Boundaries!

Although the days get very hot, we still have a few morning hours during which outdoor play is almost comfortable. That's the "Savannah Hour" around our house. She is the only one of the three Westies I have had who truly loves to be outside. So I give her every opportunity to go out and play.

This is a rare moment for Savannah - she has just had a bath and is clean! She will remain this way for another five minutes. And that is because her favorite spot these days is around the storage shed in the corner of the backyard. I had stapled a wire enclosure around the bottom of the exposed sides of the shed back when Treasure used to explore back there. It was easy to block off the two openings to the back of the shed as she was less curious than Savannah and, frankly, more obedient!

So last Sunday afternoon Murphy came by the house and called for Savannah to come inside. We looked for her and couldn't find her anywhere in the backyard. Finally, I got down on the ground and looked under the shed and found her right in the middle of all the dirt and leaves and {probably} lizards! It took several pieces of chicken treats to coax her out and then came the question of how to keep her from getting underneath again. I thought I had blocked the openings in the back, but my little scamp had moved some bricks out of her way and gained entrance!

This side is successfully blocked off, but she manages to put her little face up over the pilings,

looking for her lizards.

So Monday morning Graham went to Lowe's and bought some pointed stakes, stapled some wire fencing to them, and secured them into the ground to block off the back sides of the shed. I expected her to be frustrated, even determined to get over or around the fence, but she has taken it all in stride.

In fact, when she goes out the door she heads straight for this side of the shed. After checking both sides and seeing that the fences are still there, she will sit herself down right here and wait for the lizard to come out and crawl around the door to the shed. And with Westie concentration she will sit for nearly an hour just watching that ole lizard move from one side of the shed to the other!

And that's how we are spending our summer!

Dog Days

The Texas heat dropped in last month and seems to have taken up residence for the time being. By noon it is really too hot to do much of anything. Even the water in the pool is too warm! About the only things stirring are the lizards and the birds around the feeders. And thus, a new obsession is born in my Westie. She has spurned the pool and Mr. Polaris for the less taxing job of staring at lizards.

First, she discovered the lizard crawling along the brick outside the front door. So it was easy to just leave the door open and let her gaze through the glass. Nice and cool, and provided hours of uninterrupted obsessing!

Then, when she was in the backyard, she discovered the lizard crawling around on the storage shed. Now there's a new location for obsessing. Trouble is, it's so very hot outside and she doesn't mind hanging out in the dirt and leaves back there. So what I get when she comes in for a water break is a very stinky, dirty dog! Happy, but dirty! But that's okay, because, after all, these are the "dog days" of summer.

Meanwhile, I'm staying inside and trying to find activities that don't bring a sweat to my brow. I'm reading about my daughter and niece who are busily cooking and canning and thinking that I could be doing some of that myself. Years ago I cooked up a batch of bread and butter pickles that were pretty good, and we did have a pretty nice crop of small cucumbers this summer. So I googled up a recipe and sliced a bunch of cucumbers and, presto!, out came some beautiful pickles!

This is actually the second batch I've made. Most of these cukes came from the Farmer's Market as my plants have succumbed to the heat. Spurred on by Meredith's salsa and Barbaranne's jams, I think this could be a very productive summer after all.

Leapin' Lizards!

This South Texas heat has done nothing to stop the procreation of lizards this spring. We have an abundance of the little green critters and they have made their presence known to the Westie of the house! Savannah has turned all her attention and energy toward the little fellas who cling to the tree bark or the brick on the front porch. Once she has one in her sight, nothing will distract her from her quest.

Just this afternoon she was sitting at the front window and her eye caught one fat lizard crawling on the brick around the window. I did everything I could to distract her - to no avail - so I brought out the camera to try to capture her rapture!

 There's a lot of intensity that may not be caught by the camera. She is totally ignoring any attempt on my part to draw her attention from the window!

I moved around to a closer side and still, no response to my calling.

As I backed up a little, I noticed that my girl is straddling the arm of the couch! Either she can get a better angle that way, or she's very confident that she won't slip off the edge!

From this vantage point, it appears she has a very comfortable grip on the couch and is in no danger of slipping off the arm. What intensity! What concentration!

Finally, I resorted to a squeak of her favorite squeaky ball. Can you say "annoyed?" If Westies could speak (which this one does frequently!), what would she be saying about now? Even the admittance of friends through the front door was only a short and temporary retreat from her appointed task. Only the disappearance of said lizard brought this little dog away from her perch.  Lord help me if she ever gets close enough to catch one!

Time Out!

In my previous post I told you about Moving Day for the Mozas and our entertaining the grandboys while the parents loaded and unloaded their earthly goods from one house to another. Right up there with Thomas the Train videos in preferred activity is playing with our own Miss Savannah. Both boys have decided that she is the perfect playmate when at Ludee's house. She's about their same age, and her energy is almost as boundless as theirs! And they share a love of toys. Can you get more compatible than that?

