Real Life Heroes Who Don't Wear Capes

REAL LIFE HEROES WHO DON'T WEAR CAPES

When we think of heroes the pictures above may come to our minds. Who doesn't love a story about the heroes and how they win out over the villains.

In the times that we are living in currently, there are different kinds of heroes and these heroes are around the world. When Covid-19 first started off, it was taken seriously, along the lines of the Swine Flu. This quickly became so much more than anyone could have imagined. 

Businesses and schools just closed down and many started working from their homes. Teachers did zoom lessons for their students. That was somewhat problematic when many families did not have the technical devices or wi-fi to receive the instruction. New plans were being devised throughout the rest of the school year. By appointments, parents could go to the school and just as a drive-thru restaurant, they could drive by and the teacher would pass out work packets. Businesses that could work from home certainly did. They could still gather at times throughout the day by setting up Zoom meetings.

These options were not a choice for our real life heroes who don't wear capes.

The stress that this kind of work puts on their bodies must be tremendous. I really did believe that I understood that. After witnessing this in real time, I understand it even more after this weekend.

Let me start out by saying that my husband had an issue with one of his medications. I watched him closely, in case I noticed anything strange when he told me about it earlier that evening. I watched him and did not sleep well just wondering if he was going to be ok. Until 4:30 in the morning, I truly had not seen any difference in his behavior. Then I noticed how often he was going to the bathroom and his legs started terrible cramping. Once I realized that something was not right, I called the doctor to explain what was going on, I was told that I should get him to the hospital ER immediately. She stressed that it was very important and if I was able to get him to the car, there was no need to call 911. She would call and alert the hospital that we were on our way. They would have a wheelchair for him due to his dizziness.

Sure enough, there they were, waiting for us. Of course, I could not go in and I pulled over to the parking spots nearby. The nurse said someone would call me when they knew what was happening. So all I could do was sit and worry. I was watching the line up of people in cars going to the outdoor COVID-19 testing site. Trying to stay positive, I was thinking that at least we aren't dealing with that. Plus, being optimistic that this was one of the premier hospitals in our city, and all precautions were being taken to not expose anyone to this virus so that was making me feel better. Steve had his mask on, I gave him a small container of hand sanitizer for "just in case" scenarios. Just hoping for the best.

Within an hour, Steve's ER nurse called me to tell me that they have already run some tests, have him on a saline IV to flush his system, had an EKG which was good, and some lab tests were already back showing his kidneys were ok but his magnesium and potassium levels were askew. They would be keeping him overnight because even though it was early in the morning, they knew once they got him stable, they wanted to observe him. She said that someone would continue to call and update me. When they got him to a real hospital room they would call to let me know what the room number was so that I could call him.

I had two more calls from nurses who were wonderfully calm and very informative. Only through their professionalism was I able to make it through until Steve was actually able to call me. He sounded very positive and said that the nursing staff as well as the hospital staff in general were all working above and beyond what was expected. That was a relief. I knew that if he could not be home and had to stay overnight, that once he said that he had a large screen flat tv with so many choices of great movies, that he would be able to make it through the night. He had no more cramping in his legs and no more dizziness once they started the saline solution. 

Late on Friday afternoon, definitely after 5, I received a call from the doctor's office nurse who was the one who told me to get Steve immediately to the ER. She told me that there was no way she could not call to check up and see what happened. She said she could not be worried all weekend about it. Now, that is truly above and beyond in my opinion. I thanked her for giving us such good information and thanked her again for calling to follow up on what happened. The doctor's biggest concern was that of his kidneys but they ran that test first and all checked out just fine. Plus, so did the heart tests. 

Later that night, I told Steve about her calling and he was as amazed as I was. Such care! Steve said he has seen how the staff is working, and although he is not on a COVID-19 floor, these front line health care workers are most definitely heroes without capes. They deserve one! As these health care workers come home from work, after a 12 hour shift, they have had to make major adjustments, so as to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to their families. Their young children can't run up to them and hug them until they take off their scrubs, take a shower and become 'sanitized' again.They take all necessary precautions. 

Our county has had spikes every day this week with more and more people being tested and diagnosed with this virus. The number being admitted into hospitals is staggering. Other countries are looking at the US, as if we are out of control. And, yes we are. There is no real consistent guidance or leadership. One state is opening up businesses again and others are requiring masks to be worn in public, while some people are refusing to wear masks. It seems all chaotic. Sort of reminds me of a title of the Beach Boys hit song of the early 70's :

There are several medical experts who all agree that this virus is not just going to go away on its own. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has stated that until there is a vaccine we won't have it under control. Truly our health care workers are the heroes.

