Kelly

Kelly
2004 - 2017

Kelly was my love, my lifeline, my companion and best friend. She was adopted from the Humane Society and was the sweetest dog ever. She was adopted to give my other dog, Blitzkrieg, a friend and to calm him down. They slowly became best friends.

When Blitzkrieg died last July, Kelly and I spent much more time together. We went on so many walks together and car rides. She loved everything. I loved seeing her cute face looking out at the window at me and waiting at the door for me. She smiled so much when leaning against me getting pet.

I let Kelly sleep in my bedroom and eventually she slept on the bed with me. She was such a bed hog. I loved every second of it.

I noticed on May 2, she didn't want to eat her pills. I hid them under butter on bread. She always ate them before. I could tell she wasn't feeling well. I called the veterinarian and described her symptoms. The vet wrote up a prescription and I picked it up later.

On May 4, I came home from work to let her out and feed her. She was waiting for me. I grabbed her leash and called her name. She took one step and fell over. I immediately called the veterinarian and took her in for an appointment. The vet said her temperature was normal and found nothing during the examination. He drew blood and all of the tests came back negative. He gave me pills to help calm her stomach.

She was weak over the weekend, not eating much and not acting like herself. I called the vet again on May 9 and was told to bring Kelly in next day. The vet called me after doing an ultra sound. He found an abnormal mass in her gall bladder. He suggested I get another opinion on Kelly and suggested two places to take her. I took Kelly to Michigan State small animal emergency on May 11. I described the symptoms to the student doctors and we planned surgery to remove the abnormal mass the next day. I received a call from a doctor at MSU on May 12. She called to tell me that during her overnight examination they found lung cancer and it spread all over her body. I just cried. My best friend had lung cancer. After hanging up with the doctor, the phone just slid from my hand, and the tears were flowing.

I drove up to East Lansing to pick up Kelly. They brought Kelly into the room I was sitting in. She looked so happy to see me. We hugged and kissed. The doctor was talking about the medicine that they were sending home with me to keep Kelly comfortable. The doctor asked if they was anything that I needed. I said take the cancer away. Right after I said that Kelly licked my face repeatedly. I looked over at the doctor and she was crying too. She apologized and said Kelly reminded her of her dog. I asked how long Kelly had. They said probably a few months and I was planning to make those the best for her.

Over the weekend, Kelly was breathing rapidly. She looked so uncomfortable, was barely sleeping and eating. They only time she looked like herself is when I took her outside. Once outside, she did her business and wanted to go back inside. By Sunday, May 14, I knew what I needed to do. As much as I wanted to have Kelly with me, this wasn't the life that Kelly had previously known. It was unfair to let her suffer. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make.

I called the vet Monday, May 15, and scheduled a time to bring her in and put her to sleep. I dreaded the thought of losing my precious girl all day. When I came home from work, I gave her the biggest hug ever. I knew I only had a short time with her left. I told her that I loved her over and over.

When it was our turn at the vet, the doctor picked her up and put her on the table. They gave her a sedative to help calm her down. The sedative helped her relax and she was looking really tired to me. The vet and his assistant came back a couple of minutes later and administered the final drug. Before giving it to her, they asked my permission. I said yes. I knew it was for the best, but it tore me up. My best friend was going to be gone soon. About 20-30 seconds later, Kelly's heart stopped. I hugged and kissed her over and over. I told her how much I loved her. The vet said that he couldn't believe how fast Kelly declined and that he recently had to put one of his dogs to sleep. He came over and hugged me and told me how sorry he was about Kelly. He told me to stay as long as I needed to. I hugged and kissed Kelly again. I told her that I loved her and I would miss her so much. I walked out and looked back at my girl and whispered I love you again.

Kelly has been gone for a week. Life is so much different without her. I miss her companionship, I miss her looking out the window at me, waiting for me at the door and taking her for walks. I miss her sweet face and brown eyes. I look at her water bowl every day and think I should fill it and then remember that she's gone. There is no doubt in my mind that she was an angel that saved my life. And for that, she will always hold a special place in my heart.

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg
2003-2016

In the early hours of July 1, my 13 year old German Shepherd, Blitzkrieg, passed away.

The last two days of his life, his health rapidly declined. He didn't eat, drink water, he had trouble walking and sitting up. My husband and I scheduled a time on July 1 to have him put down, but he died in the early morning.

