It has been a long- long time ??

Good Morning
We won't be going for our weekend walk today - The temp is -4 degrees below zero with wind chill at -25 degrees -  Mom said I should find something to do this morning so since I haven't posted for a while I am on the computer.   We did go for our weekend walk yesterday but Mom made us wear doggie coats.  I liked Ruthie's coat much better because it was a BIG RED one !!  Go Nebraska !!

 Mom and dad had to do their usual thing on Saturday morning - Read the paper and have their cup of coffee - before we got to go out so Ruthie and I hung out with them in the office.  I heard Mom say that they were waiting for it to warm up a little.  The weatherman say it was only 5 degrees outside.   We headed out but boy when we got to the back side of the lake it was COLD !!!!!  The wind was blowing and blowing and took your breath away.  Mom actually stood behind a tree while Ruthie and I did our crazy dance running in circles.  It warmed us up for a while before we headed back.  Was glad when we got home to a warm house though.  Both Ruthie and I headed straight to the fireplace and laid down.  Everyone stayed inside the rest of the day.  

It has been a SLOW month in Village Land.  It has been COLD here so our walks are limited and we spend more time inside.  Mom sometimes opens the front door so we can watch the snow fall and the occasional animal walk by.  We have these big birds that roam around the woods in front of our house and Ruthie and I like to bark at them.  I hope Mom and Dad don't go get one of them and cook it - They did that to one of them at Thanksgiving. 

 

Ruthie and I did go to the beauty shop last week.  I am proud to say I did not get car sick in the car.  I actually waited until we got back home and went around to the side of the house and made my deposit.  Dad found it the next day frozen.   He picked it up along with the poo Ruthie and I deposit over there. 

 

 

Mom has been in the kitchen doing a lot of winter baking.  It makes the house smell sooooooo good.  I wish Mom would share some of the goodies with us but she only shares with Dad.  I did hear Mom say she would make us some doggie cookies after she goes grocery shopping on Tuesday.  She needs some special doggie ingredients.  Ruthie has allergies and Mom has to be careful what she gets for treats.  Me, I eat anything and everything !!!

 

Mom and Dad have been babysitting their neighbor's house and when they got back they gave Mom and Dad a special treat.  Ruthie and I were hoping they were going to share but Dad said I wasn't old enough and even though Ruthie was he said it was tooooo strong !!   Mom took one and made funny faces so probably glad we didn't get any. 

 

  

 

While Dad and Mom were tasting their treats Ruthie and I chilled.   Still wearing my fashion booties.  Like the pink ones ??

 

 

Ruthie and I are sad to say that our GREAT doggie friend next door - Hutch - went to the Rainbow Bridge.  He had been sick for a while.  He had an outside kennel on the side of his parent's house and when Ruthie and I would go out we usually stopped and visited him.   We would also all be swimming in the lake in the summer.  We will ALL miss him. 



 

In Memory of Hutch

It has been COLD here in Nebraska

It has really been about WINTER here at the lake.  You do such different things in the winter than you do in the summer.  I can tell you this  - My parents can walk on Water !! I always knew they were special but now I know for sure.  However, Ruthie and I only got to watch from the deck.  Mom and Dad were afraid we would run off and jump into the water.  The neighbors next door were digging holes in the ice and putting stings in the holes.  They even had a tent out on the lake.  That was funny looking ??  Mom and Dad played around for a while out on the lake then came up and spent time with us !!

 

 We went for our weekend walk yesterday but during the night that fluffy white stuff fell on the ground.  Ruthie and I had to wait in the house for Mom and Dad to push the stuff around and clear off the sidewalk and driveway but then off we all went. We had a GREAT time out on the lake dam running with Dad.  He kept going back and forth saying "we needed to run our energy out"  I ran along with Dad but Ruthie is kind of getting a little older so she would jog along then wait for us to come back.  Mom said we even did the funny doggie dance - Running in all directions but going nowhere.   

