Tried to get this on-line twice this morning and was disconnected before it made it.

Basil is a 2 year old basset and he is a French basset.  The French like frog legs and Basil likes to play with frogs.  He finds them somewhere on our property and picks them up and relocates them.  He then puts them down and either sits down next to them or lies down next to them and when they jump, he does the same thing all over again---picking them up, carrying them to another location and putting them down, putting his nose on them until they hop.  We have managed to relocate over 10 frogs this season and our neighbors do not seem to mind having us dump the frogs in their pond.  Basil does not harm the frogs, he just seems to enjoy playing with them.

Basil is a real character when we take him in the car.  He likes to have the windows rolled down halfway (what dog does not!?).  He usually bellows as we are driving to a small town just down the road from us.  He has a basset friend, Cleo, who looks forward to seeing him when he goes for a walk on her block.  We have been wondering what the people in the housing development that we drive by are thinking as Basil bellows out the car window.  "What was that noise?  Who has a dog or other animal that makes that kind of noise?"  All of the houses are surrounded by block walls and the noise just reverbrates through the yards.  Basil has not taken to howling in the car yet---we are waiting for that one.

Basil has been a part of our lives for over 14 months now and he is a real joy, so affectionate and loving.  He really enjoys to be held and everyone in the neighborhood knows where he lives and most of them have been by for a visit.  He still does bark and bellow at the horseriders that come by.  He can't quite figure what kind of dog a horse is!  And someone down the street has a cow and a braying donkey that both let loose on a regular basis.  So with the hound dog, the mooing cow and the braying donkey (and the honking geese periodically), it gets to be quite the country.

Have a great weekend and will touch bases next week.

"Let the glory of the LORD endure forever..." Psalm 104:31 NASB

Took our dog to the groomer on Monday.  He had been to the groomer once since we adopted him and that was just to have his nails clipped.  Since our dog is a rescue dog and also he was abused before we adopted him, we were not sure how he would act at the groomer's. Our groomer really likes Basil and he took to her right away, too.  Visit went just great and he was squeaky clean when I picked him up.

 If you have not encountered a Basset Hound, you have missed one of the joys in this world.  Our dog is a Basset and not just a typical Basset either.  Most Basset Hounds are loose-skinned, short-legged, long-eared, heavy-jowled and drool.  They also have a wonderful melodic bark/howl (except at 3 in the morning and no dog has a wonderful melodic bark/howl).  Our Basset is more on the French side of the breed.  He has longer legs and his forelegs are crooked (really more on the knock-kneed look), he has a longer, narrower snout (he does not drool), his ears are shorter (average length of a Basset's is 12 inches), and his skin is not as loose.  He is lighter in weight (average weight of an English Basset is 85 pounds for an altered male) and he has spots all over his body; he even has spots in the roof of his mouth and along the lower gum line.  He is very active and loves to play tug-of-war and keep away.  Some of his play toys consist of torn and knotted t-shirts; when he tore up most of his toys as a puppy, we made the mistake of giving him an old t-shirt---he loved it and now when he needs another toy, I take one of my husband's old shirts and tear it into strips, tie lots of knots in them and give them to our dog.  Another thing he likes to play with is an old, empty bird seed bag.  It makes a wonderful noise when Basil shakes it and he looks so funny running around with it in his mouth, shaking it and trying to keep it away from us.  The bag is bigger than he is and when he runs with it in his mouth, the wind catches it and blows it over his eyes and he cannot see where he is going.

Well, I need to close this as Basil is bellowing at something and I need to check on what it is.  Next time I will tell you all about the frogs and Basil.

Have a great day!

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

On August 31, I went into a store that sells computers, appliances, cell phones, CD's, DVD's, televisions, sound systems, etc.  In the past, I have been in this store for one thing or another and on the 31st, I was in the market for several sets of DVD's.  Since my husband and I gave up TV ten years ago, we watch only DVD's and Videos. When I went into the store, it was relatively quiet.  While looking at some DVD's and just about had my mind made up when I was blasted in the ears by a very loud noise from the stereo/cd section of the store.  Two of the employees were trying out a new sound system and everybody in the store knew about it.  I immediately dropped the DVD's I was going to purchase and almost ran out of the store.  On my way out, the greeter/information person thanked me for shopping in the store and to come back real soon.  I informed him (by yelling at him because he could not hear me over the noise from the stereo department) that I would not be back because it was too loud in the store.  I have complained to the store manager several times regarding the high level of noise in the store and it seems my complaints are falling on deaf ears (no pun intended).  This time I went home and checked out the company on the internet and found out where the home office/corporate headquarters was located and the head of the corporation; a hand written letter went off in the mail the next day. 