I was with Blitzkrieg from when I got home from work on his final day. I made sure he was comfortable, as best as I could, offered him food (which he didn't eat) and water (he drank a little). I stayed awake with him until 2:15 a.m. His breathing was labored earlier in the night, but he seemed to breathing easier when I decided to go to sleep. I slept on the floor about 3 feet away from him. When I woke up around 5 a.m. Blitzkrieg was gone. I just hugged him, said I loved him over and over and said I was sorry. I was sorry that he suffered. I know he was in pain that last day. My big boy, who we had since he was a puppy, was gone.  

About a year and half ago, Blitzkrieg was diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy. Degenerative Myelopathy is disease of the spinal cord for older dogs. The symptoms of the disease is limb paralysis, loss of muscle, loss of muscle tissue and loss of bodily functions.

Every day for a year and a half, I helped Blitzkrieg walk around the house. A towel was put under his back legs and I would help stand him up. Blitzkrieg was able to walk with his front legs. He would sit and lay on a puppy training pad to help protect the flooring from accidents. When Blitzkrieg went outside, he used a wheelchair. When he would walk in the wheelchair, it was like he was before the disease was diagnosed. He was able to walk around the yard by himself. It was something that he could do on his own. It always made my heart happy to see him in the backyard walking by himself.

A few months ago I put Blitzkrieg in his wheelchair on the back deck. He just wanted to get down the stairs to walk in the backyard that he caught his left wheel on the corner of a flower box on the deck and it snapped the arm of his wheelchair. His wheelchair was broken and I couldn't fix it. My husband ordered new wheelchairs for him that arrived weeks later, but Blitzkrieg had a hard time with those. Too much time had passed by that he walked on his own, that he had trouble standing and walking in the two new chairs that were bought for him. I realized that my brother-in-law used to work in a shop and could probably fix his broken wheelchair. My brother-in-law was able to fix it within a couple of days. I would take Blitz outside to get in his chair. He acted like he did in the other chairs. He would just stand, shake and finally lose his footing and fall. I knew when that happened that he lost muscle and strength while waiting for new wheelchairs and his old one to be fixed.

My husband and I don't regret putting Blitzkrieg down when he was diagnosed with this terrible disease. Blitzkrieg still had a wonderful life during that last year and half. He loved walking in the backyard. He loved playing with a tennis ball. He loved his food and receiving treats because he was a good boy. Helping Blitzkrieg after he lost the use of his legs, showed me what a wonderful caretaker or mother I can be. I loved Blitzkrieg like a child. He was my child. He needed to eat and visit the vet. He needed to play and be loved. And my husband and I did all of that for him.

I will always have Blitzkrieg in my heart. I will always miss him and love him. He was the best dog anyone could ever have.

Goodbye Blitzkrieg. Until we meet again.

Degenerative Myelopathy

A few months ago, my husband and I noticed something different with our 11 year-old German Shepherd, Blitzkrieg.

Blitz was having difficulty getting up, walking and was wobbly. When we would take him on walks, his back leg nails would scrape on the sidewalk. When he would lean against us, his back end would slide and he would end up sitting down.

I Googled his symptoms and found that he matched everything listed under Degenerative Myelopathy. I told my husband and he found webpages about DM. He agreed with me that it probably was what Blitz had. For the next couple of months, Blitz was still mobile. He was able to go outside, climb steps and walk.

My husband poured a concrete path last week in our backyard. That meant that the dogs couldn't go outside in the backyard to do their business. We had to put them on a leash and take them out front. Blitz was having trouble walking. He couldn't go a couple of steps without his legs giving out. If he wanted to go somewhere, he was crawling or my husband helped guide him holding his back end.

After a couple of days of helping Blitz walk around the house and in the backyard, I made an appointment with our veterinarian. My husband and I wanted the vet to confirm what we already knew. When we took Blitz to see the vet Saturday, he did confirm that Blitz had DM. The vet asked how he is acting at home. Blitz is still active. He is still eating, very alert and still wants to walk everywhere. The vet told us that there is no cure for DM, but some dogs do respond to medication. He gave Blitz two shots at the office and gave us medication for steroids. The vet told us to call him in five days to see if Blitz has responded to it. If there is no improvement, then he said he would talk options with us.