 

We were glad to get home because we were getting a little chilled being out so long but had to spend time in the mud room drying off.  Ruthie and I just took naps. 

 

Mom and Dad left after our naps to go out to lunch with our two legged sisters and Grandma but we still had to stay in the mud room.  Ruthie and I were not too happy about that but I heard Mom say she still does not trust me alone in the house.  I can't wait till she thinks I am grown up like Ruthie.  She gets to stay in the house sometimes when Mom is gone.   It was a special day for Mom which added another number to her age.   After they finished lunch they went and saw a movie named after the state we live in - NEBRASKA - Go figure ??

 



Last, I thought I would share a pictures of some of my fellow litter mates at KSDS Inc. who are about ready to graduate to their new forever partners and homes.  They were on a break between classes.  I sure wish I could have continued with my college training to become a Guide/Service dog but that stupid car sickness just kept getting in the way.  However, I got to return to my puppy raising family
here and they became my forever loving family.

 

 

It is Ground Hog Day and Phil the ground hog saw his shadow so Mom says winter will stick around a little longer !  I am glad for now since I love to run and play in the snow !!

 

 

 

 

The Holiday Season is Over :(

Good Morning -

Wondering where I have been ??  Well, I haven't been able to spend much time writing because Mom has been on the computer a lot lately making family Christmas movies and cards plus everyone here has been celebrating the Christmas Holidays.  I love this time of the year because the house looks soooo pretty plus I know if I am a good doggie - the guy in the big red suite will come to visit. 

Right after Thanksgiving Mom and Dad spent most of the weekend outside putting lights up on the house and decorations around the yard.  After they did that they put up decorations inside the house plus two Christmas trees.  My two legged sisters came and helped decorate the Christmas tree downstairs.  Mom calls the one upstairs our fancy one and the one in the downstairs our family tree.  It has all of the ornaments that my sisters made over the years plus ones given to us. When Mom was unpacking the decorations she found our Christmas scarfs. 



That white stuff came again and lots and lots of it came one

night.  Dad spent most of the morning with a shovel in his hand moving it around before we could go for our weekend walk.  Ruthie and I LOVE to play in the white stuff but by the time we got home it was nice to come in to a warm house.  We curled up on our warm beds in the mud room and warmed up.  Dad had to go back outside again and finished moving snow around.  Ruthie and I are soooo glad we don't have thumbs so we can't hold onto a shovel.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day finally came and fun times were had by all.  On Christmas Eve Mom and Dad along with my two legged sisters - Meghann and Aunna opened gifts in the basement by the family Christmas tree.  However, after Ruthie and I tried to find our gifts under the tree and got into things Mom said we were not suppose to we had to go upstairs.  We snuck back down and watched from the stairs though. 

 

 

On Christmas Day my two legged sisters would not get up so Ruthie
and I assisted.  Christmas morning is when Santa comes and Ruthie and I were excited to see what he brought us.  Elvis - the Elf on the shelf - watched over us all month and I know he reported to Santa that we had been good.  Elvis the Elf moved around a lot and each morning Ruthie and I would go looking for him after we went outside to do our business and had breakfast.  You can't play with him though or his magic will disappear.   

Aunna helping us with our Santa gifts - Notice Elvis is watching

After Santa we had more guests come over and the house smelled sooo good with all of the food Mom made.  They opened gifts again and this time Ruthie and I were on our best behavior and got to stay.  Secretly we were hoping there was going to be more special gifts for us but it was just gifts for the guests. 

Mom and Dad celebrated a special Day on New Year's Eve.  Not sure what a 20th Wedding Anniversary is but it is something like being together for 20 years.  They went out to have a special drink to celebrate then came home with some food for the evening plus some flowers.  I heard that you are to stay up till midnight  not really sure why - but we were all in bed long before that. 

Today it is the weekend and we usually go for our long walks around the lake but Mom and Dad have called it off.  The temp outside is only 1 degree with something called a wind-chill  of 17 degrees below zero.  Mom said our paw pads could freeze in this weather.  Maybe I will get on the treadmill in the basement.  Need to work off some of the weight I put on over the Holidays. 

