Tag Archives: animals

Puppies Puppies Puppies

Posted on by Lori Crane

Are you a dog person? I AM!!! Every time I see a dog, I say, “Awwwww, I love that puppy!”

My husband responds sarcastically, “Really?”

He’s a smart a**.

I grew up with dogs. Peppy, our black toy poodle, was my first dog. We then migrated to a blond Cocker Spaniel and a couple of German Shepherds, even taking in a retired police dog named Buddah. He was solid black and beautiful.

pippas-first-day-of-school-was-funOver the last few decades, we’ve opened our home to a West Highland Terrier, a Golden Retriever, an Australian Shepherd, a Bichon-Skye Terrier mix, and our latest baby, Pippa, a 10-month-old mini-schnauzer (photo – with Rudy the Bichon-mix in the background). I love each of them equally. Dogs are joy and unconditional love. Period.

I’ve also expanded my puppy kingdom by raising dog-loving children, and now I have grand-dogs – a Husky, a Sheltie, a long-haired Dachshund, and a wire-haired Dachshund.

If you’re a dog person, you know all these breeds. If you’re not, you may need help picking out your first dog. Get one! You won’t regret it.

My new friends at PuppySpot put together this awesome flowchart to help in your search. Be warned, when you visit their “puppies for sale” page at “puppyspot,” you’ll lose your heart to one of these cutie pies! Let me know which one you pick! ♥

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Stop by their website and take a look at the babies. Tell everybody there “Pippa says hi!”

www.puppyspot.com

Frogs, Frogs, Everywhere!

Posted on by Lori Crane

I was reading a blog by NIKIMARIE about what she carries in her purse, and it got me thinking about the quirky things we carry around with us. Do you have some strange thing in your purse or your wallet that you couldn’t part with? My trophy husband carries a torn piece of his friend’s underwear from twenty-five years ago. Don’t ask. Just do what I do, shake your head and quietly back out of the room.

Well, I have one of those quirky things, too! I carry a carved, soap-stone frog!

The frog thing started a while back.

I read somewhere that it’s good Feng Shui to place a frog by your front door. It attracts money. Well, who wouldn’t want that? So, I put a little frog by my front door and sure enough, I instantly got more money.

If you know me, you know how obsessive I can be. So, I figured if one frog was good, more frogs would be better. Don’t laugh. It’s logical, no? My trophy husband didn’t think so either. But let me tell you, we always have the money we need. Nine years of putting children through college, new homes, family emergencies, we always have it, no matter how much.

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So, where else would you put a “money frog” except where you keep your money? I placed this little one in my change purse, and my change purse is always full of money. I will keep it there forever and ever!

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Here ends our Feng Shui reading for the day. So, give it up, what’s your quirky thing?

A to Z Challenge – Z is for Zoo

Posted on by Lori Crane

Z is for Zoo

My home-zoo is growing. In the house, we have two dogs, two guinea pigs, and now, a serpent.

Here’s Rudy Patootie and Dexter. If you ever want to break into my house, bring along a recording of thunder. The big one will hide under the desk, and the little ankle-biter will run upstairs and hide under the bed.

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We also have a couple female piggies. CeeCee is the black one and Meatball is the brown one.

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Our newest addition is a four-foot female Ball Python. Her name is Eva. Isn’t that the best name ever for a snake? I thought the smell of the guinea pigs would make her more active, but I don’t think she cares about them.

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A to Z Challenge – D is for Dog

Posted on by Lori Crane

Blogging from A to Z April 2013 Challenge 

D is for dog, for life without a dog is sorry indeed ~Lori

 A dog is not “almost human” and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such. ~John Holmes

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.  ~Roger Caras

Coming home to a dog

coming home to a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming home to no dog

coming home without a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snuggling with a dog

snuggling with a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snuggling without a dog – rocks are not fluffy.

snuggling a rock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing with a dog

playing with a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing without a dog – mud is almost as fun as a dog – Not

playing without a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eating with a dog

eating with a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eating without a dog

eating without a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleeping with a dog

sleeping with a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleeping without a dog

sleeping without a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life with a dog

love a dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life without a dog

life without dog

Best April Fool’s Prank EVER!

Posted on by Lori Crane

Today, I was searching for an April Fool’s prank to play on my trophy hubby and was reminded of one I pulled a few years ago.

My daughter was fresh out of college and in the midst of looking for a teaching job. She sent out a gazillion resumes and went on a bazillion interviews. She was substitute teaching at different schools on a daily basis, and her phone was ringing off the hook.

We still had a home phone at the time, and though she used her cell phone for nearly all business activity, the occasional caller would ring the home phone.

So, on April 1st, I wrote a phone message and left it on the kitchen island for her.

It read:

“Mr. Lyon called about a job. He wants you to call him back. (248) 541-5717.”

She was all excited, anticipating a new position. I could hardly keep from laughing in her face.

 

If you dial that number, you will hear the other person say, “Hello. Detroit Zoo.”

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“May I please speak with Mr. Lyon?”

You will hear the person on the other end say, “Excuse me?”