We know what those options will be. Blitz still has ton of energy and is still acting like the dog he always has been. My husband has order a harness for him. The harness is put under him and we can help him walk. He will also be ordering a wheelchair for him. The wheelchair we will be getting for Blitz has stirrups to keep his back legs from dragging. I know Blitz wants to go for a walk, so the wheelchair will help.

We are going to do everything possible for Blitzkrieg. He has been with us since 2003. Only when his quality of life diminishes, that is when we will make the final step. But until then, we will be enjoying everyday with him.

Fourth of July

For the first time in years, my husband and I planned to watch fireworks together. Our schedules worked out that we both had the day off.

We drove up to lake about an hour and a half early to find a spot. We found one near the shore. Across the street from us were other people waiting. To pass the time, they were lighting off fireworks. Normally it isn't a big deal, but they were lighting them close to other people. When it started getting darker, beer made an appearance. This time they were lighting fireworks about a foot away from vehicles. Not too smart. I'm just glad we were across the street and not next to them.

The fireworks promptly started at 10 pm. To see them, we had to exit the car and walk down the road some. The display was nice, but I thought that they would be higher in the air. The show lasted about 20 minutes. When the grand finale was over, we walked back to the car and drove home.

When we opened the backdoor, both dogs greeted us. When walking around the corner of the kitchen, we saw that our female dog Kelly, opened the oven dog and removed both racks. My husband closed the oven door and looked around the house to see what else Kelly may have done. Besides a piece of furniture being knocked over, he didn't see anything. As he was picking that up, I looked over at our bathroom door. Kelly clawed the door and took chucks out of it. She really wanted inside. Besides clawing the door, she scratched and punctured the door handle with her teeth.

Before leaving to watch the fireworks, we closed all of the windows and turned on a radio. We thought that would help drown out the sound of fireworks set off around the house. We were wrong. Seems like every year her fear of fireworks gets worse. Beside putting on a Thundershirt, closing the windows and turning on a radio, we will have to give her pills to chill her out. Last year, neighbors lit fireworks until September. I guess we will have to buy a big bottle to keep her calm.

Fireworks

I loved fireworks a kid. I would look forward to the day that fireworks lit up the sky. Fast forward to my adult years, not so much.

Since I have been married, I have only watched a public fireworks show four times. I do have a couple of reasons. Usually my husband is working on the Fourth, so I don't want to go alone. The second reason is my dogs. My dogs are afraid of loud noises.

When Blitzkrieg was a puppy, he was very afraid. He has mellowed out since he has gotten older. Kelly on the other hand is much different. When we adopted her from the Humane Society, she was the mellow one. Now Blitzkrieg's and Kelly have switched roles. Blitzkrieg is mellow. Kelly is scared of everything loud.

I stayed home last night because my husband was working and I had to work today. The neighbors actually started lighting off fireworks during the afternoon. Kelly didn't freak out too much because my husband and I were both home to reassure her she was going to be alright. I went to bed around 8 p.m. and that is when the trouble started.

The neighborhood fireworks were going off consistently during the daylight hours, but picked up aggressively after the sun finally set. It sounded like a war outside. I put on Kelly's Thundershirt earlier in the evening to help calm her down. That didn't work at all. She sat as close to me as possible and soon would calm down. As soon as I would doze off, she would start whining and jump on me. I set her back on the floor and tell her she would be alright. That obviously didn't work.

I put her in the bathroom and shut the door. She likes to sit in the shower. For some reason, sitting in the shower calms her down. As soon as I laid down, she was clawing the bathroom door to get out. So desperate to get out of the bathroom, Kelly ripped the doorstop out of the wall and chipped a door on our bathroom sink vanity. When I saw what she did, I felt so bad. She destroyed our vanity that was replaced when my husband remodeled the bathroom a few years ago. I texted my husband to let him know about it. He tried to make me feel better saying we can replace it. I know we can, but I hate that we have to spend extra money to do it.

No matter what I did to help comfort Kelly, it wasn't working. I locked Blitzkrieg and Kelly in the kitchen. Blitzkrieg sat on his bed and Kelly was whining and clawing the gate. She wouldn't stop. I thought in her endless clawing, that maybe she was clawing the cabinet doors too. I didn't want her to ruin more doors, so I let them out of the kitchen. I was so so frustrated at this point. I have barely slept since 8 p.m. and it was close to Midnight. My alarm was set to go off at 2:40 a.m. That didn't give me much time to sleep before heading into work.