Our health care workers are on the front lines battling this virus, with grace and professionalism, while others refuse to listen to the medical experts and come together to help stop this monster.

Tidy Desk or Messy Desk?

WHICH IS BEST?

As it turns out there is really not a right or a wrong way and I try not to be too judgmental if someone has the opposite style from me. What studies have shown over the years is that whichever way we prefer our desks to be, it probably influences how we think.

Psychological Science published an article that stated for the most part those who preferred tidy desks, were ones who generally liked their whole life in a neat little box. Not necessarily OCD, which can cover a wide variety of issues, but promoting socially acceptable behaviors such as generosity, sticking to the tried and true, along with a sense of healthy eating. Definitely, one would hope that a banker would have the neater desk with all of the important documents they must deal with.  

Whereas the messy desk syndrome tended to show that these people were more open to new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking. This is definitely for those creative marketing people. Have you known people like this, yet it is remarkable that when they need a specific paper or book, they can put their hands on it right away. Different kinds of work environments generally prove this same theory. A group of researchers from the University of Minnesota examined people, regardless of personalities, to find out if an orderly environment encouraged people to act in a more socially acceptable conventional way vs a disorderly environment encouraging people to seek novelty and display unconventional ways.

Groups of people were taken to a tidy room to fill out random questionnaires, while another group were taken to a messy room. On their way out they were presented the opportunity to donate to a charity along with taking a snack of an apple or chocolate. Eighty-two percent of those in the tidy room donated some money, while forty-seven percent of those did in the messy room. The same happened with the food choice. More in the tidy room chose the apple while the messy room participants chose the chocolate. Interesting results. 

One more experiment tested creativity. Each group were asked to think of ten new uses for ping pong balls. Both groups did so. They submitted their concepts  to impartial judges who rated the ideas. The outcome was that the people in the messy room had more interesting and creative thinking about ping pong balls than the other group.

Applying some of this research to the workplace can be tricky. Usually "the disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights, while the ordered environments seem to encourage convention and playing it safe." This is a quote from Kathleen Vohs, who led the University of Minnesota research team.

"Employers need to tailor the environment for the behaviors they want," suggested Joseph Redden, a co-author of this study.

Many times people are judged on their workspace, and sometimes unfairly. If your workspace is neat then sometimes that person is looked at as being less productive than a messy desk. The messy desk seems to demonstrate so much work is getting done. In reality we all should be judged on our actual productivity and work quality, not the state of our desks. We are human beings who tend to draw conclusions from what we see. Sometimes it backfires. A messy desk could make people think that the work must be a mess too. Just as a neat desk could make one think nothing is going on, when in truth, all of the work is organized and filed neatly away.

The one take away that I have from reading about tidy vs messy is that there is no one right answer. It is just not that cut and dry. There are a lot of people working from home now during the coronavirus. Sometimes this means having Zoom meetings and quite frankly, I don't want to look at someone's messy pile of papers. Offices, when they can, will provide a larger meeting room where no one is crammed into a cubicle full of a co-workers mess. This is not always possible with webinars.

What matters most of all about your workspace is your own productivity. If clutter around you slows your productivity, it is time to start tidying up. If you want your mind to feel uncluttered then it may be wise to get some control over your clutter, at least weekly. There are pros and cons of each style. In my humble opinion I think perhaps that a little of each style works best. Take a look at your own desk and ask where you fall on the spectrum. It could help change some of how you think and therefore improve your productivity. 

I like to think that I fall somewhere in the "gray" area. I like organization and things tidy, however, while working on project, I don't mind a little clutter on my desk every once in a while. 

As you can see, TIDY or MESSY is not so simple.

See the Good in Everyone

SEE THE GOOD IN EVERYONE

Let me say that I will be the first to admit that I do work on trying to find the good in everyone. I try hard to not be judgmental. It is okay to agree to disagree. Before I go on with this blog, I will just say that I have been quick to fast forward Dolly Parton songs when they pop up on whatever device that I am listening to music on. In fact, I actually made a statement more than once that her kind of music was just too twangy for my taste. That simply is not a totally true statement. Some of the songs that are fun to listen to and bring good feelings to my soul are songs such as Islands in the Stream, I Will Always Love You, To Know Him is to Love Him, and 9 to 5. These are just a small sampling of songs that are not twangy country songs that she is so famous for with country music lovers. I have always prided my diverse love of music and realized that I made an unfair statement once I researched Dolly Parton.

She is a cultural icon and has a heart of gold. I remember when our granddaughters were born, the hospital had our daughter sign them up for the Dolly Parton Book Club. Once a month a free book would be mailed to them. She wanted to promote literacy. What a grand thing to do for the children of Tennessee! She named it Imagination Library.