A store has the right to sell their product and sometimes they do it by loud music.  A store does not have the right to cause a perspective customer to loose their hearing or have it diminished just for the sake of making a sale.  When a customer and/or a sales person has to raise their voice to be heard over the sound system, the sound system is turned up too loud.  When the cashier complains about headaches or stress, it just may be the sound system is turned up too loud.  I have started carrying earplugs with me and I do use them when I go into stores because of the loudness of the sound systems. 

How many of you can still hear a pin drop? (And I do not mean a bowling pin either!)My mother lost most of hearing as a child at the age of 6 when she had scarlet fever.  She got hearing aids when she was in her late 50's but she had a very difficult time adjusting to them.  Hearing aids do not replace the wonderful hearing you were born with.  My mother told me that she could not filter out the things she did not want to hear and had a hard time separating sounds.  She never heard a cricket rub it's legs together, a bee buzzing, a frog croaking, a bird singing or rain falling softly on the grass.  These are things that I have the joy of still being able to hear because I have tried to take care of my hearing through the years.  Take care of your hearing and enjoy the things you can hear. 

"To everything there is a season,  A time for every purpose under heaven:..."  Ecclesiastes 3:1  

Here's Monday again!  Hopefully it will not be as hot today.  The weekend was not only hot but humid as well. 

Quick question---how many of you read everything you sign?  How many of you not only read everything you sign but also understand it?  Reading about the housing/mortgage credit situation that has been in the news recently, I was remembering back to the time that my husband and I signed the papers for our house and how we were told to "sign here and initial here" without given a chance to read anything.  A person would think that an important document that has so much information contained in it and can (and most likely is) so life-changing, you would be able to read it before you sign it.  So many people struggle with our language and English being a second language for so many of them, they do not have an opportunity to not only read the documents but also understand them.

When you are told to sign on the dotted line (which is really a solid line) and initial in a box or on a line, read it before you sign and/or initial it.  If the person does not allow you to read a document and/or explain any questions you may have regarding the document, do not sign it---get up and leave the place and take your business elsewhere.  The person will either do one of two things---they will either let you walk out the door or they will call you back and allow you to read the document and answer your questions regarding the document. This advice pertains to not only mortgages but car loans, insurance policies, anything that is an important document---read it first and understand it before you sign it.   Remember, you are the one who is in control of the situation because the person on the other side of the desk wants your business and your recommendation to your friends and family for future business.

Have a great week.

Saturday morning---sleeping in day (at least until 6 a.m.).  Monday through Friday, we get up at 4 a.m. so 6 a.m. is sleeping in for us.  We have had a weather change today; usually the mornings are sunny and warm, setting the stage for a hot and clear day.  Today it is overcast and misty---nice change.  The 'Guys' love it!!  Our two cats and dog think the cooler weather is just super;  they love to run through the house (the cats, that is) and chase each other.  If you get in their way, they will run into you and continue on with their chasing of each other.  Both the cats are 8 years old and have been inside cats since we brought them home at 8 weeks of age.  We were able to hold both of them at the same time in one hand, they were so small.  When they reached the age of 7 months, they both weighed in at 9 pounds, they were not going to be small cats when they reached their full growth.  One of them is a 18 pounder and his brother is a 17 pounder;  not small by any means.  However, they are not overweight because when they stand on their hind legs, they can put their front paws on the kitchen counter, which is 36 inches high!  We thought that when we adopted them from the shelter we were getting normal size cats but it seems that all the cats we adopt end up becoming large ones.  Our first cat was a 25 pounder and our second one was a 20 pounder; we did adopt a stray that weighed approximately 15 pounds but he was an older cat that the previous renters left when they moved (shame on them! they did not realize what a precious cat they left behind). 

I volunteer at the local animal shelter several times a week and the animals that are there for one reason or another are real sweet.  We have gotten our three dogs at the shelter and they have enriched our lives so much.  All three were abused, one way or another but with lots of love, patience and a good diet, they have become super companions.  First was our cocker spaniel that we enjoyed for over 11 years.  Our second was a soft-coated wheaton that suffered a stroke at the ripe old age of 16 1/2 years and we had to say good-by.  We now are the guardians of a basset and he is so different from our other two dogs.  He is a lot younger (the other two were over 4 when we adopted them), and since he is a scent hound, he is quite interesting to take on walks.  Of course, Basil does not walk, he runs!  We first had him on a collar but he slipped out of it once and so he now gets to have his harness put on before he leaves the yard.  He knows when an adventure is afoot when his harness comes out and he is always up for an adventure. 

If you are looking for a four-legged companion, check out your local animal shelter and give one (or maybe two) of these worthy animals a forever home --- they give unconditional love and all they want in return is the same. 

"The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it." Psalm 24:1