Tying up Loose Ends....Updates

1. Me and Miss Daisy are no longer travelling the country!!!  Hubby had an opportunity drop out of the sky just before we left Amarillo, TX.  He interviewed for a recently opened position he had here before going on the storm team five years ago and got it!  Definitely a God thing......  Me and Miss Daisy will shift our focus to therapy opportunities; however, I do know of three upcoming road trips.  Stay tuned.  (All Around Amarillo)
2. Mema fell and broke her leg in September, so Me and Miss Daisy remain available to visit and go to her after she completes Rehab.  We have been to Middle TN  four days so far.  (Me and Miss Daisy are Burning the Roads) 
3. Daisy's furry pen pal, Jazzy (from SC), is going to our beach place soon.  She has a Halloween birthday.  (Me and Miss Daisy's Animal Friends)  
4. It is getting colder here in the Atlanta area this weekend.  Our lemons and limes are not ripe, so they will be coming indoors this weekend.  The lemons have a tinge of yellow to them, and the lime bush is blooming again but still has immature fruit.  (Lemons, Limes, and Pansies)
5. There is a chrysalis in our dry aquarium plus a remaining caterpillar yet to "turn."  Oh, and they  are not Monarchs.  They are Eastern Black Swallowtails based on the fact that they were found eating the leaves of a parsley plant.  Monarchs eat milkweed.  (Linda)
6. Our friends, Collette and Bluebell, were deployed back to Amarillo last week.  Collette, say hello to everyone at the Residence Inn for us!  (Me and Miss Daisy's Animal Friends)
7. Our trainer at PetSmart has been absent the last two Wednesday's due to health problems, so Me and Miss Daisy continue to practice our assignments on separating from each other.  (Daisy Goes to School)
8. The Sisterchicks had supper together last night at a new Peachtree City restaurant called "Due South."  Blackened BBQ Shrimp & Grits, Loaded Grilled Half-Pound Angus Burger with Tobacco Onion Rings (named for their color), Southern Fried Chicken Tenderloins, Warm Chicken & Strawberry Salad with Candied Pecans, Brunswick Stew, and ONE piece of Dirty Cheese Cake (oreos) to split made for an interesting variety of dishes to sample.  (Sisterchicks Weekend, 2013)

   

   One  more Halloween pic (Daisy Dresses Up for Halloween)

     

Daisy Dresses Up for Halloween

Me and Miss Daisy have been playing dress up recently.   She likes to "help" put on her clothes by lowering her head for me to slip the neck of her outfit over her head, and lifting each paw for the sleeves.  She knows what's up....treats or a car ride to see Mema in TN.

Touched by an angel

Jazzy sent this cute bandanna

Snow White, her favorite

Are you scared?

Happy Halloween!

Me & Miss Daisy are Burning the Roads

Me and Miss Daisy have been to the beach and to TN since arriving home from Amarillo in early September.  Our friend Susan accompanied us to Myrtle Beach, SC,  for a few days of relaxation and to prepare our rental for upcoming guests this month and next.

Susan and Amy At Sea Captain's House Restaurant for Brunch

Daisy at the beach

 Ocean Lakes is our next favorite place to home.

Our "home away from home," "The Surf Shack"

Daisy sleeps under the stars

Daisy's Mema (my mom) broke her leg while entertaining family and friends from TX.  She tripped over some tree roots when they visited Old Stone Fort in Manchester, TN.  Me and Miss Daisy arrived home from Myrtle Beach and headed  for Middle TN where Mema is in rehab.  Hurry and get well, Mema!

Daisy and Mema

Daisy gives kisses

Daisy Goes to School

Me and Miss Daisy began classes at Petsmart when she was four months old.  She was a good student and passed 18 classes.  (There was a NY storm deployment in between the 2nd and 3rd set of classes.)  Daisy received "Longest Down" and "Cutest Trick" recognition along the way.  HOWEVER, she has trouble with  separation anxiety.  This prevents her from obtaining her AKC Canine Good Citizen paperwork, a stepping stone to becoming a recognized therapy dog.

Daisy with her instructor, Megan

Me and Miss Daisy recently had an assessment of her abilities for the test.  Daisy should be able to sit, stay, lie down, and heel on command.  She should accept friendly strangers, allow herself to be handled by the evaluator, come when called, walk through crowds, show little attention to other dogs in passing and sit politely for petting.  She did well except for "you know what."

We have had some private tutoring on Wednesdays.  Our assignments have been for me to put her on her back for increasing amounts of time for calming and in order for her to know me as pack leader, practice leaving her with a trusted friend for the three minutes, going out of her sight and returning when she stops barking, ignoring her when I first return from shopping or errands (instead of getting her too excited upon returning), and making her wait before going in or out of a door--again, calming her and getting her confidence up.

Chris placing Daisy on her back

Today is another Wednesday.  Time for her to show her progress.  She visited a nursing home this week, and a co-worker of Hubby's and a neighbor helped out by holding her while I left her for three minutes.  She sure has been clingy though this week.......

Daisy and a local assisted living center's residents

 

Linda

Me and Miss Daisy have a North Carolina friend named Linda.  Well, Hubby likes her too because she loves to fish!  We met  her  a few years ago when she was fishing in the surf one evening in her high waders.  She and her husband are fellow Ocean Lakes (SC) homeowners.

