Fudge and the Company!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Every Thanksgiving my aunt and uncle come for the Thanksgiving holiday.  My dogs are always happy to see them, except if my uncle has his hat on and then Vern barks at him like he has never seen him before. Sometimes I think Vern needs eyeglasses or at the very least, an IQ test.  My uncle could be in the middle of petting Vern and if he donned his hat, Vern would start to carry on like my uncle just switched places with Jack the Ripper.  Who knows what goes through Vern’s mind or maybe he just would prefer my uncle in a Fedora. Fudge loves all the extra love she gets from my aunt and uncle, but she doesn’t like the disruption in our routine.  She just seems to know that I will be out and about more without her and she lets me know in some not so subtle ways that she would prefer if I stayed home with her. 

Where do you think you are going?

Years ago, when our kids were very young, we went home to Indiana and stayed with John’s sister and family.  They say that both fish and houseguests start to stink after three days, but I don’t think we had even been there that long when we started to stink and my young niece had a breakdown.

Overnight, the occupants of her room had doubled, her routine had changed, and she didn’t like it one bit.  Or maybe my Megan told her that her real mother was an alien like she did all the time to my Hayley or maybe behind closed doors Megan had passed out the script to some elaborate play she had written and my niece didn’t like her part.  Usually, Megan’s plays consisted of Megan having the lead part of the beautiful Princess and everyone else played her loyal subject or next-door neighbor with one or two lines like, “Princess Megan, you are the fairest in all the land!”  She sometimes had trouble casting the other parts and anyone who fell for it once usually never auditioned again. Anyways, I can still see my niece sobbing on the steps going up to the second floor and hear her dad saying, “They will be leaving soon and everything will be back to normal.”  

 

Fudge didn’t sob on any steps, but she attached herself to me like Velcro while my aunt and uncle were here.  If I so much as thought about leaving the house to do some shopping with Hayley and my aunt, Fudge would start to shadow me.  This is so out of character for Fudge that at times I thought she was trying to trip me and break my leg so I had no choice but to stay home.  If I sat down on the couch, Fudge sat down on the couch right next to me.  If she got even the slightest inkling that I was headed for the front door, she would plant herself in front of it and implore me with her eyes to please stay home.  I can’t tell you how many times I looked up from what I was doing to find her staring at me and not in an “I love you so much,” kind of way, but more like a “step one foot out that front door without me and you’ll be sorry,” kind of way.  At night, my dogs know my routine and around 8 pm each night, they would take on the persona of two Australian Shepherds and start herding me towards my bedroom.  Several times I said to them, “I am trying to get to the kitchen,” as they rounded me up and tried to force me to get settled back in the bedroom, so they could go to bed.  Before Fudge falls asleep each night, she likes to know that I am safe and tucked in and then she is usually out like a light.  

It's Night Night Time NOW!

The fact is I like our routine, too.  I spend so much time alone with my dogs that I appreciate the silence that goes along with two canine companions.  My aunt asks about 100 questions a minute and even though she is my favorite aunt in all the world, after about the third time she says to me, “how do you make your oatmeal again?”  I want to write the recipe down on a post it note and post it over her mouth. 

I promise I would pull it off right after I was done with breakfast.  Fudge and Vern just know that the whole world looks better to me after I eat my morning oatmeal undisturbed.  I am as bad as Fudge and Vern when it comes to my routine and John could tell me he was having an affair at breakfast one morning and I would probably lead off with, “why couldn’t you wait to tell me that until after I had my oatmeal?” I won’t say what would come after that statement, but I have a feeling John would be force-fed some of my breakfast.

 

Fudge also had never heard so much commotion when it came to sports.  My uncle watches four things on TV; golf, football, Wheel of Fortune, and Fox News, none of which I find particularly fascinating.  My uncle barely says a peep while watching these four things and in fact, nodded off once flipping channels between the four.  He must have been mid-flip one day when his nap kicked in, because we all found ourselves watching Sponge Bob, Square Pants, with him in full possession of the remote. 

I hoped I could switch the channel to the Hallmark station, but he woke up and cried out, “I want to buy a vowel,” before we could wrestle the remote out of his hands. 

