Little bits and pieces

This photo was taken on 1-26-09. Its a special day for myself and Mark, as it's the day he asked me to marry him. To me this day is almost as special as our wedding day. The flower was so pretty against the dreary outside and brightened our home immensely.

I snapped this photo during the last snowstorm. I was trying to be creative (key word-trying!) and came up with this. This flower was so striking in the anniversary bouquet. So by taking this photo I can treasure that flower as well. Mark chose the bouquet as he thought the colors would remind us of the Caribbean where we married.

On Saturday we had the pleasure of not one but two bluebirds. I was very fortunate to take this shot of them as usually one sits on the feeder with the suet basket and the other perches upon the telephone wires. In this photo below the bluebird had company.This shot seems to say "hurry up woodpecker, I was here first" as the bluebird ruffles its feathers! Sunday was a perfect day, at least for winter. The temps were close to 50 degrees. It gave me some hope that spring would come, sometime! Buddy and I went snowshoeing, and it felt like spring.uI searched out this birds nest Mark and I found a couple of weeks ago while snowshoeing on the marsh. I peeked into it, so nice and neatly made. It fascinates me to see how such a little bird can construct such a sturdy home. It must be a long project. The nest is filled with dead pine needles neatly arranged. It has hung on through high winds, rain and lots of snow so far. These "snow balls" caught my eye out on the marsh. They probably are chunks of ice that have been tossed around by the tide's coming and going.
Buddy likes to nibble on bits of ice while we are out on the marsh. He is fascinated by the sheets of ice in the brook as they shift and move about. He barks and jumps at them for whatever reason a dog has.Here is my big purchase of the week. Its called a Yarn-tainer. I got it from http://joann.com/ my new favorite knitting supplier. I usually just throw the yarn I am working with on the floor beside where I sit and by the time I am done with my project it has picked up dog hair and whatever else lurks on the floor. This sounded perfect. When I did receive it I thought, hmmm, I probably could have made one myself from an old water bottle or empty rolled oats container. Well I am thrilled with my yarn-tainer anyways.

Day 6 or Is there an end in sight???

Last night Ashton decided she needed a change of scenery and hobbled out to the living room to sit with her dear old mom who was knitting. She is painting one of those paint-by-number pictures. It brought back memories of when I was younger and loved those kits, sure every picture I carefully painted was as close to a Monet or Van Gogh as one could get! Ashton picked up a kit before surgery so she would have something to do besides watch t.v. and talk on the phone. We had a nice evening, what she and I call a "mommy and me" moment. BuddyTheElf VERY nicely allowed Ashton to sit in his chair. Its a recliner so Ashton could keep her foot up. I must tell you that this really IS Buddy's chair, he adopted it when we got him, and I admit I was NEVER going to allow a dog on the furniture. He has all of his blankets in it and there he sits, all day long, day in and day out, providing us with the best security one could want! He has a view of the highway, the driveway and keeps a close watch on all who enter. He particularly gets stressed out when the UPS truck goes down the road, he does not have to even see the truck but must recognize its "sound". My aunt supplied me with that theory and it must be so as he gets all anxious before the truck comes into view. He also does not like the Fed-Ex truck. I would think he would try to be more understanding as these trucks brings his packages from Planet Dog and 1-800-Pet-Meds!

Now, for another "mommy and me" moment, one that ended in a disaster.

Ashton just had to have a shower today, even though initially the doctor said no until he sees her on the 11th, then he said o.k. with a plastic bag on said foot. Well goodness, after 6 days (she has had sponge baths and a shampoo, just to let you know she's not that desperate)THAT SHOWER HAD TO BE RIGHT NOW!! Right now was on my 1/2 hour lunch break from work. Now, it takes 10 minutes to get here and 10 minutes to get back to work and that leaves 10 minutes to do all this. I should have known better...We thought we had it all under control until Ashton yelled that THE FOOT was wet. Needless to say the end was near....After calling the doctor and being instructed in how to take care of the problem (I will spare you all the details, etc., etc.)I made it back to work. My 1/2 hour was a 70 minute 1/2 hour! But, she was happy and THERE IS NO WAY she is having another shower until she sees the doctor next Wednesday-MY ORDERS! During this time I also got her lunch, took the dog out and made myself another cup of coffee. The shower was really, really needed because her cousins were coming to visit her after school according to Ashton. Well, these photos sure look like they all had a good time and that Ashton was sparkling clean! So all in all I guess having a long over-due shower and having your great cousins come to visit and bring your homework to you was a good day-for Ashton. Thanks Robyn and Tiz for coming to visit and making Ashy laugh!

Day 5...

Yesterday the Princess was delighted to receive the biggest get well card ever from her fellow workers and some of the patients at the Village. It was a bright spot in her day. BuddyTheElf not wanting to be outdone by the world's biggest get well card ever, settled down to visit with his "sister". He seems to know that he has to stay away from the foot with the cast on it. He is thrilled to even be allowed into the Princess' room-usually he is banned from her room-by her. Her room is usually so cluttered that he would get lost in it, perhaps never to be seen again. When allowed in, he seems to enjoy poking around various piles of clothes, empty food bowls and whatever else that may be slowly collecting dust. Tonight BuddyTheElf and Ashton enjoyed a treat together, ice cream, specifically Edy's Cherry Chocolate Chip for Ashton and a Frosty Paws for the Budster. This photo doesn't show that the injured foot is tucked behind her, she seems to be able to manuveur more today. And no pain meds during the day today...heading in the right direction! Mom played "beauty parlor" tonight and gave Ashton's tootsies a splash of color. Couldn't quite reach the last little piggy on the right foot but hey, a pedicure can make one feel a little better anytime! Buddy did NOT participate in this warm moment!