Fall and changes

Fall with it's beautiful colors is a great time for changes in other areas as well.

Moe and Tally are very happily out and about once again, now that the cooler weather is here. All summer they lounge around trying to stay cool. Moe's appetite usually falls off and this past summer he lost five pounds. His appetite is back now and he devours his morning cookies and his dinner as if he's starving. He and Tally are both happy to have the schoolbuses to bark at again (we live on a corner where three buses stop each weekday morning and afternoon). Moe has taken up his yard warrior ways once again with Tally as his faithful sidekick, loudly letting me know whenever a jogger, a dog-walker, or a young mother with a stroller passes by the house. There is a lot more napping on the porch now that it's no longer uncomfortably warm, too.

Tally never loses her appetite, which is a problem. She steals Moe's cookies, finishes his dinner for him, and raids the cat's food dish whenever someone leaves the cellar door open. Also, more than one person in the house feeds her, somtimes. Back in June she had the figure of a pot-bellied pig... very very bad for a long-backed little dog (she's a Dachshund for those of you who don't know us). She waddled around and had trouble taking the two steps up to the porch without toppling over. We spoke to the vet about correct portion sizes and healthy snacks (she had a little dog with a big appetite, too). We began July with a newfound resolve to slim the little rodent-dog down. Two months later she had lost two and a half pounds and was looking almost like a real Dachshund, though two more pounds ought to put her in a healthier more normal weight range for a critter her size. She is much more energetic, too, hunting for mice in the woodpile (and terrorizing my daughter's pet blind mouse at every opportunity ) and she actually caught and killed a squirrel in the woods. She is attempting stairs once again (I have to block the stairs to the second floor to keep her from using them), and she has stopped snoring (YAY!).

I finally painted my doors again yesterday. For years they were badly scratched and looked horrible because Moe jumps on them to let us know when he wants to come in. I was hesitant to paint them because he'd only scratch them up again. We recently changed the house trim color and I found a beautiful burgundy color to compliment the new darker blue, but I was at a loss as to how to keep it looking good. We opted for brass kick plates and a sheet of plexiglass on the lower half of the six-panel door to protect the paint without hiding the color. The full glass doors will get kick plates, too. They look elegant while offering scratch protection. I also bought a deckbox to put my recycle bins in - it looks neater and keeps Moe from stealing plastic containers and scattering them all over the yard.

Now the only thing that needs fixing is my job. In March I got a full-time job for the first time in twenty-one years but my working hours vary greatly - some times I have to be in by 6AM and sometimes I have to work till after 11PM and I frequently work overtime and weekends (today I work 2PM to 11PM). The dogs and my human family hate not having me home. While I excell at what I do and I like all my coworkers, I do find the hours brutally difficult. I'm looking for a new job that will allow me to work more normal hours and be home with my family again. My husband is beginning to feel that it may be worth it for me to just quit and not work at all... I get the feeling that Moe feels the same way. Even when I'm home I'm too busy catching up on chores to spend much time with him. He and Tally follow me everywhere when I'm home. Perhaps there'll be a change coming soon...

I hope everyone enjoys a beautiful, long Fall season and may all your changes be for the better.

Terry