shorts and snouts...

Thistle was pooped and snowy after the Lake walk!

Good morning, campers!!  How’s everyone on this fine Thursday morning? I’m doing fabulous, if I do say so myself, actually just woke up at 5:40!  Makes me almost giddy thinking I may actually be coming to an end of this ridiculously early morning rising I’ve had since the beginning of January!  This is more like it!

And, what an incredible morning it is here in good ole Buffalo! The moon is so big and bright,  hanging right over the mountain.  I really should wake up Rob because he’s been trying to get a really good picture of the moon over Buffalo, but the poor dear was up pounding the keyboard last night pretty late, working on websites.  The weather is supposed to be amazing today, with a chance of even more amazing through the weekend.  I think we’re going to get up to almost 50 today.  Now, I know, all you Easterners, who live in humidity, don’t think that’s very warm. It’s actually light sweater weather, tops, and maybe even, dare I say, arm baring for around here!  I am pulling out my shorts!

This is one of the few places I’ve lived where people regularly wear shorts and sweatshirts a lot.  We have a really great guy, who now only spends his summers here, that used to insist on wearing shorts by the calendar here.  His name is Dick Grabherr, yes, you read it right.  He used to own Winchester’s Restaurant and now his kids run it, now that he lives in Mexico most of the year.  Dick would wear shorts from Easter to Thanksgiving here, no matter the weather!  It doesn’t hurt that for an “old” guy, he has nice legs.  Dick is such a hoot, I can’t wait for him to come home for the summer.  Rob asked him when we first met him why he didn’t go by something other than “Dick”, you know, why not “Richard or Rick”? He proudly asked us if we forgot his name after we heard it the first time and we admitted that no, indeed, who can forget Dick Grabherr?  He said that in his line of business, his name was important!  He also has a very deep voice and we miss him doing the radio commercials for Winchester’s.

Anyway, off track, again! SO, I’m going to put some shorts on today but it really has nothing to do with the weather. I am getting the stitches out of my knee later today when I go see the orthopedist for my follow-up appointment.  I can’t wait, let me tell you.  My knee has really started to itch where they are and I’m dying to scratch but every time I get near those stitches, my tummy starts flipping.  I’m such a coward about these things! I’m pretty nervous about getting the stitches out, wish they were those dissolving kind.  Plus, every time I go see Dr Quinn, Medicine Boy, he contorts my limbs something fierce.  Hopefully, with the fantasmigoric surgery he did, the limb twisting with be okay.

Man, yesterday, I had so much fun out at the lake with Brenda and Bobbie and all their dogs!  It was pretty darn chilly out there with the wind but we just had a blast. I’m sure you can imagine a walk with 8 dogs!  Poor Thistle was the only one on a leash because she can’t be trusted yet to come when called.  We’re working on that but not making a lot of headway just yet.  Brenda brought her two dogs, Yukon and Buddy.  Yukon is a very large black lab who is still pretty much a puppy, despite his size and boy, is he full of energy!  Buddy is a tiny little Yorkie, who yesterday was complete with an adorable sweater.  They both thought Thistle was pretty darn cool.  Well, I think Yukon is actually in love with Thistle.  He kept play-attacking her all the time we were on the walk.  At one point, Thistle and I were stopped at the bottom of a big snow bank and she was leaning up against my legs for support.  I saw Yukon up above us all crouched and watching and the next thing I know he’s coming full force at us and then slid on the ice crust and bam…right into Thistle.  She didn’t know what hit her!  Luckily, I saw it coming and braced myself, although I was laughing so hard at Thistle’s reaction, I almost fell down myself.

Dog mash!

Bobbie brought all five of her dogs, too.  She has the most adorable compendium of dogs! There’s Ginger, who is an elderly Husky, but still likes to play.  Then we also had Brody, Grover, Ruby, and Agnes.  Ruby is Bobbie’s latest addition and she’s is a bundle of energy, too. She’s really brought life back into the pack of dogs.  She was flying around Thistle yesterday, along with Agnes, and they were playing something fierce!

Grover, Thistle and Brodie hatch a plan but Buddy wants nothing to do with it!

I just love them all!  I think Thistle does, too.  Grover always has to growl and make a few comments to Thistle every time we get together before things settle down but he’s not mean about it. I think he’s just telling her that he’s a little old man and she better listen when he says something.  He’s so funny and little, when he makes noise, it sounds more like a cat than a dog! Thistle, despite laughing under her breath, gives him his honor and lets him play “big man”.

See, Thistle is the youngest out of all those dogs but she’s also one of the biggest.  Last week when we took her to the vet, she weighed in at 51 pounds already!  I’m hoping she’s about done with her growing and will level out around 60 pounds. She’s so strong that yesterday, every time she wanted to run with the pack, she’d pull me right off my feet and I’d have to start running right with her to keep from landing on my face.  Heck, who needs to pay for physical therapy when you have a puppy, right?  She’s got my knee working just fine!

We didn’t get to go to the Lake Stop for the Comedy show last night, Rob was just too swamped with web work, darn it.  We are trying our darndest to start cutting back on that work as it has really taken over and we have other things we’d much rather be doing, like the photography business.  We’re slowly letting clients know that we are getting out and referring them to Heidi Roberts of Buffalo Computing when we let them go.  I wish Rob would do it a little faster, myself.  He has actually taken on MORE clients instead of losing them!  Darn workaholic!

Speaking of which, I almost have a brand new husband coming home from his County job these days!  The new Planner he hired, Jim, is working out fabulously and already showing lots of progress on the GIS end of things and Rob now comes home beaming!  Quite a switch from the grouch that was overworked and stressed that I had just a month ago.  I think it really helps to have someone intelligent to discuss the county business with in his office, too.  I think the citizens are going to be quite impressed when they see what Jim has brought to the table here. Doesn’t hurt that he’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, too.  He and the person who used to do the GIS work, Rande, are getting along just fine, too and working together quite well to move all that stuff to the planning department. Rande‘s got to be happy that all that stuff is off his plate and he can concentrate on the IT work for the Courthouse.  Poor guy was way overworked, if you ask me.

Well, it’s a new day and I gotta go put some shorts on! Yippee!! Thistle just came downstairs so that means Rob is starting to stir as she doesn’t get up until he does, the lazy girl! I hope your Thursday is fabulous and you find something fun to get into.