My husband came home for lunch before Midnight. With him being home, I could go back to bed and actually sleep. Before drifting off to sleep, I heard Kelly whining at the fireworks that were still being set off. I probably got less then three hours of sleep. Not good. I know I will be ready for a nap later this morning.

My neighborhood has been lighting off fireworks for months. I'm sure the daily/nightly fireworks show will continue for the next couple of months. My husband and I have been talking about solutions to help Kelly. I think after last night's fiasco, we will be buying her a cage. She shouldn't be able to escape a locked cage. I hope. She does know how to open doors. Hopefully she won't know how to open cage doors.

Random things

I went to physical therapy for the first time Wednesday. The therapist asked a bunch of questions about my plantar fasciitis. When did it start? How painful is it? And so on. We did a couple of exercises with my feet. She wanted to see how flexible my feet were. She was impressed. She said my feet are very flexible.

I told her that I several twisted my left ankle last September. She was feeling my ankle and told me that I torn a tendon. She said with my ankles/feet being so flexible that has saved me from breaking an ankle. When she was telling me this, I wanted to barf. I can't stand talking about ankle injuries or seeing someone do it on TV or in life. Before I was done for the day, she did one more exercise to my foot. Warning me that it was painful. She dug her hand/knuckles into the bottom of my foot. Moving from the top down to my heel. It was very painful. Instead of screaming in pain. I was laughing. I couldn't control it. My next appointment is Friday afternoon.

I watch Showtime a lot. I'm a fan of Dexter, The Tudors and Nurse Jackie. Now you can add Weeds to the list. I've become interested in the show by all of the commercials that they show when watching a program through On Demand. I put Season One on my Netflix queue and disc 1 arrived yesterday. I finished watching the first DVD this afternoon. Now I have to play the waiting game for disc 2.

I think my dogs know when I want to take a nap. They will let me sleep for about 15 minutes. After that it is non-stop barking, jumping on the couch, sticking their noses in my face. This afternoon I was enjoying a nap. I am woken up by Blitzkrieg. He was trying to climb on the couch with me. I told him to get down and he laid in front of the couch. I drifted back off into sleep and he is tried to get back on the couch. After that occurred, my nap was officially over. Thanks puppies.

It is another wonderful muggy day in Michigan. I have a date with my treadmill and the air conditioning.

It was a dark and stormy night

I was laying in bed reading before going to sleep Monday evening when my husband informed me that the county was under a tornado warning. He turned on his radio and heard that funnel clouds were spotted nearby. We decided to go to the basement.

He ran downstairs to get the dogs into the basement. Instead of following him, I stopped to grab my contacts (I had already taken them out for the night), put on my shoes, picked my camera, camera bag, cell phone and wallet. Then I went downstairs. I was a couple of minutes behind him. In case something happened, I wanted to have those things with me. I know everything is replaceable but I needed those items to be in my hands. Security, I guess.

We watched weather reports from the basement as the dogs circled. Several funnel clouds were spotted in the area. Thankfully, nothing touched down. The tornado warning only lasted about 15 minutes but the storm that rolled through the area was severe. When the storm passed and the warning expired, it was 45 minutes past my bedtime. I could crawl back into bed and go to sleep.

Afraid

There has been two thunderstorms overnight this past week. I can sleep through them without any problems. Sometimes when the thunder is very loud it will wake me up. Within a few moments, I'm back to sleep.

This week both thunderstorms scared my dogs. During thunderstorms they are afraid and push open one side of their gate that keeps them locked in the kitchen. Some loud thunder woke me up and then I heard the dog's nails walking across the hardwood floors downstairs. I hopped out of bed and went downstairs. It was still raining and thundering, so it was no use to put them back in the kitchen. They would only try to escape again. I grabbed a blanket and laid down on the couch. Blitzkrieg had to be right next to me. He pushed an end table out of the way to lay down right in front of me. Kelly was just on the other side of the end table. I feel asleep for about an hour or so.

When I woke up, the storm was over. I got up, folded my blanket and led the dogs back to the kitchen. The dogs were fine for the rest of the night.

Early Friday morning, I was awaken by thunder again. The dogs forced the gate open and were walking around downstairs. I went downstairs, fixed the fence, grabbed a blanket and laid down on the couch. I woke up an hour later and didn't hear anymore thunder. I folded up the blanket and led the dogs back into the kitchen.

