Lucy and Rocks

It may seem quite strange to some that we would actually order boulders and have them delivered to our woods.  But that is exactly what we did the first summer in our mountain home.  Why?  Quite simple.  We love big rocks.  And while our property has its share of lovely trees and a creek, we had no really large rocks.  So we ordered some.

Our neighbors came over to see what the digger was doing.  They were a bit surprised to find it was unloading big rocks and placing them strategically on our property.

The first rock to come down the hill

We had six large rocks placed and we still love them.  Both of the dogs seemed to like them as well.  Ellie would often stand on top of the largest one.  But Lucy liked the flatter one best.

Poor thing, she woke up limping this morning.  She seems to have slipped and "sprained" her hip so she is reluctant to totally bear weight on her right rear leg.  She is already on a Cox inhibitor for her arthritis so we dare not give her anything additional.  We are hopeful this will resolve and she seems comfortable otherwise.  If not, we will visit the veterinarian to see if there is something further we might do to help the healing.  We do have a sling to help her into and out of the SUV and we have brought that inside in case we need to assist her,  Please keep your fingers crossed that it is nothing serious.

A younger Lucy on the flattest rock.

Our granddaughter Violet likes sweats.  Notice that the sleeves of the sweatshirt must be rolled up so the legs will fit all the way down her long legs.  She has a college student "nanny" who comes several times a week to provide some respite for her stay-at-home-dad.  Here the two of them seem to be having a fun conversation which Violet finds amusing.

No hard rock band on this outfit.  Just love.

It has been a strange week both in news and in weather.  I won't comment further than to sympathize with our Milwaukee daughter and the others suffering the same cold temperatures.  The city is in the midst of a dreaded winter vortex with really cold subzero weather for the foreseeable future.  She has the right clothing for it, but it's still awful to head out to work when the temperature is minus sixteen.

Today's quote comes from Dr. Seuss:

"The sun did not shine.
It was too wet to play.
So we sat in the house,
All that cold wet, wet day."

I hope those in the frigid areas are indeed staying inside on this cold weekend.  And for so many of them, I am so glad you will be going to work and finally getting paid next week.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, EVERYONE

GIVE THANKS FOR ALL YOU HAVE

Late Lucy

Friday came and went and we had wi-fi problems.  Everything seems to be working now.  Too bad I didn't post yesterday because I might have mentioned the lovely sunshine we enjoyed.  The rains set in again this morning and it has been a gray and miserable day outside.  Good for reading and hanging around and not much else.

Our Lucy loves vegetables and fruits and my husband shares a few bites before he fixes his lunch every day.  Lucy knows that the yummy food comes before his lunch and there will never, ever be anything given from his plate.  The only time she gets food during our mealtime is when our granddaughter is visiting.  Lucy takes full advantage of it by positioning herself right below the high hair.  Just in case.

Here my husband is giving Lucy a few bites of carrot.  She must sit quietly until he decides to give it to her.

I often wonder what she is thinking while she waits.

Finally, she chomps on her carrot

She likes carrots, green beans, broccoli and will eat celery, although I don't think she really likes it.  Her favorite snacks by far are bits of apple, especially the tart ones.  She sits patiently until my husband says, "That's all."  Then she gets up and moves to a more comfortable place.

I have mentioned before the unexpected response our Violet had to the little cloth dolly we gave her.  That attachment continues.  She wants Dolly with her when she naps now and she sits with her in the early morning as she comes fully awake.  I love this photograph because she still looks so much like a baby.  That is deceiving.  She is far more toddler than baby now.

She surprised (and very much pleased) my son last week.  He picked up a super-hero towel.  Violet pointed to it and yelled, "Batman!"  And indeed, it was Batman.  Amazing what goes on in her little mind.

Today's quote is for our elected officials from local officials all the way to the White House.
Albert Schweitzer:

"The purpose of human life is to serve,
And to show compassion
And the will to help others."

In the continuing Federal Government shutdown, compassion and a will to help others seem lost on our officials.  It is heart-warming to see the public step up to help their unemployed friends and neighbors and even those whose identities they do not know.  To them we give a big 'THANK YOU'.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK EVERYONE

GIVE A BIT OF YOURSELF

AND HELP OTHERS

We Love Lucy

We have had several days of sunshine for which we are most grateful.  Some days we had high winds.  That is great for drying things out a bit but not so good for the trees whose roots are totally soaked.  Our backyard is a forest and fortunately we did not lose any trees.

Lucy absolutely loved the respite from the rain.  She enjoys all the wonderful scents from the various animals and fowl that travel across.  She doesn't run as much now that she is older, and she is wise enough to sit and rest every now and then.  But she does love being in the forest with the sun shining through the trees.

We have Adirondack chairs for the old folks

Lucy chooses a large stone from the walkway

She follows scents, real or imaginary

Both are fun and she crisscrosses the forest

Even the trees are glad to see the sunshine

Unfortunately, it appears the sunshine will end this weekend with dropping temperatures bringing freezing rain and/or SNOW!  I do hope the forecasts are totally off the mark.  We have so enjoyed our days in the sun.

Violet and her daddy spend a lot of time at museums.  Their favorite is the Children's Museum where Violet can interact with other children.  Here she is teaching her little friend where his eyes are.  The lesson was continued with locations of nose, mouth, and ears.

The little boy looks a bit perplexed either by the teacher or the lesson.

Today's quote is from an anonymous source, but is definitely timely:
"It might be worthwhile to stop wringing our hands
And start ringing our Congressman."

You can find the name and contact information of your Congressional Representative or Senator at:
https://www.congress.gov  You may cringe at the answer you receive but at least you will have made your statement.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, EVERYONE

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

Rainy Day Lucy

It seems like a broken record...it's raining here in the mountains.  It has poured all day long.  I have taken to driving down to the library or grocery store to get my walking in because I'm so sick and tired of walking in the chilly rain.  I didn't even do that today.  Just the thought of getting out of the car in the downpour was too much.  So up and down the stairs I went.  Not as good but the best I could muster today.  Forecasters are promising a dry weekend and I'm really counting on that.

As most of you know, Lucy hates the rain almost as much as I do.  She resists going outside and pretends not to hear when my husband puts on his rain suit and calls her.  She spends a lot of the rainy days lying in one of her beds.

Here she is curled up in the great room.

She is in the den and just heard my husband call her.

Oh, no.  Not outside again.

I mentioned last week that our little granddaughter was so overwhelmed by all the Christmas activities that she looked rather lost.  The day after, she decided to forsake most of the new stuff and latch on to her much-loved dolly and books.  She does have Mickey there as well.

Little red nose from a cold

Today's quote comes from Australian novelist Helen Garner:
"The rain began again
It fell heavily, easily with no meaning or intention
But the fulfillment of its own nature;
Which was to fall and fall."

And so it goes.  Here's hoping the predictions are right and that we might get a glimpse of sunshine this weekend.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK AHEAD.

START THE NEW YEAR WITH

OPTIMISM AND HAPPINESS