Parkin the pups

While visitng our daughter and son-in-law, we discovered something new in our lives -- a DOG PARK.

Now, I know this is country come to city for lots of folks. Dog parks exist across our nation. But we live in a part of the world where people say "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" to leash laws, and most folks have lawns for their pets to play on and use other people's lawns for their pets to poop on.

We live in a place where people say -- pooper scooper? What is that?

So we go to a community where it's dangerous for dogs not to be leashed and a neighborhood where people really do care where dogs poop. And guess what -- the community responds with a special place for dogs!

We pile up the border collies and granddog Lucy for a trip to the dog park. They enter through the double gates. Lots of other owners and dogs are out playing, and as our dogs enter, we wonder how this will all turn out.

It turned out wonderfully. It must be dog neutral ground, because suddenly, there was a pack of dogs chasing the balls we threw. Big dogs, little dogs, it didn't matter. They were all having a doggie blast. And we were having a blast playing with the pack.

We liked the dog park so much we went for three consecutive days. It was just like any other playground. The kids played and the moms and dads chatted. We encountered the largest dogs -- a Newfie, for example -- and the smallest terriers. They all just chased the border collies for the balls.

Everyone sniffed. No one got mad. No one nipped. No one bit. Even the dogs who went submissive in the sniffing stage got right up and played with the big boys. How cool is that?

We loved the experience so much, we've decided we have to get a dog park here -- our new mission in life.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

This has been a long, hard year.

We have experienced extreme joy and extreme sorrow.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have ripped apart the earlier joys we experienced in 2005 as Anne and Jeff married, we went to England and then Jean and Mindy married.

Gumbo grew up and became a therapy dog. Roux came into our lives.

Yet, it's been an extraordinary time. We ache for the thousands of our fellow Louisianians who've lost everything.

This Thanksgiving, we are so grateful for our friends, family and pets. We are grateful and thankful for our soldiers like our friend Wayne. We hope our world will change for the better soon. And we hope everyone is safe and has someone to cling to in this uncertain world. That is our prayer.

First big road trip together

We're on our first big road trip tomorrow as a two-border collie famiily. Gumbo has been a good traveler, but we don't know how they'll both do in the back seat of the Caddy on a long drive...We'll let you know how it all works our.

Dog day afternoons

The border collies are creatures of habit, and they are time/daylight sensitive.

When our routine varies -- watch out!

Our morning routine is:

1. Wake up.

2. Get the newspaper and potty.

3. Get coffee.

4. Settle back into reading position.

5. Throw the ball.

They would happily skip steps 1 through 4 if the Chuck-It was in somebody's hand.

The past two days upon our awakening. the border collies have been sequestered in the den while I've been allowed to sleep late because I'm on vacation. It has not made them happy.

Lindsey gets dressed and goes off to work. I get up and I wish I could provide your the video of the border collies prancing for the ball the moment I wake up.

If you couldn't stand still for a big present you knew you were going to get while screaming, "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE"... Well, that might begin to describe the BC prance.

I comply and throw the ball until Roux, who doesn't play right, finally captures the ball and hides it under the sofa. Game ended.

Because we're gone all day, the BCs take big naps. After the ball tossing, they settle down.

I work all day in the house, occasionally letting them out for a break. I go outside in the afternoon and notice they haven't followed me. Not like my border collies at all.

They're both sound asleep on the sofa, basking in the afternoon sun. A true dog day afternoon....

People who don't like dogs

I work with a very sweet man. I was trapped in a car and at a meeting with him for eleven hours yesterday.

The difference in our personalities, I think, is that I love animals and he doesn't.

Now, the very interesting thing is -- I have to trust him to love my work.

I like him. He likes me. He likes much of the work I do. He's very supportive of my work.

But he doesn't have any animals, and I don't think he even likes any animals.

He needs the love.

I think he's a kitty kind of guy. I might plant one at his house...

Two Benadryls and you can roam the 'hood

After several totally nasally stopped-up mornings, I woke up today with a lovely golf ball implanted in my right jowl.

I love my husband.

I am horrified, and he says, "Honey, I can barely see it now that you've pointed it our to me."

When you're horrified, I'm not sure that's the correct answer, but I love him just the same.

Wouldn't you know I had planned to take today as a VACATION day?

I took Benadryl and Advil to the max, puttered around the house playing ball with the border collies.

The combination got to me mid-morning, so I took a nap. The golf ball in my neck took that opportunity to swell to baseball size. The worst thing about it -- as I look at it, I'm thinking...I'm so chubby, the fat neck may be only something I can see.

Waking up with a baseball in your neck is enough to scare anybody to the doctor's office, particularly on a Friday afternoon. I sought the comfort of Dr. Tom Dansby, my "doc in the box."

Good ole doc saw it immediately, and gave me an enormous medical explanation, complete with multi-syllabic terms, on what it might be. Not the mumps. Maybe a sinus infection. Most probably a sinus and saliva gland infection. But could be worse, so he wants to see me in 10 days if it's not totally gone.

Now, here's the scariest confession from me in all of this... I absolutely do not remember letting Roux out at any time. And if I did, it would have been out in the back yard. When I went to take my nap, Gumbo was in his crate and I guess I thought Roux was under the bed.

When I woke up two hours later, I saw a black flash chasing Natchez in the front yard. It was Roux. She had evidently been outside the entire time, and I still haven't figured out how she got into the front yard.

She was hot and sweaty and out of breath -- evidently having a very good time. I was sick and thankful the Lord spared me dog grief for my evidently drugged state. (Two Benadryls, baby, and she's out!)

Now that Roux is spared from her outdoors adventure, I hope I can give an equally promising report on my baseball neck. Bless Lindsey's heart, he said the right things but I don't think he knows how worried I am about this thing I've never had before getting better.

A special present for me from Petco?

You'll remember in an earlier blog note that LINDSEY, the love of my life, objects to dressing up dogs. Dogs is dogs and they shouldn't look like Elvis, he says, or something to that effect.

I had a reasonably growly day today, needed to contact the love of my life and he is out there traveling incognito. Since I am the only person now who calls him on his cell, it's not always on his body. Imagine that!

Late in the afternoon, we chatted and he explained: There's a bag on the kitchen table from Petco, and it has "SOMETHING FOR YOU."

Now, last time I checked, you couldn't buy diamonds at Petco.

So, I joked: "Honey, you finally bought me that special collar I've been looking at."

He said: "That's right -- the one with all the spiky studs."

For most of you dear readers, that is just too much information. But, the studs were not to be because I'm really not a stud kind of girl.

I really want to be a girly girl, the kind who wears DIAMONDS.

So I anxiously ran into the house, thinking there MIGHT be a slim jewelry box sitting on the kitchen table from my husband who loves me so very very much.

Hell no.

It was HOLIDAY COSTUMES FOR THE DOGS!

We've got a Santa hat and a pair of reindeer antlers. Pics to come. But in the meantime, I think I'll be wearing the antlers when Lindsey comes home tonight.....