Dolly is more than just a singer and songwriter for which she is credited with writing over 3,000 songs and has won the Grammy Award nine times. She is also an actress that started off with The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1982. This gave her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Just a few of the other movies that you may have seen her in  are 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias. She came from a humble background in East Tennessee with eleven siblings and most definitely not much money. There is even a movie about her growing up in this environment, along with the song she wrote about it, Coat of Many Colors. She was born in 1946 and got her first big musical break at age 21. The rest is history. She did marry at age 24 and has celebrated more than 50 years to the same loving husband who has stayed out of the spotlight. They have no children.

In the business world, she helped create a theme park in East Tennessee called Dollywood. There are rides and shows, of course. But the Craftsman's Valley demonstrates how to make candles, soaps, butter and other items that some families still do in the Appalachia area. Lots of fun and education for the whole family.

She is well known for being a kind person with a great sense of humor and she never takes herself too seriously. In conversations during talk show appearances, some of her words actually turned into some very famous quotes from this woman of wisdom. Above all she has helped me understand through my daily positive mantras that it is important to live a life that I am proud of without the approval of others. In the times that we are going through now I just want to see everyone love one another and to be able to live out our dreams. The world would most definitely be a better place if we all could adopt this type of mentality.

Dolly is always wanting to make people feel better about life, love, aging plus everything that falls in between. Her love of living comes from a deep inspiration within because as she says, "When I'm inspired, I get excited because I can't wait to see what I'll come up with next." Some of the following quotes come straight from her heart based on the life that she has lived.

• "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
• I'm not happy all the time, and I wouldn't want to be because that would make me a shallow person. But why shouldn't I be happy? I have everything I ever wanted and more. Maybe I am simpleminded. Maybe that's the key: simple."
• "Smile -- it increases your face value. I always just thought if you see somebody without a smile, give 'em yours."
• "I don't know what the big deal is about old age. Old people who shine from the inside look 10-20 years younger. The magic is inside you. I just don't have time to get old."
• ** This one is starred by me because I think it is one of my favorites: "I'm not offended by the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb, and I'm not blonde either."

Dolly Parton believes that our world needs more kind people. She encourages others to become empowered to be and believe in themselves. I know that she helps me to keep trying to make my life better as I move through the years.

Music is the Language of the Soul

MUSIC IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL

The true language of the human soul is music. Many beautiful phrases have been created to describe what music really is all about. Words do not seem to capture the way that it touches us. Basically, what we do know is that this world would be a sad place without it.

What music means to each individual is so varied that it would be too overwhelming to even begin to describe it. I can only speak for myself and even then I can't exactly explain what music or certain songs mean to me. I only know that when I hear certain songs specific emotions come to my very being. Sometimes, even being moved to the point of tears or being transported back to a particular time in my life. They could be tears of joy and happiness or sad tears. It was the music that took me there.

Music is most definitely one of the universal languages that can be understood and enjoyed by all regardless of culture, society or other kinds of differences. Music belongs to everyone. What a great way to soothe a restless child. I know that it worked in my office as an assistant principal. I had playlists ready to play depending on what the age of the child was and how out of control he/she may have been. Think about how a mother communicates her love for her baby through lullabyes. That baby does not understand a word that is being said, but the feeling of being loved speaks volumes. 

Music was used in Steven Spielberg's 1977 movie of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as a form of communication between the human race and beings from another planet through musical notes. Studies have shown that plants and animals react to music also. Music therapy is used with young children all the way through older adults suffering with Alzheimer's. In fact, it dates back to the ages of Greek philosophers. It was used to calm people, especially those suffering from mental disorders. Confucius and Plato recognized how music could help keep a person healthy in mind and body. During WWII, music was accepted as a valuable tool in aiding wounded soldiers recovering from their injuries. By speaking to the soul, it counteracts negative vibes from tension and promotes relaxation from within the body.

The magic of music remains a secret. We may never understand the exact science of it...what we do understand is that it brings pleasure to all of our souls. I can remember having an outpatient surgery. I did not have to be totally under anesthesia. I used my own technique of breathing to relax, when all of a sudden, my surgeon started singing opera while he was operating on me. My eyes flew open in surprise. One of the nurses asked me if that bothered me, she would ask him to stop. Surprisingly, it did not bother me. I could feel it not only relaxing me but more than likely him too. And that is not a bad thing in my book.

Doing some research, I found some music quotes on how it heals our soul. I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I did in finding them.