Linda

Nicholas Sparks & Linda in Charlotte, NC, at the book signing of The Longest Ride

Linda substitute teaches and likes to raise Monarch butterflies in the fall each year.  Under her instruction, Me and Miss Daisy and Hubby went looking for milkweed on our property that Hubby had yet to clear with his bush hog.  No milkweed, but we did discover a white hornet's nest built a few inches off of the ground.   Linda potentially saved us from a terrible accident with the hornets and the mower.  Mom says a bad winter is coming.

Hornet's Nest

I asked a garden shop employee about milkweed sources when Me and Miss Daisy visited Millpond Gardens this week.    My Sisterchick girlfriends had given me a gift certificate.  We learned that Monarch larva also like parsley and fennel to eat, so I purchased a little pot of parsley with one worm on it.   Maybe there will be other eggs on the parsley leaves.

Daisy is hot

Parsley and one caterpillar

Linda is an avid baker, gardener, and crochet-er.  I learned how to do dish/bath cloths from her, and I enjoy crocheting them while I watch tv or travel in the passenger seat.  I give these to the housekeepers in the Residence Inns.

Dish/Bath cloths

Lemons, Limes, & Pansies

Me and Miss Daisy were surprised to see our lemon and lime bushes producing fruit when we arrived home from our summer in Amarillo.  Atlanta had an unusually rainy and humid summer, and the pots were left on the back porch to survive on their own.  Who says you have to have a green thumb to be a successful gardener!  They are facing North!   Both bushes came from a nursery in Ty Ty, GA, a couple of years ago.  I hope they mature before cold weather comes.  Hubby likes lemon in his sweet tea.

Myers Lemons

Limes

 Me and Miss Daisy planted pansies in pots by our side house entrance and in the front windowboxes.  You get the most bang for your buck with this flower in the Georgia landscape.  They do best if planted by Oct. 15 (for root establishment), and will bloom through fall, winter, and spring until it gets too hot. 

Daisy in her garden frock

Pansies

Brookgreen Gardens...Sept., 2013, Sisterchick Weekend

Me and Miss Daisy's Animal Friends

Me and Miss Daisy have been enjoying our walks along our road.  We live at the end of a dirt road about a mile long.  Rain lives at the other end.

Daisy in her Georgia peach raincoat

Rain

Here is our favorite neighbor and resident walker/jogger, Kathy.  She retrieves our mail when we are away and keeps check on the house.  We solve the world's problems when we walk the road together.  Her two inside buddies are Maka, an American Bull Dog with beautiful blue eyes, and Akira, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a gentle spirit.

Maka, Kathy, & Akira

 This is Bluebell, an Australian Shepherd.  She belongs to Collette from Austin, TX.  She and Gina were storm reps in Amarillo  where we all spent the summer at the Residence Inn (hailstorm).  We sometimes ate our supper together at the Inn.  Bluebell and Collette are EARLY risers...4 a.m. so Bluebell can get in her exercise.  Daisy used to wake up before daylight and bark loudly, so I would take her out.  I thought our room was too close to the front desk, and she heard noises that we couldn't hear (or smelled smells that we couldn't smell).  Much later on, this came up in conversation with Collette.  Collette smiled and shared that as Bluebell passed our door on her way out for exercise each morning, she would shake her collar so that it would jingle.  She knew Daisy was in our room.  Those smarty canines.  Collette began giving her the frisbee to hold in her mouth to keep her quiet when they passed our room.  We moved a floor up (to bigger quarters and  to get away from what we thought were the front desk noises!).

Collette, Bluebell, & Gina

Last, but not least, is Jazzy, Daisy's email pen pal and sister Maltese. (Not real sisters.)  They came from the same breeder in Charleston, SC.  Jazzy's birthday is October 31st.  Isn't she cute?  We envy her top knot.  She lives in SC.

 

Driving the golf cart in Ocean Lakes, Myrtle Beach, SC

Bath Time for Daisy

Miss Daisy gets a bath once a week.  While it's not her most favorite thing to do, she is pretty cooperative.  She lifts each paw for me to work in the shampoo and is patient while I clean her eyes.

Bath Products and Li'l Paws Comb

After her bath I spray her with a leave-in conditioner (yummy coconut), put her terry cloth robe on (Lulu's, Pawley's Island, SC), and she scampers about.  In the winter time I use a blow dryer...careful to avoid her face and ears.  She will cover her face with her paw to keep the air away.  When she's almost dry, I comb her out and put a bow in her hair and an outfit on if we are going on an errand or to visit a friend.  On a daily basis, her coat gets sprayed with conditioner, combed out, and the inside corners of her eyes wiped out with a contact lens solution (helps with tear stains).

Bathrobe

Nice and clean!

Sisterchicks Weekend, 2013

Me and Miss Daisy's (and hubby's) favorite vacation destination is Myrtle Beach, SC.  Actually, it's Surfside, just South of Myrtle Beach.  Daisy did not go on this most recent trip, but her July 4, 2013, trip earned her second place in the "Cutest" division of the pet costume contest at Ocean Lakes.  Out of 20+ entries, she was beat out by a pig... of all things.

Jerri, Lynn, Terry, Amy

 My three closest friends (formerly all church friends and library volunteers) just returned from an extra long weekend for the fourth year in a row.  We sometimes refer to ourselves as the Library Sisterchicks based on the book series by Robin Jones Gunn, a Christian fiction author.  We are young grandmothers who pray together, celebrate our families and little ones, and play, shop, and relax together every September.

Hudson's Surfside Flea Market

Legend's Concert, Blues Brothers

"All Fired Up," Pawley's Island

Terry & Elvis

Daisy performs at Pet Parade, July 4, Ocean Lakes