Here is my sweet Savannah after about two hours of chasing her balls and squeaky toys every time one of the boys threw them! I'm afraid she is getting settled into our slow and sedentary lifestyle! I snapped this picture when she jumped into the "time-out" chair for a breather! She has on her happy, smiley face, but her eyes are saying, "Let me rest a minute!"

It wasn't long before she was back down on the floor, wrestling her toys from the hands of one of the grandboys. She remained eager to play, and very patient ~ dare I say "long suffering"? ~ for hours on end, snatching a little nap or an escape outside every now and then. What a little trooper!

Moving Day

Today was moving day for Meredith and her family. They bought a house closer to us and we offered to keep the boys during the long day of packing the moving van and unloading at the new house. Here are some highlights from our very long day!

Andrew is checking out the Thomas the Train play tent.

A little hand is offering a squeaky ball to Savannah.

The rest of the hand came out of the tent to play with Savannah.

I think they are watching Thomas the Train video games.

Savannah had some competition for her squeaky football!

Let's see if this tent is big enough for two boys!

Yep! There's just enough room for two, and maybe a small, white dog.

Oh no, Papa and the tickle bug are doing a job on Andrew!

Look at Adrian - just the right size for playing in the tent.

Savannah doesn't want to miss out on any fun. She likes tickling too.

Okay guys, I know you're in there. Come on out and play some more.

Looks like these boys wore themselves out - finally getting in a nap.

Andrew too, though it took a short ride in the car to get him to sleep. He really missed his Mommy.

These two boys, their grandparents, and a little white dog had a very long day while Mommy and Daddy helped the movers take all their belongings from one house to another. They'll wake up tomorrow morning to a wonderful new backyard for a summer of outdoor boy fun.

Odds and Ends

You know how, when you are cleaning or moving things around, one thing leads to another and, before you know it, you've redecorated every room in the house? Well, that's what has been going on in my house this summer!

First we contracted to have the "Florida" room at the back of the house remodeled into a "media" room. At the end of that fiasco, we emerged with a beautiful new "Sun" room. Although we are still waiting on something to be done with the glass doors leading into the room, I've been busy getting the furnishings and wall decor where I want it, sometimes moving things around two or three times to find just the right look.

When the decals came in for the glass treatments, I took the plunge and put the large one on the outside door. After a few minor adjustments, I pronounced it "perfect" and waited impatiently for Graham to come home to admire it. It has given that door so much character and really emphasizes the garden look of the room. We are pleased and can't wait to put similar treatment on the glass in the french doors once they are replaced.

Even though we are having record heat, Savannah continues to prefer the great outdoors to her cool and comfy house. So I try to let her out for brief intervals often, watching to be sure she doesn't jump into the pool. When I check on her I usually find her sitting in the sun, daring a squirrel or a bird to come her way.

Lately she has caught sight of the little chameleon/lizards that hang out around the front porch. She gets totally obsessed with them and glues herself to the window until the little lizard finally slinks away. Such is life for the Westie these days!

Back to my original thought, prior to the remodel we moved most of the furniture into the living room. Then, a week ago, we had new beds delivered and the old beds moved from one room to another. That led to the removal of some bedroom furniture - some to the garage, other pieces to the upstairs rooms. That led to the realization that the high ceilinged walls in the den hadn't been dusted in twenty-five years, so we removed all the pictures from the walls and oiled the paneling. That led to moving pictures around, which led to my moving the computer around ~ don't ask why ~ and now we are unable to move without loud grunts and groans! I hope it's another twenty-five years before we get into this kind of mood again! Thank goodness for new, posture-pedic mattresses!

Just About Done

Every day I get another little detail taken care of in our newly remodeled room.  The first detail I took care of was to repurpose the room from "media" to "sun" room. I realized, after all the various items I purchased for it came into place, that my subconscious had already deemed it a sunroom! It feels so bright and roomy now and the new shades let lots of light in, making it a happy place.

This Saturday I will get Murphy's TV armoire brought in, and he will get the TV set up some time this weekend. I think it will cover most of the wall plugs. If not, a little foliage on top of the armoire will do the trick. Then I need to decide what pictures to put on the walls. I'm leaning toward some of our travel photos that I enlarged and framed. And I want to look at Pier 1 for a wicker rocking chair. With that addition and some kind of end table I think I'll have it finished.

Almost forgot about the glass decor. I don't know exactly how to describe what I'm going to do with the glass doors. I'll just have to show them off once they are done. And that can't happen until the cracked glass panels are replaced. So stay tuned for an update.