Laurie, Fudge, and Vern's Blog (342)

Well, it finally happened! People warned me it would, but I didn’t believe it at first. Before I tell you what happened, I need to give you some background information.  Since the moment I have taken up photography, there are only three things I am really interested in photographing…Fudge, Vern, and my grandson, Archer.  Show me the Grand Canyon or Mount Rushmore and I might take a shot or two, but my heart is really not into it.  Usually, I review the shots on my computer and think to…

When we were looking for houses to buy, one of the questions I asked was, “how often does the power go out?”  Most people do not think twice about lost power, but I am not most people.  Our house in Pennsylvania lost power, it seemed to me, during almost any major weather event.  Usually, the power company had to come out and do something to a breaker box on our street, but I always swore we were last on their list because sometimes it took days for that to happen.  Power would be on all…

On most nights you will find me in my bedroom watching TV. Since John and I don’t really like the same shows, he watches TV in the living room in the evenings and I go back in our bedroom.  Fudge usually starts herding me into the bedroom around 8 pm and makes it known that it is her bedtime and she needs her beauty rest.  I pride myself on the fact that my dogs have a pretty good routine, but sometimes that comes back to bite me in the “you know what” when things get changed up.  On the few…

As many of you know who have been following my blogs over the years, at best, my taste can be described as eclectic. My kids have another name for it, but suffice it to say, my decorating taste is creative. You have been with me through the five-foot metal rooster, the anatomically correct metal goat, and my addiction to pots. 

No, he is not thirsty, it was an assignment idea for a photography class!…

When you move, you don’t really realize all the “start overs” you will have to do until you get there.  A couple of weeks ago Vern was very sick and I had to find a vet on short notice.  It started out with him throwing up and peeing blood and had both of us so scared with how sick he got so quickly.  I quickly had to find a vet and used Yelp for reviews and ended up taking him to a Vet who I really like.  Vern had to get an IV for fluids, shots for anti-nausea, antibiotics, X-rays, and a…

I am hoping the title of my blog makes you think about the line from Forrest Gump and the simple way in which Forrest viewed and shared the world.  Just like my Vern, Forrest was sweet and innocent, and had his own unique spin on life.  Vern is a dog that doesn’t put a lot of thought into things or maybe puts as much thought as he can into things, but is truly the most endearing dog I have ever owned.  He will do just about anything for a treat and if I could teach him how to quickly…

When we last left off, I was mentioning that Fudge and Vern are still adjusting to our new home.  I have put the unpacking off until after Christmas and have been working feverishly to make Christmas happen.  My kids are full grown, but when I say things like, “we are cutting back this year and doing less,” they still seem to have no sympathy for us.  I swear I could be laid up with two broken legs and Megan would say, “Mom, have you ever heard of online shopping?” I still remember the first…

We have moved and the dogs have been uprooted to a new location.  They lived all their lives in our previous home and the change has been both fun and hard.  I thought Vern would have the most trouble adjusting, but it seems to be Fudge.  Neither of my dogs have ever been a Velcro dog, but since the move, everywhere I turn, Fudge is there and I have to honestly say it is driving me a little batty.  In our previous home, we could only see one neighbor and we were far enough off the road that…

The other day I posted a blog about the calming influence Fudge has had on me since I found out we were moving, but today I have to rescind the entire thing.  I think tonight I will have nightmares.  I have been super busy and the dogs are great inside the house, but as soon as I go out to work in the garage, all hell breaks loose.  I have found that the more I work in the garage, the more trouble they seem to find. Usually, I will start to hear stones landing on pavement and come out of the…

We are moving.  The last time we moved, all the way from Maryland to Pennsylvania, I swore that was the last time.  John and I did the entire move ourselves, except for a few pieces of furniture that I just could not lift.  Our kids were no help and seemed to have the incredible ability to have plans on the days we could have used some help. Megan and a boyfriend broke up right before the move and to this day I find the timing suspect.  I believe I mentioned that I hoped he could help and…

