Happy Birthday, Ceilidh!

Ceilidh is seven today! Wow! People still stare in wonder when we tell them that she's (now) seven years, not months. And then we see in their eyes, "Better them than me." Yes, we're lucky! We have a little dynamo in our house. She keeps us on our toes. She keeps me ever-vigilant. She keeps us active. Ceilidh is the sweetest dog on the planet (with people). The top of Ceilidh's head is the best place in the world to kiss. I think she deserves a new ball!

Spinning my wheels

Ever have one of those days when you feel like you're dashing around like crazy and getting absolutely nothing done? I seem to be having that kind of week! It could have something to do with my new addition to the house - a treadmill. That's right. I'm now officially getting nowhere fast.
We'll see how Dax likes it when it's her turn to hop aboard. So far the dogs are entirely indifferent. When they see me head into the workout area of the basement, each one finds his/her favorite spot and takes a nap. Dax's favorite is usually on top of one of the others. The mashed ones don't appreciate it, but Dax is still convinced she's the smallest dog in the house. It's impossible to convince her that what was true when she was nine weeks old is no longer valid. She's the baby, gotta love her!

Good company

I know I'm nowhere near alone in the world in hating housework. I love having the house clean and spiffy and it's the only way to get it there, but it's a necessary evil and not something I look forward to doing.

Back in the days before Dax cracked her tooth on the vacuum {resulting in pain (hers), surgery (hers) and expense (mine)} the pups would keep me company while I did my chores. Now they're securely locked out of the room I'm working on.

They don't much like it, either. And they're really loud in their objections. To save my ears from their protests and the vacuum noise, I have my iPod blasting away. Which makes me wonder if I'm the only one who has a "Vacuuming" playlist?

It's OK to Love Your Dog!

We met a very nice lady this week and spent some time talking to her about life, the universe, dogs... She's a busy suburban mom with kids, a house, a husband. I don't know if she has a job outside the home, but I'm sure she does volunteer work. And she loves her dog. It seemed like she was embarrassed to admit it, though. We understand. No matter what goes on during the day - the kids were impossible, late for the bus, dressed inappropriately, talked back at breakfast; the clerk at the grocery store was incompetent (sorry - just an example!); the husband wants you to run errands in six different directions; the dishwasher sprang a leak. No matter how bad your day was - your dog loves you. It's unconditional love. And even though your dog is not the brightest bulb in the canine world, even though he sheds like crazy, and even though he digs in the garden sometimes, you love him. Your non-dog-owning friends don't get it, but we do. It's OK. It's natural. That's why we have dogs to share our life with.

Second season has arrived

It's an old joke, but still valid. Chicago's second season has arrived, it's not winter, it's construction! I had to run an errand for the store this morning and this is what the Edens Expressway looks like. An oxymoron all by itself! A 45 minute trip took two hours of my life I'll never get back. Then again, they were two hours of blissful ignorance. When I got back to the shop Fran told me we'd gotten some terrible news, a dear woman who was first a customer at our bookstore and became a dear friend died suddenly. She was a lady who lived every moment to the fullest and was a joy to know. We'll miss you Renae!

Tale of a Whisker

A couple of weeks ago, I told you that my friend Betsy ran Ceilidh in Agility Class. The thing that impressed her the most - Betsy's still remarking on it - is that Ceilidh has both black and white whiskers - they match the coloring on that part of her face. That started me thinking. Brown dogs have brown whiskers - Dax has dark brown and Robbie light brown:

Hannah's whiskers match her fur:

Other black and white dogs have whiskers that match their face - Cozy has white whiskers: But when dogs age, in our experience, their whiskers stay the same - Golly's whiskers are black:

My clever boy!

Here's the incredibly cute Roc - who learned to make his car go by watching me do it!