When my alarm went off at 4 a.m., I could hear the dogs walking on the hardwood floor. They escaped. I didn't hear anymore thunder, but the dogs apparently heard something. It scared them, pushed the gate open and escaped.

The dogs have always been afraid of thunder. Both of them act like children and for some reason cannot be alone. They calm down if my husband and I are by their side during a storm. The dogs I had growing up never had that problem. But they were also outside dogs. They went inside their doghouse for protection. I guess I am the protection from the storm for Blitz and Kelly.

Escape

I'm really thankful my neighbor came over to my house yesterday. He let me know that one of our German shepherds, Kelly, escaped from the backyard. If he didn't see her, she could have run away or maybe into traffic. Not something that I like to picture.

When I opened the door, he said that one of our dogs was loose. I asked which one it was and he pointed to the front of his house. I saw Kelly standing there. I asked if Blitzkrieg was out. He said it was just her. I called Kelly and she came right to me. I thanked my neighbor and shut the door.

I went outside to check the backyard. I wanted to find where she got out. I looked at the fence. I found one of the rails to our backyard fence not screwed in at the bottom and was loose. I knew about this for a while. The railing has been like that for almost a year. But she has never escaped before. So I really didn't know if that was the way she got out. Kelly can jump, so I though maybe she jumped over the fence.

Later that morning, I let Blitzkrieg and Kelly outside. I looked out the dining room window a couple of minutes later to check on them. I saw Kelly with her head through the fence railings. She was trying to escape again. And right next to her watching was her pal Blitzkrieg. I pounded on the window and Kelly immediately removed her head from in between the fence railings and ran to the backdoor. She knew what she was doing was wrong. Kelly came back into the house with her head down.

My husband fixed the fence later in the day. Kelly can no longer escape from our backyard and run the streets alone.

A moment in the mouth. Next thing you know its in the backyard.

I was sitting on the couch filing my nails with an emery board Thursday. I finished all of my nails and laid it on a side table. On the table along with the emery board was a bottle of water and the remote. It was noon and it was time to wake up my husband. I got up from the couch and walked upstairs to our bedroom.

I come back down less then five minutes later. I see Blitzkrieg sitting on the floor. Near him are the broken, splintered pieces of something. I thought it was a Popsicle stick that Blitzkrieg dug out of the trash. I was wondering how he got a Popsicle stick. I usually throw those away in the trash out on the back porch. There is no way for Blitz to get them unless he can open doors with his paw. I realized it was my emery board.

This dog likes to eat anything. Obviously emery boards, paper, tissue, newspaper and people food. I forgot that I can't leave emery boards on the table within reach of Blitz. He will eat them.

Twenty minutes later my husband was making lunch. I looked out the window to see what the dogs were doing in the backyard. I see Blitz sitting. I then see him dry heaving. After a couple of times, he threw up. Yup, that's right. Out came the emery board. Will that dog ever learn?

Routine

My vacation ends Sunday and Monday I will return to work. To make myself feel better, I'm looking at the bright side. In about six weeks I will be on vacation again. I have enjoyed every morning this week of sleeping in. That is until this morning.

My boy Blitzkrieg was barking. I thought it was because my husband was home from work. I lifted my head off of the pillow to look toward the windows to find it pitch black. It was too early for him to be home from work. I grabbed my alarm clock, which I have been avoiding all week, to check the time. It read 4:20 am. On weeks that I'm not on vacation, that would be a normal time for me to be getting ready for work. Most days I'm out the door by 4:25 am. But this week, its too early for me to be awake.

My dogs, Blitzkrieg and Kelly, are normally up at this time of morning. They have already been outside to do their business and have been fed. I'm thinking that Blitzkrieg is used to a routine. He wouldn't stop barking, so that led me to get out of bed and head downstairs. I let the dogs outside. A couple of minutes later, I scooped out some food for them and promptly returned to bed. Mornings when sitting at work, I always think how nice it would be to go back to bed. This morning I did go back to bed, but I couldn't get back to sleep. I tossed and turned and probably an hour later finally returned to sleep.

I have a couple of more days to enjoy sleeping past 4 am. Monday morning, I will finally need the help of my alarm clock to wake me up for work.

