Talking Dogs

If you are a dog owner or know someone who is, you'll be able to relate to this.

Have you ever found yourself talking out loud to your faithful companion? I'm not referring to your spouse, life partner or best friend, I'm talking canine. I talk to my beloved Angel or Gabriel I often look in their eyes and wonder what they would say if they had the gift of gab. Angel would no doubt demand we send the little interloper on his way, that he'd outstayed his welcome the day he arrived. Gabriel would probably tell us all about seeing the world for the first time or that he's sorry he didn't tell us he had to go before leaving a pile or puddle on the floor.

Remember some years back there was a collar advertised from China or Japan that claimed to tell you what your dog was saying by interpreting his bark. You programed the collar as to your dog's breed, temperament etc, and in turn when your dog barked the collar would tell you what the dog was saying to you. I guess it didn't catch on because I haven't seen one in years. Of course, you can always call the pet psychic or the dog whisperer to translate what your canine wants you to know. I myself only need to look into their faces. Eyes, mouth, tongue, tail and general stance tell me everything I need to hear. Until next time, talk about the universe and meaning of life with your dog friend, but don't let him have the last bark.

Sibling Rivalry

Being an only child living on a farm my husband never experienced sibling rivalry. I am the youngest of three and the only girl. There was more rivalry between my brothers than between them and me. Our daughter is an only child so she has never experienced sibling rivalry. As a child she often asked why she didn't have any brothers or sisters. I would say, "Your Daddy and I wanted more children but that's not the way things turned out." Truth be told, as a new mom at 34 I probably wouldn't have survived another one. It took all my wits and energy to raise her. Her growing years is a blog on its' own. More to come on that one.

Now that we are empty nester's we are experiencing sibling rivalry between our two dogs. Angel was an older puppy when my husband found her on the side of the road some 11 years ago. Gabriel is a retriever pup we added to our home this past September. For Angel it was hate at first bite. For Gabriel being the five month old he was, it was love at first lick. The more Gabriel tried to be friends, the grouchier Angel became.

The first few days were tricky. We didn't trust Angel alone with Gabe much like parents don't trust a two year old with a newborn. Having Gabriel has brought out the puppy in Angel. Angel never cared for toys. Gabriel loves them. I didn't see it as unusual for Gabe to pick up his favorite stuffed fox and shake it in Angel's face. It boggled my mind to see Angel pick-up the same toy later on and shake it in Gabe's face. If Gabriel wants it, so does Angel. If I pay attention to Angel, Gabe pushes in and vice-vesa. As I write this Gabe is laying with his head under my recliner. Angel is directly in front with Gabe's purple doll under her paw. I'm surprised my cat Izzy hasn't come over to snuggle next to me. I guess he doesn't feel like being harassed. Some day this cycle will repeat itself when Angel is chasing squirrels across the Rainbow Bridge and we bring another pup into our lives to entertain Gabriel. Until next time eat all the apple pie a-la-mode you want, it's only fruit and mild after all.

Won't You Be My Neighbor

Do you remember Mr. Roger's Neighborhood? How he sang about wanting you to be his neighbor. With the development and rampant spread of sites like Facebook, My Space and Twitter, the entire community of Earth, at least those with internet access, can be neighbors. Every time you add a friend to Facebook it shows you everyone that new friend knows, so you can ask if they want to be your friend. Now I'm not a mathematical genius, but doesn't it stand to reason that eventually the chain of invitations and friendships will make it around the globe?

And what about the use of sites like YouTube to share yourself and views with the world at large. You can be funny, relevant or irrelevant, quirky, down beat or just plain gross. Anything goes in this day and age. Stars and celebs use Twitter to announce weddings, divorces, babies, etc. Where do people find the time to Facebook, Twitter and the like, I guess I could if I turned off Spider Solitaire. Well I'll catch you all on Facebook or skype. Until next time, keep your panties from getting into a wad and relax with one of my cranberry liqueur cocktails.

Ringing in the New Year

My Christmas letter this year was titled, Ritchie's Center for Home Improvements. In the letter I spoke about adding six feet to the house, four feet on our new puppy Gabriel and two feet on Alexander, our new honorary grandson next door. What I didn't mention were all the sports venues we added. Once upon a time, only the rich and famous could afford tennis courts, bowling alleys and movie theaters in their homes, now with the power of Wii ordinary folk like myself can have the same and more. We have a tennis court, baseball field, several 18 hole golf courses, putt-putt, a firing range, bowling alley and a track where you can ride a cow around an obstacle course. Now all I need is a gym with a personal trainer, wait, I have that too on the Wii Fitness Plus. Happy New Year to all. I promise to be more faithful in adding posts this coming year. It is one of my many pleasures.