A Different Life II

[Lily&Me]

Watching the developments in Paris and Europe, everyone seems on it, and I am glad to see our FBI is sending a team over to receive information to quickly funnel back here for assessment.

That something like this could be planned and executed without anyone's awareness is beyond frightening. Build a better mousetrap, and the mice get smarter.

Doug the political scientist always said we simply don't have the stomach to do what is necessary to end this kind of thing...and he was right.


Grands are gone, house is vacuumed and tidied.....lots of leaf bits everywhere, dragged into and all over the house, on and in their clothing. They did have a great time, and were back out in them for awhile before breakfast this morning. Leaves....who knew they would still be such great entertainment for kids who have grown up immersed in electronics.

This is 12 year old Caleb's feet, in Grandpa's desert boots....which he used almost exclusively at Gunsite. I told Caleb, tho, that Grandpa would purse his lips at how dirty they are, as he was a man who kept his shoes clean....saddle soap and a shoe brush, if necessary....but clean.

Caleb said "I've been meaning to get to that."

My sweet little dog walker has taken Lily for long walks yesterday and today, including some off leash time in the open field at the end of the bike path that runs close to me. Lily is such a good girl.....listens to and minds her well. Comes right back when called, listens to "no".....such a sweet baby she is.

Lily has insisted on sleeping at the foot of my bed at home since Doug died, you know, perhaps protecting me, as I think Bud suggested....but an antique double bed is really not big enough for me and a 55 lb dog, who sleeps....like a dog.

Spread out however she is most comfortable, no mind to whether I can move my legs or not. And, periodically tests her limits to see if she really must sleep on the sheet across the foot of the bed.

I woke the other morning to her stretched out along my back, snoring peacefully. If I let her stay there, eventually she would be up in my face and on my pillow. I think not.

Booger dog.


Maggie

[rmkrum]

Dogs seem to enjoy sleeping in 'dogpiles'. I think they feel more secure. Our street rescued dogs curl up into a ball with each other and it looks like one doggie with two heads. If they get to sit on my lap they tuck themselves between the chair arm and my leg. It's a tight fit, but they put their heads down with a happy contented sigh and will sleep like that for hours if you let them.

I suspect very close human contact is important to a couple of dogs that lived on the street for months.

Our other pups will insist on lap time, for about 20 minutes or so, then move off and bed down close by. We don't let them sleep in our beds generally. They prefer crate/den for bedtime, lightly covered with a sheet to keep drafts out. That works in the AS and at home.

Nothing quite so assuring as a happy, sleeping dog--it seems all's right with the world when they do that. Lily is just seeking assurance, and trying to assure you at the same time, I suspect. It's a dog thing. 😄😄




Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

[cwf]

Dogs are thought of as "pack animals"....
Humans are thought of as "social animals"...
There is not much difference as each benefits from interaction...until they turn on one another.

I have known a lot of both...those who appreciate the benefit of association/social interaction, and those who seek opportunities to be "top dog".... I prefer the canine.. They are just a tad more predictable and compatible with my disposition of mutual care.

[rmkrum]

Sigh. The more I learn about people, the better I like my dogs....

Paris, New York, London, Israel, pick a spot and observe bad human behavior. Pet your dog and rejoice😄


Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Sigh. The more I learn about people, the better I like my dogs....

Paris, New York, London, Israel, pick a spot and observe bad human behavior. Pet your dog and rejoice��


Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

Hi,

[rmkrum]

Dusty looks a lot like my Teddy in that pose....


Sent from my pocket Internet using Airstream Forums

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by cwf

I have known a lot of both...those who appreciate the benefit of association/social interaction, and those who seek opportunities to be "top dog".... I prefer the canine.. They are just a tad more predictable and compatible with my disposition of mutual care.

Thanks, guys.

This is...so...true.

I don't prefer dogs to people, but do appreciate in them the absence of some human characteristics that I truly despise.... and strive consciously to not be a part of who I am.

I have been dealing the past few months with a professional in my life who has so violated his own ethics and responsibilities...over a period of years...that it has left me a bit stunned. And, I have seen a lot.

Would seem I would be somewhat immune to mind-boggling behavior from fellow humans by this point in my life.....but I am apparently am not.

Betrayal, lack of loyalty, lack of empathy, duplicitous behavior......you just don't experience these things from your dog.

Perhaps they have the more hard-wired, universal moral center that so many humans lack.

They are certainly an ever present, safe haven for we who love them.


Maggie

[paiceman]

As some know I volunteer as a trainer and rehabilitation person at a dog rescue my wife and I helped get up and running. I work with abused and neglected dogs regularly. What, in my opinion, differentiates dogs from humans is unconditional love. There are no bounds to their loyalty and love. I've taken dogs from homes where the dog was beaten daily, starved etc and yet the dog whines and cries to get back in the house and the abusive owners, at first. But, when we get them to the rescue and we spend a couple of three days with them, they transfer their unconditional love to us and then to their new owners when we have been successful in their rehabilitation, which is the result and what we do is showing them love and respect. Respect is very important in the dog world, very.

Humans, all of us speak of love and friendship, but no matter how sincere and how much we believe it we have and set conditions, dogs are unconditional and from them I have learned more than four years in the service, an MBA and 40+ years of leading teams in the corporate world. I've learned to not judge, but to support and only be there, still not unconditional but closer than before I retired.

AS Maggie and some know I could go on for days - but will save you and Maggies thread. Hug your dog and then hug a loved one, unconditionally; as Maggies tag states it could be the last time, for either.

God Bless

Bud

[Lily&Me]

So true, Bud, and you and rmkrum seem to be cut from the same cloth.


Watching the news this morning, and an interview with a survivor in Paris....he said he just tell his loved ones how much he loves them, because he almost didn't get the chance.

You never know when it might be too late. Do it.


Maggie

[paiceman]

These two keep me grounded and from going over the side after dealing with people who abuse (anyone or anything) and watching the daily news.

My Best

Bud

[Lily&Me]

Bud....I was reading something the other day about our passions reflecting and being our "callings" in life......one can, of course, have more than one at a time and over a lifetime.

Passion is a very, very good thing.....it connects you in a way nothing else does, keeps you learning and exploring new ways and information, then integrating all of that into whatever the focus of your passion is.

Passion is what we want at the very root of our chosen vocations and favorite pastimes. It keeps our moral compasses centered and active, because we are attached to, and invested in, the outcomes.

We have all likely known co-workers without this passion and moral compass....simply going thru the motions and able to be easily corrupted from doing the right thing. I was not one of those.

Passion, directed positively, makes us the best we can be at whatever the focus of our passion is.....does that make sense?!


Maggie

[paiceman]

Total, thank you. In the service as one charged with others I called it (not original on my part) a sense of urgency. ie a Passion for what one is involved in as you stated makes one a better person.

Thank You

Bud

[Lily&Me]

Sweet babies, Bud.

Still hanging in the back bedroom...Doug's man-cave ...is a 2014 calendar, open to January, which he selected and purchased.

It is all labs, yellow and black, young and old.

Doug, who always said 'I've never had a dog", to which I would say. "No, but a dog has had you", really, really loved Lily, and openly admitted it.

She tapped into his very tender, and well protected , center.

That was my man.


Maggie

[paiceman]

Sounds like good man a good guy, it takes a good man to admit he openly cherishes another species. Dogs open us all up if we allow them too. Time for our four mile walk, a beautiful sunny relatively warm November morning, they are sitting by my desk, waiting.

Embrace the day

Bud

[Lily&Me]

He was a very good man, and I am glad to have had him and his love in my life for so many years.


Maggie

[cwf]

Here is a pic of "Boo"... Overseeing his fiefdom...

He is a "rescue"... We know of what you speak about them...

[Lily&Me]

Awwww.


Maggie

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

What's not to love.

Hello Maggie .. Fireplace looks exceptionally cozee ..
We can use logs on ours ... or Gas ..
Weather here is rain rain .. even more rain and storms ..
although we've got off light in Middle England .. worst being North ..

.. glimpse of sun just after your email ..
dashed around .. finally ready and its as dull as ditchwater again ..
so now I'm sharing a bowl of hearty porridge with moshed banana with Muffin
We Collected our vehicle from way up in Derbyshire Hills tother day ..
Cold enough to snow .. I made Muffin a Boob Tube .. a circular piece of
comfort with wriggle room .. slotted him in .. popped under my coat..
and he stayed warm in the biting winds with just his fuzzy head feathers blowing in breezes ..

4 months down the line the last Airstream Import is Legal ..
Since August .. we've paid for Storage .. Tax and Insurance but unable to use until Government issued a Number Plate .. Having said that .. Theres an electrical fault Hans is still scratching his head over which dogged us across the States .. .. dodgy on test runs over here .. I drove behind Hans in pitch darkness and the power cut out ..
a most uncomfortable couple of hours ..
we left the VW at the rear [couldn't get past anyway] ..and stood at the front with the Torch Dan gave us .. which prob saved us from a nasty do as some idiot came tearing down the narrow country road .. spotted the torch .. slid sideways and stopped on a sixpence couple feet away from Airstream front .. When the engine finally started .. Hans sent me down the lane to the Ancient Church where the service was in full swing to ask if owners could move their vehicles as we couldn't get through .. anyway .. .. Left the torch with him .. set off .. seemed to get darker and darker and creepier and creepier .. so I did what any sensible person would do .. panicked and ran back ..
Waited nearly 2 hours until the service was over ..
Give us American Roads any day ..

Dogs must be marvellous company ..
and clever too .. watched a vid this morning of one using the lavatory ..
Muffin does too .. i hold him and whisper .. "do doo doos" .. and he does ...

Picture i took ..
Just after we collected Airstream from Docks
New Forest .. where the Horses freely roam ..


[/CENTER]

[Lily&Me]

Lovely picture, Lili, and such lush forest!

A potty trained bird....who knew. I don't believe Lily would take well to learning to use the toilet.

Love your new avatar. .

Sorry to hear of the troubles with your rig, but I suspect Hans will get if figured out. Nice that he is handy that way, as we are not all.

The woodstove in the little house is one of the best things I did when I had this built 30 years ago, and was my nod to a lifelong dream to live in a log cabin.

Not too practical, even to live in the country, for a single mom with two young children. Some may do this, but it was not for me.

I was a town girl, without country skills, and not going to try to learn at that point in my life.

And so, every winter I have my fire and that radiant heat I so love. The rest of the year, I just enjoy looking at that woodstove.

Fire is good, it comforts me and makes me smile..... every single time.


Maggie

[paiceman]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

He was a very good man, and I am glad to have had him and his love in my life for so many years.


Maggie

My beliefs are you still have him. Four miles was longer today than yesterday.

Bud