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hahahahahahaha – I’m still laughing.

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Gotcha!!

“Very Inspiring Blogger Award” (cue applause track)

Posted on by Lori Crane

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How awesome to be nominated for the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award!”

 

Thank you to my nominator and fellow author Anna Belfrage. Visit her page for the most amazing insights and prose.

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Display the logo on your blog.

2. Link back to the person who nominated you.

3. State 7 things about yourself.

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

5. Notify your nominees.

Well, then, let’s get busy.

Seven things about moi…

1. I have a host of animals and always room for one more. Just don’t mention any of this to my trophy hubby. He starts trembling and mumbling incoherently. My current menagerie all have “people names,” except for Meatball. Meatball is a brown and white female guinea pig, so-named because of the way she curls up like a little meatball. Also, I’m not the one who named her. She appeared on Christmas morning as a gift/friend for my other piggy, Cee Cee.

2. I want goats. Not just any goats. I want one of those goats that bleats like a person yelling. I’ll call him Billy. I also want one of those goats that faints when you sneak up on him. I’ll call him Wilson. Every time Billy yells, Wilson will drop. You just have to enjoy the little moments.

3. There are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. I write. I sing. I cook. I love games and friends and critters.

4. I want to buy ten acres and plant a HUGE veggie garden, so I can stop going to the grocery store.

5. I have panic attacks when I enter grocery stores. Too much visual stimulation, I guess. My stomach gets queasy just thinking about it.

6. I am a professional musician by night, but I hate noise. I am most happy walking in the woods or playing in the creek with the pups.

7. I am aging well, which has nothing to do with my physical features. Turning thirty was traumatic. I totally ignored forty. Fifty is not bothering me a bit. I am getting more comfortable in my own skin as I age. That’s good, right?

My Nominees (in no particular order)

1. Ashley Jillian has one of the sharpest wits on the web today.

2. Wendy’s “Our Lineage”  – bringing genealogical to life. I can’t get enough!

3. Donna’s “Always Backroads” – filled with magical moments…and photographs.

4. Will’s “What If It All Means Something”  – the adventures of an up-and-coming writer.

5. Deborah the “Genealogy Lady” has an amazing cast of characters on her WWII blog.

6. K. J. Wolf  – blogs without any sort of filter which translates into laugh-out-loud hilarity.

7. The Worlds Top 10 of Anything and Everything is just plain amusing.

8. Author Pat Fitzhugh’s blog is filled with ghost stories and southern charm.

9. Author Sandi Layne writes of history, books, history, books, and more history and book.

10. Playful Meanderings is a pleasure to read!

11. I love the Belle Grove Plantation and will visit someday.

12. Elena Levon – beautiful, simple, deep.

13. Egle Pruckute – bits and pieces.

14. Amazing photos at Kalabalu’s site.

15. Author Dianne Gray from Australia.

Long Time, No See

Posted on by Lori Crane

Wow! It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been here. I miss this place. I wish I could come here and write every day, but I seem to have had a writer’s block…or a crappy Winter…or a little bit of both.

Life has been busy. I quit my day job (YIPPEE) and went back to playing full time. What a blast! Making lots of money and having a great time doing it. I’m also helping my hubby build a new web site. The admin aspect is right up my alley, and I’m really excited about it.

The boy is away at school. The girl got her own apartment and moved out. Guess it’s just hubby and the dogs. We only have two now. We had to put our Golden down in October. That sucked. I still miss him deeply.

I’ll come up with some interesting stories to write about soon, because I know this entry is a big-time snoozer.

So, RIP Sunny – We love you.

09/22/97 – 10/23/09

Hot Hot Hot – reminds me of a song

Posted on by Lori Crane

Dang! It’s just too hot.

For the last few days, it’s been in the 90s with high humidity. It feels more like Southern Mississippi than Southern Michigan. I think I’m wilting. I don’t need to worry about losing weight, I’m just going to melt away.

Ignoring the heat, I went power-walking at the park this morning. I saw 4 baby swans. What do you call those? Cignets or something?

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Anyway….It’s just too hot. I need a fan boy or something.

Gimpy Patootie

Posted on by Lori Crane

Patootie had pre-op blood work done on Friday. He’s getting his little you-know-whats cut off tomorrow, and the vet wanted to check all his stuff before the surgery. I’m sorry for sounding like a blonde here, but I don’t know what “stuff” is, so we’ll just leave it at that. All I know is the receptionist told me it was $44 for pre-op blood work, and I walked out of there $115 lighter. WTH? Turns out we needed heartworm pills, heartworm test and stool sample. I didn’t know to bring a baggie of poop in. I’m not sure how they got a sample, and I don’t want to know.

Anyway, he came home with a little bandaid on his leg. Poor little guy. He’s hamming it up beyond belief. A few hours after coming home, he started limping. Maybe they had to poke around a bit to find the vein in his leg. He’s so fuzzy, I’m surprised they found one at all. His little leg must be bothering him now, because he’s been gimpy for 2 days.

Poor little gimpy!

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I’ll take a picture tomorrow when he gets his “cone of shame”. That’s always good for a laugh.