Random things

After work I went to the bank to cash my check. As I was standing in line, an older gentleman brought his large dog inside the bank with him. The dog wasn't a leader dog or leader dog in training. The guy just brought him in with him. Have the rules on dogs inside a public place changed? Next time I go to the mall, the dogs are coming with me.

My treadmill has been sick for two weeks now. Last week, the company canceled on us. They said that no repairman was going to be in our area. That forced me to reschedule. And it didn't make me very happy. The repairman is coming this afternoon to fix it. The problems with the treadmill is the belt is loose on it and a part has to be replaced. Even though the belt is loose, I still have been running on it. The first few minutes on it are unstable, but once you get going its fine. Later today, I will have a long date with my treadmill. I plan on running six or seven miles.

I left work at 11:30 a.m. this morning. I am so excited to start a nice three day weekend! I was dying with anticipation waiting for the clock to tick down.

Miles run in 2008

On hot and humid days I'm thankful I own a treadmill.

Before I ran yesterday afternoon the temperature outside was 93 degrees with a lot of humidity. I watched the Weather channel and saw a line of severe storms moving across the lower peninsula of Michigan towards my home. I only ran four miles on the treadmill. I know I could have done more, but I wanted to be with the dogs during the storm. I have mentioned that my two German shepherds are afraid of thunder. During the fast moving storm, I had two dogs on either side of me. The storm in my area wasn't bad. Just a heavy downpour and a little bit of thunder.

Today is similar to yesterday. It is hot already, 85 degrees with 54% humidity. Later this afternoon, I will be running on the treadmill in the comfort of my basement. With a fan in my face.

2004: 145
2005: 177.7
2006: 226.1
2007: 219.4
2008: 453

Slumber Party

I haven't been to a slumber party since seventh grade. Last night, or rather this morning I participated in one.

I was sleeping comfortably in my bed on the second floor on my house. I was awaken by the sound of thunder. Shortly after came the sound of two scared German shepherds. They too were also sleeping in their gated community that I call the kitchen. They are afraid of thunder, so they plotted their escape. I was hoping the dining room chairs butted up against the gate would keep them in. It didn't. Within seconds I heard the sound of dog nails walking across the wood floor in the dining room.

I put my glasses on, grabbed my alarm clock and walked downstairs. Blitzkrieg and Kelly were there to greet me at the bottom of the steps. They were both wagging their tails. I needed fix the fence and to go back to sleep as soon as possible, because it was 1:30 am. I walked over to the gate, pushed all of the chairs out of the way and fixed it. I wasn't sure if that was the last of the thunder for the night. The area was supposed to have isolated thunderstorms throughout the night and day. So I walked into the living room and laid down on the couch. Both dogs ran in with me and laid down on the floor beside me.

It took a while to get back to sleep. I know it was some time after 2:15 am when I finally drifted back to sleep. I was so worried that I would oversleep, I kept waking up. When it was close to 4 am, I got off the couch and got ready for work. It never thundered the rest of the time I was on the couch. The couch wasn't as comfortable as my bed, but I'm sure Blitz and Kelly enjoyed my company.

So much to do, so little time

Friday was my last paid day of vacation. I have today and Sunday off but Monday it is back to work. BOO!!

This is what I accomplished on my last day of vacation:

-woke up around 8 am
-watched 3 movies
-ran 4 miles
-played with the dogs
-watched half of the Ohio/Bowling Green women's basketball game
-watched the Duke/Georgia Tech men's basketball game
-read 100+ pages in my book
-watched TV with my husband who came home for his break
-went to bed around 11 pm

I wish I could get paid for doing this everyday.

Jealous eyes

Our dogs have plenty of chew toys. When one of them has a toy, the other dog will steal it or at least try to. This morning was the case with my dogs Blitzkrieg and Kelly.

Top Photo: Kelly chewing on a bone.

Bottom Photo: Blitzkrieg wants the bone that Kelly is chewing. He watched her from his bed and didn't attempt to take Kelly's bone this time. If he did, she would have bit his foot.

Night

It snowed again yesterday. Most of the basketball games for the evening were canceled. Mine was not.

I got to the school and walked into the gym, the junior varsity team is just warming up. The visiting school arrived shortly before me and the players were getting dressed. The game started a half hour late. The game didn't go fast due to plenty of fouls and injuries.