The Frenchies came back on Labor Day weekend!  They arrived with my grandson and his parents and are the price we have to pay if we want to see our grandson.  I love these little guys, but can honestly say that people who have four dogs are nuts.  It seems to me as if everyone in the house is free to move around freely, except me.  If I so much as move to get a drink, I have four dogs following me into the kitchen to see what I am doing.  We are also the people voted most likely to sleep…

When I first got Fudge and then Vern, I thought I was just getting two dogs.  I had no idea that these two Doodles would open up a whole new world to us and help us make friends from all around the world.  I seriously think I have a Doodle friend in almost every state in the US and I know I have a wonderful friend from Ireland.  Well, I am now here to tell you that I have two wonderful friends in Newfoundland, Canada, and there is a dog there that I dearly love.   

A pretty…

Last week I had to babysit my grandson and leave the dogs at home.  It has come to pass that I have to try and conceal my suitcases and packing from Fudge in the hopes that I can accomplish things faster. From the time she sees the suitcases until the time I leave, I have to contend with her stares whenever I look up and her constant shadowing of me around every corner.  She gets clingier to me at night and I feel so guilty about the worry I see on her face. Vern is less in touch with my…

Our bed broke last night, which might not seem like that big of a deal, unless I tell you it was the middle of the night, we were sound asleep, when John’s side ended up on the floor.  I can tell you, from firsthand experience now, that having your bed make a loud noise and crash works better than any snooze alarm I have ever had in waking a person up.  The thing is the bed has been telling us something was wrong for quite some time, but since John’s motto has always been, “let’s pretend…

Have you been on DoodleKisses long enough to start wondering what it would be like to meet some of the people you “talk” to about your dogs on a frequent basis?  That is what happened to some of us a few years back when Jane (Rooney and Stuart) decided to organize a cruise for her fellow Doodlers.  I signed up almost immediately and wavered between thinking this was one of the dumbest things I had ever done to waiting with anticipation for the upcoming event.  When I signed up, I really…

Many of you might know Carol and Banjo on DoodleKisses, but what you might not know is she is a master of bird photography.  Recently on Facebook, she posted a series of shots with birds, quite literally, eating out of her hands.  She had no assistant helping her, but was able to hold the camera all by herself and get some great shots.  Well, this got me thinking that if Carol could take such awesome one-handed shots, imagine the masterpieces I could shoot if I had one or two assistants.  I…

Last night on our nightly trek outside, Vern spooked me.  I had lots of company over the Easter holiday week, including our grandson, and his little portable crib is still up. No big deal, right?....unless, of course, my very large dog keeps stopping at night to look in the crib.  I wouldn’t care that he stops, despite the fact that I have rear-ended him once or twice, but he gets so excited as he looks into the empty crib and wags his tail and carries on like he sees something that I don’t.…

I had an epiphany last night.  It happened last night around 3 am, while I was waiting for Vern to go number two.  Now, first of all, before I start hearing that no one can believe I still get up in the middle of the night with a five-year-old dog, all I can say is if I wasn’t up at this hour, I would never have had my epiphany.  I also can’t help that Vern has trained his bowels to coincide with my REM sleep.  Telling him to hold it until morning, when I know he always produces healthy…

I haven’t felt like doing too much lately and I blame it all on the cold temperatures. Usually the cold doesn’t bother me all that much, but this year I find myself wishing that Spring would hurry up and get here.  How cold is it, you might ask, which has me racking my head for a great How cold is it? joke.  The best I can come up with is…it is so cold that the other day when I bent over, John asked me if I knew I had two long, pointy icicles hanging from my body.  Of course,…

This is a story about redemption and second chances.

Last week I went home to Indiana and stayed with my niece and her husband.  They have a big, black dog named Marshmallow.  Marshmallow started out life with my nephew, his wife, and three kids, and when my nephew and his wife got divorced, Marshmallow became one of the casualties.  At the time, I agonized over whether or not I could handle three dogs, two of them super-sized, and was so relieved when my niece (Mar’s aunt)…