NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Blogged in 2011

YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
I am home again!
There is no place like home......there is no place like home. I feel like Dorothy out of the Wizard of Oz. Actually, I nearly was Dorothy! When I flew into Denver, Colorado at the start of my trip, I was wondering why we had to circle for an hour before landing. When we finally started our descent, the pilot was saying things like, 'we will be safe, the only threat to your safety is if you panic and leave your seat.' Which left me sitting there wondering " why would I be going to panic'. Turns out we were trying to avoid a tornado that was below us. Yes, my little plane could have been caught up in the whirlwind and transported to the Land of Oz. However after a rather bumpy descent we were on the ground .....and I didn't even cry or scream.
Well my plan had been to keep up my diary entries all the time while I was away, however thieves in Jackson, Mississippi spoilt that idea. While staying at a hotel we had a lot of our posessions stolen.....including my computer.
Katies computer and all of her clothes were stolen too......being a journalist this wasn't good!!
What made it worse was that it was an inside job. It was later proven that 3 housekeepers had entered our room between 4 - 10 pm, the time the things went missing. They were questioned by police but as yet no arrests have been made. Let me just say that my ability to exercise forgiveness towards the thieves has waivered over the persueing weeks.
The frustrating part is that my computer can't even be used because it fits an Australian power point and the thieves neglected to take the adapter. They also forgot to take the charger to my video camera, so I can't even pray 'Lord bless the person who is using it', cause they can't use them!
God did however bless me with protection, as I nearly had decided not to go to the stadium that night and would have been asleep in  the room when we were robbed. Praise God I wasn't.
See, there is alway a positive in any situation, no matter how bleak and cloudy it looks.

Noah the Wonder Dog.

Blogged in Sept 2011

One of the places I stayed while in the US was Denver, Colorado. My daughter, Katie, shares a apartment there with a lovely couple, Rachael and James. Katie being 24 years old also has a man in her life, his name is Noah. I must confess Noah is a little shorter than Katie and is quite hairy, oh, and did I mention he is black. Well, black and tan to be precise, yes the man in her life is a bitser wiener dog, otherwise known as a dachshund! However he sort of looks like a Doberman, with Shitzu ears and his legs cut off to 6 inches. Sounds ugly but he is rather cute. He is definetly one of those 'Wonder Dogs'.........
....... I 'Wonder' if she ever should have bought him. The fact that he was advertised on  'Craigs List' might explain a few things.
Now because Noah is short he suffers from 'small dog syndrome'. He truely believes that he is a German Shepherd and forgets he's only a foot tall. So every time the dog next door decides to let out a single bark, Constable Noah feels it's his duty to let him know how inappropriate that is. He demonstrates this by racing through the house, barrelling down the stairs, slamming through the doggy door and telling him in no less than 5 minutes of barking. Of course this triggers Katie into yelling like a fish wife at him and I was left to wonder which was worse for the neighbors?
Then of course there is Noah's collection under the Katie's bed. Nobody's sure what that consists of because we aren't game to go under there. However I can tell you that last week Katie retrieved no less than 6 undergarments from his stash....... she thought the washing machine had eaten them!
When out and about Noah has a 15ft lead so he can exercise, this is because he can't be trusted to come back! Mind you, watching Katie running around the neighborhood chasing him was entertaining.
Noah's latest wonder trick is his prefered place to travel while in the car. He started like most dogs on the floor of the passengers side, then decided the back seat was the go. Well he couldn't see so the console seemed a better option, this was followed by sitting on Katies lap! The other day I got a photo of his latest position .............on the dashboard!!! Surely that is not legal?
Every so often when Katie is away, Noah is doggy sat by Rob, Katies boss. However Noah always seems to return with an overdose of testostrone after spending too much time in the 'mancave'. Little fella thinks he's bulletproof and reeks of attitude. Speaking of testosterone, Katie got Noah a little operation recently to try and calm him down. That worked for a while, especially since he had the humiliation of wearing a nappy so he wouldn't chew his stitches.
Yes, there was more than a few occasions when I wondered whether the Wonder Dog was a good idea. However, of all the naughtiness I saw in this puppy's behaviour, I did see 3 'L's that overshadowed it.
Love, Loyalty and a Listening ear.
Noah provides these 3 needs that Katie lacks from not having her family nearby. Of course she knows that her heavenly Father provides these too, but when I see Noah and her cuddled up in bed, him snoring and her peacefully sleeping .......... well I don't have to wonder anymore.
Noah is truely a 'Wonder Dog'!
 

