LONG HOT DULL SUMMER

It has been a long hot boring summer here. It is too hot to do much, even by 7 in the morning. I bought a bike to exercise with but  I have a Thing about riding before 6 in the morning. (It isn't what you think. There was a lovely woman, probably a little nutso, who rode all over several villages on her white and pink bike, wearing white and pink and pink flowers in her hair, who I called the flower lady. I have no idea what the deal was with her, never spoke, only saw her over and over-- she was a fixture. And was found dead, run over by a car, about 6 one morning. Never found the driver. Freaked me out.)
Besides I ride alone. I don't know anyone around here to ride with. Everyone works.

I want to thank all of you who have bought my jewelry or written to encourage me to write again. Thank you for the kind words and thinking of me.

This is my favorite photo right now of Nigel. He is on my bed (as usual) looking calm and regal. There is a better one that is cropped but apparently it did not transfer. Darn it. Someday i will get the hang of this. Some times the photos I want just seamlessly get sent where I want them and other times it takes me hours. I prefer the cropped version. Oh well.

I have a new Belgian Puppy on order. Unfortunately there were only two males in the litter and the second bitch either never took or resorbed. So MAYBE I have a puppy coming and maybe I do not. There is not a single day when I don't think of Cooper and think of the puppy and wonder if I will have a new Belgian by Halloween.

This is Ch. Liswyn's Quiche La Neige. She is the one with the two male puppies so maybe this is the Mother of the puppy I may get.
She lives in Dallas, Texas. Cooper was from Arkanas. I must like Southern dogs.

I have absolutely no clue what the Boys are going to do with a puppy. Every now and then I catch them all huddled together giggling, but when I come into the room they walk away and scowl.
For all I know they are telling dirty Basset jokes, but that is not the feeling I get....

The Boys, early this spring. I may have printed this already. The Belly bands do not work real well but do help. More and More Nigel wants to go outside with the others, and if we aren't careful he drags himself around the yard, across rocks and sticks and makes his netherland raw and ouchie, or it would be if he could feel it but we do not think he can. He is able to "stand" if he gets his legs just right BUT it is accidental, not something he controls.

Four houses on the street put the flag out for the 4th and for Flag day: Roger, us, Carlos and Sara and Jesse (it is hard to see the 4th flag). I am standing in Roger's impeccably green yard looking down the street.
Next to Roger behind me is an abandoned house and directly across the street from where I am standing to take the photo is another. There are a couple more down at the other end of the street which is about two and ahalf blocks long.

Summer Flowers. It was so hot the flowers did not do well this year.

I didn't spend a lot of time watering the flowers, either. All my geraniums died. I think partly it is because we have no front lawn-- it is still a mess from have the sewer repaired. It is still SINKING where the trenches were dug!!

My good friend McBeth got a new puppy, Sheldon. She brought Sheldon over to meet us. Llewis took one look and snarled!!!! Conley was wary but then after a few minutes began to play, laying down so Sheldon could terrorize him a little easier. After two weeks Sheldon is about three times bigger than he is in this photo.

And finally, don't mess with fat old ladies. You never know what they do in their spare time.