fun living in a sick house.

We wanted to have a fun time watching the Super Bowl, but it just didn't happen this year.  We are going to try and catch up on our blog reading later today.

Joey
The Greyhound Who Wouldn't Get Near Mama For Two Days

Rainy Day

It's a rainy day here.  We had a wonderful week of weather.  It was sunny and warm.  I made good use of the deck. 

On the last day of January, I had an encounter with a bee.  Can you believe that?  I'm scared of bees when I'm outside, but he followed me inside the house.  Well, he was in my territory so the battle was on.  Mama heard me dancing around in the kitchen and she saw me chasing a bee.  She said "No, Joey!" and that's when I snapped at the bee and into my mouth he went.  I then spit him out and Mama stepped on him.  No more bee.  Mama was concerned that I was stung.  She checked the bee and the stinger was still on it..  She checked my mouth and all was fine. Thank goodness I was not stung.

Well, the next day, another bee chased me.  I ran into the house and hid.  I stayed in for a while after that.  I can't believe bees are already out.  Mama said if bees are out, snakes could be out.  Yikes!

Mama found out some surprising news yesterday.  As you may know, Mama works from home. She has worked from home for 16 years.  The first ten years she had a great paying job and she even had her own business for 14 years.  The past six years have been tough. The great paying job went away and the economy caused her business to close.  Six years ago she started working for company "A".  She worked for them for a little over a year and they sent the job to India.  She immediately started working for company "B".  It's the exact same job except the pay is not good.  Mama loves the work though and the hours are very flexible. Well, she found out yesterday that company "A" has purchased company "B".  ::::sigh:::  That can't be good.  She figures it's just a matter of time before her job ends.  Remember back in November, she had three jobs.  Well, one job ended and they are still processing her paperwork on the other one.  Maybe the other one will start when her current one ends?  Mama says life is full of changes and we just need to go with it.  At least she will be not loosing a big salary this time. 

Mama was happy to hear that other people have seen the type of collar that she made Scout.  She made me one and Daddy said it definitely pulls tighter on me when I pull.  He said that's a good thing.  I'm not so sure about that.  She purchased more hardware, so it looks like more collars are headed our way.

Joey
The Greyhound Who Won The Battle With A Bee

My February Collar

Mama likes to make us collars for the holidays.  Last night, she made me my February collar. I look nervous, don't I?

If you notice, this collar is made differently than my other collars.  Mama ordered hardware for our collars last week and discovered this new piece that is being used on martingale collars.  She was excited to try it, but also nervous.  She showed it to Daddy to see if he thought it would be safe and he said he thinks it's safer than the old style. We are still being very cautious as we test it out.

The chain takes the place of the material that is normally used that draws together to keep us from backing out of our collars. All the metal that you see comes welded together.  Mama and Daddy both think the chain pulls tighter and quicker than the material does.  Mama's biggest concern was that the chain might break, but Daddy says it won't.  Joey is a puller and some of his collars have been replaced because he wears through the material.  This may be a good option for him.   It took Mama a while to figure out how to make the collar, but once she did, she said it's so much easier than the old style. 

(Yes, I do have a leash on.  It's just not showing up in these photos.)  

If you are interested in making your own collars, here is the place that Mama orders her hardware from. Martingale Collars  You can order a kit to get you started.  That's what Mama did.  Mama doesn't get a commission or anything if you order.  She just thought some of you would be interested in making your own collars. 

Scout
The Greyhound Who Is Ready For February

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