Before the end of the JV game, the varsity visiting team arrived and they went to get dressed. After the JV game was over to kill time the announcer was reading off names of the school staff for high school teacher appreciation day. All of the players nominated their favorite teacher for something and then wrote why the teacher is so special. How sweet. It was driving me up the wall. After the teacher thing, the home team was standing around. Hello? Run onto the court and start warm-ups! The varsity game didn't start for another half hour. GRRRRR!

When I finished at the office, I really wanted to just get ready for bed. The dogs wanted their food, so they had to be fed. After eating, they wanted to go outside. I opened the door for them. Once the dogs were back inside and I finished getting ready for bed, I sat at my computer. Reading blogs didn't help me get to sleep any time soon. About 9:45 pm, I decided to go to bed.

Once I was in bed, I couldn't go to sleep. I tossed and turned probably for 45 minutes. When I finally was asleep, I was awakened by someone outside shoveling their sidewalk around 11 pm. I understand it stopped snowing but who shovels at 11 pm?

Later around 2 or 3 am, I heard the sound of a vehicle in the driveway. The dogs heard it too and started barking. The person in the vehicle kept driving up and down the driveway for a couple of minutes. I was thankful when they left and the dogs stopped barking. I could try to get back to sleep, what little time I had left before I had to get up, which wasn't long.

Dog in the window

Just before 7 pm this evening, someone knocked on my front door. I wasn't expecting any company so I walked into my bedroom to look out the window. I saw a SUV parked in front of my house. Whoever was at the door kept knocking. I just finished taking a shower, so I had to make myself decent to answer the door.

I walked downstairs and opened the front door. It was a man and a woman in their early 20s. They said they were from Company X and they are going to be opening a office in town. After this I stopped listening because my two German Shepherds were knocking down their gate that locks them in the kitchen. When I heard the gate fall down, I stepped onto the porch with them and shut the door. She continued on with her spiel. Next thing you know my 120 pound German shepherd Blitzkrieg was standing on the window sill barking. The two people on my porch backed up because they were frightened of my barking dog. I told them that my dog doesn't like visitors. With that she asked when would be a better time to come back. I told her tomorrow. I really wanted to tell her not to come back, but I wanted to be nice. When they come back tomorrow they will be talking with my husband. I'm sure he will shut the door faster then I did.

Random things

Oh my gosh! I'm such a dork. All morning and afternoon, I've been checking TV websites for an episode recap of one of my new favorite shows, Mad Men. There isn't one. After loading a picture on my photo blog this morning, I went downstairs to watch last night's episode on the DVR. I went to watch it but the taping was interrupted and only recorded a minute. That frustrated me more. I finally went to AMC's website and looked up the episodes. I just saw that the next episode, Episode 10: The Long Weekend airs September 27 which is next week. They didn't have a new show this week. So I have been checking these TV sites all day. No wonder I never found a recap.

This afternoon, we taught our two German Shepherds, Blitzkrieg and Kelly to walk up and down the basement stairs. For some reason they have no problems walking/running up and down the stairs from the first and second floors of our home, but they dislike the basement steps. Since they were puppies, they have always been afraid to walk down into the basement. My husband first got Kelly to come downstairs. Her legs were shaking and she was scared. When she was down in the basement, she stayed low to the ground and was sniffing everything. We got her to walk back upstairs. She was unsure and her back legs were shaking. But she made it up. The next time, she walked down and up all by herself. Blitzkrieg was a different story. We had to put him on his leash. He was so scared to come down the stairs. We he made it down the stairs, he acted just like Kelly did. Stayed low to the ground and sniffed everything. He put his paws on the stairs to go back up. He climbed up two steps, stopped and turned around. With some help he made it upstairs. Kelly now walks up and down the steps with no problems. Blitzkrieg is still reluctant. If someone is walking with him he will go down. He is still chicken and won't do it alone.

Not like we need it now

The temperature outside is 57 degrees. The high today is only supposed to reach 66 degrees. This is important because as I type my husband and I are having our air conditioning installed. We lived in our house without it for five years. Five years, that is long enough. How did I go 21 years living at home without it? After getting a taste of it from our first apartment, we decided it was time to have one installed.

Sure the hot days of summer are way behind us and we probably won't even turn it on for the rest of this year. But next year when it is hot and humid outside, we can relax in the cool air coming from the air conditioning. Now we don't have to have three fans working at the same time in one room. The dogs won't be sitting in front of the fans blocking the breeze. It should be nice and cool. I bet the dogs would agree.