Saturday, March 27

The Puppy Shuffle

I was reading a blog of someone that owns Great Danes and he said that they are "leaners and blockers".  What I know after having Bronco for almost 8 weeks now is that that is no lie.  I have taken to learning what I call "The Puppy Shuffle."  It is the move you make when a dog is constantly in the way.  And, Bronco is Constantly. In. The. Way.  See this picture...

(Yes, I have monkeys on my jammies, don't judge.)  And here he is still...



This is where he is at all times.  Whether I am in the kitchen making dinner, doing the dishes, in the garage doing the laundry, trying to clean the bathroom, sitting on the sofa relaxing or in the garden tending to the vegetables.  There he is.  Although I do love the constant attention and undying devotion, it makes getting anywhere rather difficult.  Bronco is attached to your knee and so the only way to move is to bump him with your knee, and continue to shuffle your feet forward.  Careful to avoid stepping on any dog toes, and at the same time, keeping the momentum slow enough that I don't trip over the dog and end up on my face.

The Puppy Shuffle is not a graceful dance by any means.  It is simply a clumsy, tripping, stumbling sort of traipse.  The only method I now have of getting from one place to another.

Wednesday, March 24

Spring

The first sign of spring for me isn’t the weather man telling me so, or even a date on the calender.  It’s when you walk outside and see the first little white buds on the orange and grapefruit trees in my backyard.  

White dots are followed closely with the faintest aroma of orange blossom.  You can just barely sense it in the early morning and late in the evening.  And then as they bloom, the smell takes over everything.  The smell is just of pure heaven for me, even when it is so strong that my nose fights the urge to sneeze at the same time as it inhales all the beauty of spring.


I tend for the trees like my children, I guess because they are like my children, I have to clean up after them!   But they take care of me in turn when they give me a bountiful harvest of oranges and grapefruits every winter.  

I have tried talking my husband into chopping these trees down every year and every year he fights and wins because they do provide shade from the hot afternoon soon by the pool.  Probably the only reason why I don’t push harder for a treeless backyard is because I know that every March I will be treated to beautiful blossoms and the heavenly scent of orange blossom.

Monday, March 15

Out of the Closet

I am coming out of the closet and confessing.  I have an addiction.  To shoes.  It started many, many years ago and I blame my Grandma Betty.  Her closet was filled with shoes!  Fancy high heel shoes.  Gold ones and silver ones and cloggy ones and strappy ones, but mostly just lots and lots of shoes.  And when I would go to visit, she would let me sit in her closet for hours and take all her shoes out of their boxes and clomp around the house in any of the shoes I wanted.  I even went outside and walked up and down the driveway, clickety-clicking all the way.  And so, it is her fault that I have such an attraction to shoes.  And now I am going to introduce you to my favorites.
These are my work shoes.  I have to have comfortable tennis shoes to work out on the floor all day.  The white ones in the back are MBT's.  The ones that are supposed to give you a workout and make your legs all sexy like.  Well, that was a nice thought but didn't work quite like that.  The red ones in the back are actually from the kids department at Dillard's.  They were so cute and Amy didn't want a pair.  Luckily, I still have feet the size of a hobbit and so I can still wear kids shoes!  Not complaining!
These are my Doc Martin's.  I wear these when I am feeling especially clunky and the red plaid ones I wear when I want to get my lumberjack on.
Yes, I do own those ugly Crocs, and no I don't care what people think about them.  I also own more than my fair share of flip flops.  When I was a kid, I refused to wear any kind of open toed shoes because I hated my stubby little toes.  Then, I grew up and honestly, you can't live in the desert and not wear flip flops.  The Tevas are my "I'm going on a river trip" shoes, even though I will never be going on any kind of river trip, not with these pedicured toes.
My knock-off UGGS.  I only wear in the winter.  They keep my toes super warm and it is like walking around in a fuzzy cloud all day.  Now, Abby has started wearing them when it is cold too.  She's no dummy.
My "time to get dressed up" shoes.  Doesn't happen very often.  The black Born's in the front are my new favorites.  I wear them with boot cut jeans and funky socks.  Somehow that just makes me smile all day!
My artsy hand made, hand painted leather shoes.  My mom bought them for me at the Flagstaff Festival in the Pines.  So funky and fun.


This is just a small sampling.  There are plenty of others scattered around the house.  A pair of flip flops hiding under the bed.  Old tennies in the garage for working in the garden.  Boots for the long awaited trip to snow.  Slippers that have had their fair share of outings to drop kids off at school early in the morning.  (Don't judge, you know you have gone to the grocery store at least once in your slippers, too!)


You are probably wondering where all the strappy, gold and silver high heels are.  Oh,  how I wish I could have some of those.  I see all the pretty heels.  So sexy and fun like Carrie from Sex and the City.  Unfortunately, mama's feet don't do uncomfortable.  So, I stick with my funky flats and tennis shoes.  


There it is, for all the world to see.  My skeleton is out of its closet.