My Mom is sharing her family Christmas slide show on my blog.  She makes them every year and shares them on Christmas Day.  If you would like to watch it just click on the words below -

 ? Schense 2013 - YouTube

Santa put this in Mom's stocking

Hope everyone had a

Wonderful Holiday Season

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

I sure did - I am now with my forever family

Home for Thanksgiving

Before Thanksgiving Mom and Dad along with my two legged sister Meghann went to see the HUSKERS play football in Lincoln.  Ruthie and I stayed at home. However, it was OK since Dad loaded us up with special treats in the mud room.  They sure kept us busy till they got back home.    Before the game Mom and Dad met up with Aunna - my other two legged sister.  We saw her again after the game but Mom being sooo thoughtful of us said they had to get home so we could have dinner and a break outside. 

That fluffy white stuff mom calls snow showed up here again.  Sometimes there is lots and lots of it but this time it was just enough to make the ground turn white.  Ruthie and I played and
rolled around in it during our weekend walks.  Dad tried to put a hat on me so I would stay warmer but I was not to exited about it and it came off pretty quickly.  Mom thought Ruthie and I should wear our winter coats but Dad said it wasn't cold enough yet.  There was another HUSKER game on TV but everyone stayed home to watch it this time. 

Next, Mom went to the Beauty Shop and had her hair and nails done then a few days later Ruthie and I went to the Beauty Shop to get our hair and nails done.

 Mom found a new place for Ruthie and I that was closer to home so we were all a little nervous going for the first time.  Everything was GREAT except our tails really were shaved.  Mom said we look more like Labs right now -  No offense to Labs but I am a Golden.  Mom will talk to them about it next time.

The week before Thanksgiving Mom went to the grocery store and bought soooooo many groceries that it took Mom and Dad about an hour and a half to put everything away.  Mom was gone for three hours shopping then when she got home Dad brought everything in for her.  We only got our regular dog treats - Was hoping for some special ones for the Holidays ?

After Ruthie and I went to the beauty shop Mom CLEANED house.  Mom was waiting till we went because she was hoping most of our shedding dog hair would stay there instead of on the wood floors.  I heard one of the groomers say that they combed about another dog out of Ruthie.  I was holding on to my hair! 

The night before Thanksgiving my two legged sister Meghann came over and spent the night.  I heard
the plan was to make all of the Thanksgiving dishes the night before but all they did was set the table.  It sure did look pretty. I was kind of upset that evening because Dad let Ruthie sleep with Meghann while all I got was the old cat Baby and I still had to say in my mudroom bedroom.  Ruthie always gets to do more then I do but Mom says when I finally settle down and act more like an adult and not a teenager I will get to do special things too.

Thanksgiving day started out with Mom in the kitchen making food that smelled soooo wonderful.  Ruthie and I stayed close to her because every now and then something fell on the floor.  After Mom was done Dad started on a thing he called a turkey.  It was a big bald bird.  He put it in a bag then in a big pan then into the oven.  After about an hour Mom said the house smelled like Thanksgiving.  Not sure what that means but it did smell nice. 

Right before Mom and Dad's guests arrived Dad and Meghann took Ruthie and I for a walk.  Dad said he wanted us tuckered out so when guests arrived we would not pester them.  Well, that was not the case so Ruthie and I had to spend some time out on the deck while everyone was arriving.  Dad had a long talk with us and we agreed to settle down and got to come in.  There were lots of people there and everyone was busy talking and really did not pay any attention to us.  Ruthie was Ok with this but I decided I wanted to be the center of attention which put me on the outside again. After another talk with Dad I got to come back in and this time I listened to what Dad said and all was good.

Thanksgiving Day at the Schense House

This Thanksgiving we were missing two very special family members.  Dad's Dad Bob Sr. and Mom's Dad Ed.  We saved a place for them and lit a candle to show them the way from Heaven to come and spend the day with us.

 

Hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving Day!!