My aunt, on the other hand, whoops and hollers for any team, any play, in between asking, “Who’s playing? What just happened? What did the sports announcer just say? How do you make your oatmeal again?” 

John probably whoops and hollers only one play a game, because he knows if he startles the dogs, he may have to take them out and miss any future good plays.  Fudge did not like all the clapping and yelling during her nap and would sit in the hallway and stare at me until I escorted her back to our bedroom so she could continue her nap in silence.  Vern took the clapping and excitement as a sign that he was supposed to start barking out the window at nothing in particular.

 

We really did have a great time and it is good for us to mix up our routines every now and again.  It can get pretty boring around our house some days, but it also makes me appreciate our simple life.  Fudge got lots more cuddles from all of us than she normally requires and Vern stayed in tip top watchdog form by guarding us all from my uncle in a hat.  Plus, despite all of Fudge’s pitiful stares, we got out of the house for plenty of shopping and lunches, which always makes me happy.  It was a good week.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Yes, indeed - we are kindred spirits!  All three of us LOVE our peace and quiet.  We rarely have guests - our disruption comes in the form of a rambunctious three year old and a newly-mobile eight month old.  We love them dearly, but we can literally feel the calm returning when they leave.  Big sighs and we're back to our boring quiet lives!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I love that....Winter Flat Laurie. No, she stayed in her room. She is not as sociable as FL :)

[Leslie and Halas]

This is a great blog, but didn't Winter Flat Laurie join you for Thanksgiving?  That would have shaken up the routine!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Bonnie, I have taken that trip many times :) LOL

Lonnie, I agree about the shopping. One of my favorite things to do. Yes, our Vern is a barker and when you tell him to stop, he gives more woofs and wags his tail. I guess we need to work on this command :)

Janie, I think we are company free for Christmas. I am sad because Megan will not be coming home for the first time ever, but she is not company :) It's never a dull moment with Vern and Jack!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Lonnie, A short trip to crazy? I have never heard that expression before but I will be adopting it today! hahaha

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Very cute blog Laurie and sounds like Vern and Libby are on the same path.  All of a sudden she has started to bark at "certain" people and we can never find a common denominator!  She is drving us crazy, but that is a short trip, it doesn't take much!  LOL  Sounds like you had a really nice time with your Aunt & Uncle and anytime you can get shopping in, its a "win" for me:) 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks for starting my day off with a laugh, Laurie!

My stepson almost always wears a baseball cap; JD has known my stepson almost as long as he's known me, and he still barks at him every time he comes in, until the cap comes off. :) 

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Laurie, I just love, love the picture of Fudge! And I had to laugh about your Aunt and the recipe!! This is reminding me of the company coming for Christmas, yikes. I've come to realize that Jack is a hat hater too. The first time was in our favorite neighborhood pet shop where the people just love him and he loves nothing better than to go up and down the aisles to sniff. We went in one time and he started with a real deep bark at a man and he started to head back out the door. He was really shaken up. The man had a big hat on and we were thinking that might of been it. The next time it happened I was walking them in the park and a man came to meet them. Jack had a similiar reaction and this guy also had a hat. I was trying to make sense of Jack's reaction and mentioned his hat history and the man walked the rest of his laps carrying his hat so Jack would be comfortable. OMD I should have never said anything and we left soon after so that man could put his hat back on!
He also thinks Tom's whooping for the Giants is a signal to run outside and check the yard. At least Jack is in good company with Vern and Murphy!
I so agree with you about boring normal days, there's nothing better!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Cheryl, I know how attached Finn is to you. It must be hard to leave for work without him. Vern and Fudge watch me from the foyer window when I drive down the driveway. It is very pitiful :)

DJ, Thank you! You would love John's coffee. He likes it dark and strong. My brother-in-law said it was like tar. LOL It is nice to be so loved :)

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Loved your holiday blog and the post it note had me laughing out loud! Finn watches me each morning to see if he's going to work with me.  He mopes around until I tell him he's coming --woo-hoos all around --or, no he has to stay home, in which case he curls up on the couch with a long series of sighs and the dreaded "stink eye." He loves company, but you could fill the house to bursting and he'd still know the minute I tried to sneak out the door so I know the feeling of being watched LOL