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.

[DJ & Chance]

Wonderful blog!  We love (most of) our relatives but visits can be stressful because everyone's routine is disrupted.  I am a fanatic about starting the day with a double shot of expresso, and visiting relatives who serve water disguised as coffee forces me to travel with a mini expresso machine.  Chance, like Fudge, becomes velcro when he knows I am getting ready for a trip, even though I know he has a wonderful time with the family of dogs and humans he stays with when I am gone.  

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

F, I guess they like being at your house :) Normal feels good, doesn't it??

Thanks, Joanne!!

Lori, LOL about Quincy. He wanted that Kong! Thank you!!

Thanks, Cheryl! The dogs slept until 10:30 am this morning, so I know they were tired :)

Bonnie, Fudge follows our neighbor's granddaughter all around, but she can get ornery, too :) Fudge will also follow my SIL all around if he comes, but for the most part they stay loyal to me. LOL

Miss Ellie, Thank you for such a nice comment!!

Jane, I am ready to get back to DK. I am ready to get back to my routine. First, Holiday cards, Holiday cookies, and wrapping :) LOL Murphy and Vern do not like hats. Imagine if they saw Clark in his girly hat, as Tim called it.  LOL

Camilla, Quit rubbing it in that you are younger :) You really did luck out with Darwin. Thanks about the picture.

Pat, If I stop to visit with my neighbor when we should be walking, Fudge picks up sticks and walks by me to make sure I see it. Then she starts to chew it, which she knows I hate or she gives it to Vern :) Trav and Fudge are too smart. The image of him woofing makes me smile.

Bonnie, Thanks for being in Vern's corner. LOL Our dogs bark at us, too.

[Bonnie and Kona]

There is nothing wrong with Vern and Murphy. I wish the only time our dogs barked at us was when we were wearing hats! They are crazy barkers when people come to the door and if that happens to be us well, so be it!  I do think hatted people must look so very strange to lots of dogs. 

[Pat and Traveler]

Great blog, Laurie!  Love Vern and the hat!  Poor Fudge, knowing her entire routine was going to be disrupted!

Trav loves his routines too.  Most mornings when we go for a walk, we stop for a treat at the cookie lady's house.  After that, Trav expects to go to the park across the street and play ball.  If I linger too long chatting with the cookie lady, he first sits nicely at the end of the leash, staring at me, and if that doesn't work he begins doing some small woofs, just to remind me that we're supposed to go to the park right after the cookie lady visit, so let's get on with it!

[Camilla and Darwin]

He he, love this! This is probably because we are college students, but Darwin seems to be completely oblivious to schedules or routines. He'll wake up at 6am, 12pm, sleep out of his crate, in his crate, stay happily at the in-laws, come home with us, have his "romp" in the morning, or in the evening, etc. I think that he's much more versatile than DH and I are. LOL

By the way, that first picture of Fudge is really really great!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so glad you had a great week with your Aunt and Uncle.....now that's over so let's get back to DK.   Poor Tim walked in from work last week with a hat on (because it was raining) and Murph went totally crazy.  WTD?  I thought they were supposed to know about "energy and scent"....a hat????  Some of our boys (Vern and Murph) may be just a bit "off".

[Miss Ellie]

I think we can all agree...Laurie your blogs are THE BEST and you bring a smile and much needed laughter to all our days...so for that I AM TRULY THANKFUL...glad you had a good time with your Aunt & Uncle Laurie...Fudge & Vern must be so happy they have you all to themselves these days...enjoy your quiet time with your gorgeous doodles!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I have to say that our doodles are far more extroverted than me. I love our guests, but both of them start kissing and shadowing the guests rather than me when we get company. We had a five year old girl come for an afternoon last week and you would have thought she was carrying dog treats in her pocket. Neither dog left her side and both wanted to kiss her. Not that she was in the least bit interested. I'm glad you had a nice visit with your family.

[cheryl & oliver]

Laurie, I was so looking forward to this blog after the holiday, and u didn't disappoint...Oliver has his routine, and he doesn't like when we have to change it, but then I am a creature of habit too, so I guess I can well understand poor Fudge and Vern...I am sure that they weren't the least bit sorry to see everyone leave, so they can have u back as their "own"Mommy back to themselves...Like u said it is good to mix things up once in a while, but it is nicer to get back to the comfort of our lives....

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I am also thankful for these blogs!   

The only one who loves routine more than my husband and me is Quincy, it seems!  Perfect match.  He even ran right into his crate once he figured out we were in our work routine and he had a big Kong waiting.