LETTER TO MRS PLOVER

Blogged in 2011

Dear Mrs Plover, I would like to ask you a question that has been playing on my mind over the last few days.
I have taken into consideration that Spring has arrived, romance is in the air and your maternal instincts have kicked in, BUT, why out of all the places in the beautiful rural and forest enriched area that we both live in, would you place your precious green spotted eggs ...... IN THE MIDDLE OF MY ROUND YARD!!!!🤪
Where is your sense of stranger danger and health and safety for your unborn infants? Did you not check out the antics that go on in that fenced area before you carelessly plonked your eggs there? Have you not heard the thundering hoofbeats with the occasional missed beat due a hissyfit buck? Have you not checked my timetable and worked out how often I use that area? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?🤨
And now you sit there, glaring at me .... and if I should dare to come too close, you abuse me, yelling that I must leave the very enclosure that belongs to me! JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?😠
Well consider this your eviction notice, I need my round yard. I don't enjoy working my horses on a 22ft line out in the middle of the arena and training is important at this time of the year with finals coming up....... I have a routine...
and you have interrupted it!
So I have decided to give you 48 hrs notice to take your eggs and leave..........ok maybe 72hrs ......... Sunday at the latest....... OH, just hurry up and hatch the fluffy lil" things. You are so lucky that you come under the description of God's creation and that the below scripture causes me to pause before taking action.
^{Genesis 1:20} And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
Clause 22, "let the birds increase on the earth", has my hands tied for the moment, but be warned that I am looking for a loophole!
Yours truely
NOT HAPPY JAN!😠
The OWNER of the property you are
squatting on!!!!!
PS.  Please don't leave before introducing me to your babies when they arrive.🙂

Don't Blink! 

Blogged in Feb 2012

Where does the time go! Sometimes I wonder whether I am slipping into a coma every so often and no one is telling me. Seems like only yesterday that I was holding my baby boy and now he is a daddy. How is that possible? How does time slip by so fast and how did I get this old! I am a Grenny, yes one letter off Granny so I don't feel so bad.
Nine months I have had to prepare for our amazing little gift from God and I am still trying to adjust and get my head around it. How did that happen! On the other hand I am amazed at God's grace and mercy to let my heart beat and my lungs breathe for the past, "not quite 50" years. Many people have not had that blessing so I am so thankful to Him. Some never get to be a parent let alone a grandparent. Yes, even though my eyesight is going, short and long term memory is slipping, I am not as quick as I used to be or as good as I once was and I do probably have a grey hair or two if I stopped dying it.......... I am truely grateful.
So I would like to introduce our beautiful grandaughter Tiahni Isolde Bartlett, who I might add is the cutest, sweetest little blessing that has captured everyones heart instantly. Born 17.2.11 at 6.30pm, weighing 7lbs 11oz...just perfect.
So what are my pearls of wisdom to the new parents having raised 4 wonderful children myself? Is it about teaching manners, morals, disapline, eating habits or self esteem? ...........
No, as I shed a tear it is just two words.....
DON'T BLINK 
Time passes way too quickly, it waits for no one, it wont slow down when our children are growing up too fast and it won't speed up when we are hurting and waiting for time to heal. 
Time is neither friend nor enemy it's just a measurement. ~Mike Dolan
Welcome to the world Tiahni....may your time here be wonderful and full of God's blessings.