Hark! What dog is this?

As you can see..Either Buster has morphed, we got a new dog, or could it be?... It's Max! Max the dachsund is my sister's dog. Believe me, he doesn't belong to the family, he's not the son's dog, he is my sister's all the way. He tolerates all others only because my sister tells him it's ok. He is in all ways her defender and guardian. She is his first and foremost. This morning he got up early (4:15 to be exact) to let her know that someone was coming in the house. That would be Adam who was coming home from his prom. I, unfortunately, thought it was time to get up for our walk. (that was scheduled for 5 am) It wasn't til I was putting on my socks that I realized there was something wrong. Maaaaax. Honestly. Oh well, he is useful in some ways: He keeps the rabbit/rodent population down in the back yard. Defends from mailmen and other such things. He generally owns the place. Along with his owner, of course. That would be Joan. Not so useful in others: he eats anything placed on tables or lower. I see the garbage in the bathroom is up high so he must investigate that stuff too. Dogs.
So in case you didn't guess it, I am in Chicago for a few days. It's party time here. Max will join the fun, too.

Purplicious!

As you can see the iris's are blooming and they are beautiful. Who could have imagined so many different shades of purple?! Of course these aren't my iris (and a purpl columbine in there to boot) but I enjoy them thoroughly. These belong to my neighbor Vi. They are wonderful. I enjoy doing pictures of them too because they are such willing subjects. She has some yellow ones as well, but i was intrigued by all the purplicious colors. You enjoy too! Stop by the garden soon, before these showy flowers are finished. They even smell wonderful!

June Word:

Sunday I was struck when a teen prayed during the service and used some big words. I wrote one down: 'immersed' ,thinking that it was a great term. Pretty good for just a kid to be using it. I thought as she prayed that I need to have some immersion myself. Then pastor actually used it during his sermon too, and I knew ... My June word. Immerse: "To engage wholly or deeply" "to plunge into something that surrounds or covers".

How can i immerse myself more in what the Lord is doing around me? I walk through my days and sometimes forget totally all my intentions of loving on someone who needs it, or checking my attitudes against God's love for me. Stephen Curtis Chapman song talks about exactly what I'm thinking o here: Diving In-

I’m diving in, I’m going deep in over my head,

I want to be Caught in the rush,

lost in the flow,

in over my head,

I want to go

The river’s deep,

the river’s wide,

the river’s water is alive

So sink or swim, I’m diving in

And then this in the verse: But we will never know the awesome power Of the grace of God Until we let ourselves get swept away Into this holy flood ... That's the kind of immersion I'm talking about. The kind that covers me completely and fills me fully and spills out to everyone around me. And it's action! Let's Go!

Immersion: pour over me the Word. Pour in me the Spirit. Flow out of me all His mercy love and grace.

Spring time ritual

So a highlight of warm weather is always going to Bob's. Bob's is "the home of the Bob Dog". This drive in has been listed in Gourmet Magazine as one of the midwest's top places to get hot dogs and taverns. They neglected to mention their shakes and as far as I'm concerned that ranks right up there too. Tonight I tried their strawberry malt just to vary a bit from my usual peanut butter shake. Very good. It had whole chunks of strawberries. mmmmm! Their cheese balls and fries aren't all that great, but with a hot dog or tavern they usually go down pretty good. And in honor of the very lovely weather we finally had today, we even sat outside!

Buster's Story

It's nap time, right?

I always ride in the front! Home, James

Handsome stud-muffin!

Better let me in, it's cold out here!


My kids have always complained that I 'treat Buster better than I ever did any of them." to which I respond that 'I don't have to raise him to be a responsible adult'. Consequently, of course, we have a very spoiled dog. He isn't polite to company, he sleeps where he wants, makes a nuisance out of himself when he wants something, and always looks so forlorn when we leave him for extended amounts of time. Ron reminds me often that "He's a dog!" His life is easy and no doubt more comfortable, unfortunately, than many people in third world countries experience. I am filled with guilt. (sort of)
Buster started off with a Boston Terrier breeder who also had his two sisters. Since the breeder wanted more puppies he couldn't use Buster with his sisters. After a year of not being sold, Buster was listed on the internet at a very cut rate price. In December, Ron went hunting near Buster's home and I made him go check this cheap Boston terrier out. I didn't want a dog with something wrong with it, but as it turned out, he was just not a puppy anymore. We got him for an even lower price than we were asking and Buster happily rode away with Ron to come live with us. I was thrilled. He adapted so quickly it wasn't hard to spoil him. Ron calls him 'that dumb mutt' (and other such terms of endearment) I'm a little more, well, sweet with my endearments. We've had him for 9 years and i can't remember what it was like not to have a dog warm your legs when your napping. Or sit adoringly at your feet while you eat supper. Or what it was like without my own personal leg licker! He's a ball chaser, fetch player, bird chaser, walk loving, beggar. Buster unabashadedly loves people and expects the same from everyone. (though he is a bit confused by those people who insist he do what they say...one weimeraner owner comes to mind) We have had many dogs in our life time, and this is the first one who has been such a big part of the household. I'll keep him around as long as I can.

Summer Ride

This post isn't about a slide, but about a ride: the summer ride. It's always a short, fast ,and hot one. Except that this year we're starting out cold. But already it promises to kill me! I'm talking about summer at the library, of course. We are usually so busy we barely have time to breathe. I always wonder why kids sit at the computer playing games all day long instead of heading outside and enjoying a good book and the sunshine. Or at least enjoying the outdoors with some sort of imaginary...something. Today, naturally, the last day of school, and 49 degrees and cloudy outside well, I got their logic. We were crazy busy though. We haven't even started any of the programming yet. That will bring a new dimension to everything! I don't think i've spent too much time talking about work, and I promise not to use this spot as a place for that. I also don't want to wish my summer away. I want to, well if not exactly enjoy the busy ness of it all, at least be able to go with the flow of it all. My goal is to read books that I really should have read long ago, but never had to get to. Above all, relax in the moment of it.

We did get a few pictures:

They love their food! Snack time was an important part of the schedule.

Looks like he's eating a brownie, but it's a blue Tortilla chip. Food is a favorite with this boy.

He did fair on the pedalling thing but the steering part put him in the grass every time.

"It's ok Phin, you'll get a turn after me."

He really was having fun. Here's what happened when I stopped running up and down the sidewalk with him: