Okay, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls--we have a lot of ground to cover today because:
- Some of you want to know how Snowy is doing after his Saturday morning misadventure
- Others of you want to know why we are making a ten-year old dog take obedience classes.
- And still others of you want to know how our pastor’s luncheon went last Thursday.
Whew! You guys are really going to give my fingers and brain a workout! (Although I’m quite positive that no calories will be harmed in the writing of this post. Sigh.)
Since I have so many topics to cover, I have decided to be an extra nice blog person and provide you with a few little headlines all along the way, to assist you on your journey through the jumbled jungle of my many muddled topics.
Snowy’s Recovery
Here is our little buddy, in full recovery mode late Saturday morning. He just slept and slept. (And slept!)
Of course, he was carefully watched over in his sleeping activities by his loving big sister.
After had had done a sufficient amount of lolling and laying around the house Saturday morning, by Saturday afternoon he was suddenly all about zipping and zapping; zigging and zagging; eating and drinking; partying and playing. I’m sure he was thinking, “Snow crisis? What snow crisis?”
We are still overwhelmed by the fact that he actually made it home to us after being out in those weather conditions for so long. He is one blessed doggie. And we are one blessed doggie’s very blessed doggie family. (Or something like that.)
Obedience Class For Snowy
And now to address the question some of you asked as to why we are taking our close-to-ancient dog to obedience classes.
We actually asked the trainer that same question—can a ten year old dog even learn anything?
Steven (Snowy’s teacher) said that older dogs are great at learning new stuff. Obviously it’s better to start a dog in training when he’s a puppy but he said a dog is never too old to learn. AND, since Steven was offering the classes at a relatively inexpensive winter time rate, we decided to go for it!
Actually, Snowy is making pretty good progress in class, despite what the pictures I’ve posted seem to indicate. (Those pictures were mostly posted for comedic effect.)
His biggest accomplishment is that last Thursday, he hung out with his fellow doggies for an entire hour and emitted nary a bark, woof, or a whine. That in itself was worth the whole price of the classes!
If you’ll recall, on our first night of class, Snowy morphed into The Excitable, Panic-Stricken, Yipping, Yapping, White, Bouncing, Leaping, Barking, Hyper Doggie whenever he came within ten feet of any another canine creature. To see him walk into a room with other dogs and remain calm and happy was a wondrous sight.
He has actually learned the “sitting” and “laying” commands pretty well. We’re working on “heeling” but that’s taking a little longer; it’s very much like trying to take a strong willed toddler for a walk. Very frustrating and very entertaining, all at the same time!
This is not really a high pressure, “official” sort of class, where there’s any sort of formal graduation. We are quite certain that Snowy will never turn into a bold, brave search and rescue dog, and we know that we will never officially train him for things like dog shows. (Now THAT would be a funny sight—Snowy at a dog show!) These classes are just a fun outing for our family and a fun outing for Snowy, too. The poor little guy gets bored having to hang out at our house all the time so this is a great big adventure for him and gives him a chance to learn to “play well with friends.”
Unrelated Topic
By the way, on an unrelated topic, our new realtor called yesterday and said that our house would be shown at 2 pm today. Since Smithfield (where our house is located) got tons of snow and the schools (and some businesses) are closed, she thought these people might be pretty serious if they’re willing to look at a house under less-than-wonderful weather conditions. So we’re glad to have at least a little action in that area.
Next Subject
Okay. I am now about to ramble on to my next subject. If you’re still reading, I invite you to ramble on over to that subject with me. Are you with me? Okay. Let’s head on over to . . . the Pastor’s Luncheon.
Oh wait. I’m not ready to ramble over there quite yet. Because if I do, I’ll forget to mention Nathan’s blood work results and my 47-year old brain will go into a spasm of non-rememberment and I’ll never, ever remember to mention it again.
And so, here are . . .
Nathan’s Blood Work Results
We found out from Nathan’s doctor that he does indeed have low thyroid function; however, the level has come up a bit from when it was tested in Smithfield three months ago. Unfortunately, though, it still hasn’t come up enough to be considered normal. So when he’s home for spring break in early March, he will have more blood work done and then the doctor will either put some sort of treatment plan in place or else just opt to watch it for awhile.
So there’s THAT news! Whew! I’ve meaning to write about that for two weeks but forgot it every time I sat down to write. What a relief to know that it is finally out of my brain and safely on the page!
And now, let us all wander on over to the topic of . . .
The Pastor’s Luncheon
Since the luncheon actually was a potluck, the menu was nice and varied. I provided the soup and other people brought a lettuce salad, fruit salad, bread, drinks, and dessert. (The dessert was a chocolate/Heath bar cake which called my name. Ever. So. Loudly.)
Although Steve and I didn’t organize the gathering, when we were invited to attend it at a local restaurant, I volunteered the use of our house instead. It’s just so much easier to get to know people in a quiet home, rather than in a place where the waitress is coming and going and there are people everywhere.
We spent over two hours talking, eating, and telling funny “pastor stories.” And believe me, pastors have some of the funniest stories EVER.
The whole event was really special because we weren’t all even part of the same denomination; we just felt like it was important to support each other and encourage each other, regardless of the name over our church door.
And what’s better yet is that we’re going to keep getting together for lunch on a monthly basis. Steve and I are so excited about this chance to hang out with other couples in the ministry.
Just another thing to love about living in Manteo!
The End
Um. Well, except for the part where I answer Questions From the Comments Area.
Questions From the Comments Area
Nancy asked what Steve’s reaction was when he found Snowy.
Well, let’s just say that relieved is not a strong enough word. Thankful is not even strong enough. He was relieved and thankful with a whole lot of other happy words all mixed in!
Lesley asked the purpose of the squirt bottle that the dog trainer was holding in some recent pictures.
The bottle just had water in it; the trainer used it to get a dog’s attention if he was misbehaving, or to distract him from doing something he shouldn’t have been doing. It’s really pretty effective; all we have to do at home now is bring out the spray bottle and Snowy instantly falls into line.
I mean, how scary can a little ol’ squirt of water be? Obviously, for our canine friends, it’s pretty stinkin’ scary! (smile)
Anon asked what rooms Steve was painting (mentioned in a previous post) and why?
Steve is still working very hard at getting our former house in Smithfield ready to sell. A couple of our bedrooms sported some very distinct, bright colors so Steve is in the process of painting the rooms to make the house more marketable.
The End. For Real.
Posts