• "Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music."  ~ George Eliot
• A great song should lift your heart, warm the soul and make you feel good."  ~ Colbie Caillat
• "Where words fail, music speaks." ~ Hans Christian Anderson
• "Music is to the soul what words are to the mind." ~ Modest Mouse
• "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything."  ~ Plato
• "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."  ~ Bob Marley
• "Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond."  ~  Ray Charles
• "Music is a language that doesn't speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it's in the bones, it's in the bones."  ~ Keith Richards
• "I see my life in terms of music." ~ Albert Einstein
• "Music changes, and I'm gonna change right along with it."  ~ Aretha Franklin

Next time when you are feeling down and out, put on some music to lift your spirits. Music has that power to reset our thinking.  It is an essential part of human existence. Music can make you feel happy or sad, in love or angry. Hopefully some of these quotes fueled your soul and reminded you of just how strong of an impact music has on all of us.

More Than Words

MORE THAN WORDS

 George Bernard Shaw once said, "England and America are two countries divided by a common language." I can tell you that is truly an understatement. Even after twenty years together, my British husband can surprise me with a word or phrase that I have not a clue what he is talking about. On the other hand, I can do the same to him. The difference is that he really has not come to the American side of the English language that much. Then, there is me. Every once in a while I shock myself when I say it just the way that he would. About the only thing that I have taught him and that he uses is the phrase, "Well, bless your heart." He has learned that it is all in the intonations of how you say it as to what it means. I believe that this is more of a Southern phrase and it is not always meant in a positive way. An example would be, if you said it to someone who just served a meal and you told others, "Well, bless her heart," meaning that she tried but it was not edible.

Below you will find some of the differences that have come to light throughout the time that we have been together.

Steve still asks me where do we want to go for our holiday? (vacation) The first time he asked me, I thought that we were going to go away for Christmas!

When we get in our pool he will ask me if I am wearing a new swimming costume. I will let him know that it is the same swimming SUIT that I had last year. If our granddaughters are over, he will ask if I have the lilo blown up? Once he pointed to her floaty, I knew what he meant.

Let's talk for a minute about going on a holiday or out to eat. First, we must get some petrol, he will tell me. I refresh his memory that we call it gas here. He smiles and says that he is glad that we don't own an estate car. I ask you this:  

 Were you aware that a station wagon/SUV was called an estate car? I was thinking a limousine. Something that would cost a fortune to fill up with GAS. As we are getting ready to pay, I ask him if he will pass my purse over. He passes my wallet. That was fine, in that is where my money is but he calls the bag that the wallet was in 'a wallet.'

Going out to eat is interesting because I have learned what a serviette is. He was missing a napkin when we were seated once and he meant a napkin. However, he asked the waitress for a serviette. Her blank and clueless face was priceless. I translated. Also did a translation to help when he requested  tomato sauce. He wanted it to go on his burger. And he said that he had crisps on his plate. He asked for them. I did not, so the regular fries came with my burger. He said to the waitress and to me that I got chips. We were all confused on that one. She did bring him out some FRIES. I don't think she could get too upset because he does have a very proper British accent. Although, when she set them down she did kindly say to him that these were his fries. 

She had a look of surprise until I shared with her that he meant ketchup. 

Truly would give the burger a different flavor. Easy enough to straighten out what he needed. I would love to have heard the conversation that our waitress had with the other servers. On the positive side she now has a new vocabulary word and what it means if someone orders tomato sauce. We did confuse her a bit when she asked if there was anything else that we needed and I said,"Yes, please the check, and he said, "And the bill." So which is it? Sort of like the same thing when he asks where are the loos. Not everyone knows that he is asking where are the restrooms. He still questions me on that one about why they are called that because one does not go in to rest. 

While we are on the subject, sort of, about food, let's talk about going to the grocery store. First you must find a place to park in the car park. He still calls it that instead of a parking lot. That's ok. I have even let it slip out a few times pointing out to him as we drove by a very busy store. You knew it was because I said, "Just look at that car park!" It flew out of my mouth before I knew it. 

Some items that we pick up at the grocery are:

barbie sauce  (BBQ sauce)

mince meat  (hamburger meat)

kitchen towels (paper towels-not linen kitchen towels)

lollies   (popsicles for granddaughters)

courgettes  (zucchini)

washing liquid (dish soap)

beetroots (beets)

satsumas (clementines)

I have always called aluminum foil Reynolds Wrap. He asked if we needed some AL - U - MIN - YUN. I must admit that one took me a bit to grasp what he meant.

Before we went over to get in the long line (queue), we passed the vitamins. He mentioned that he would like to pick up a multi- VIT - A - MIN. It must be said like I spelled it with a hard accent on each syllable. It sounds nothing like the word vitamin.

Once we got home, I asked if he could pull all the way in the garage. He asked me if I meant the GAR - AGE. We work it out. He also asked if maybe later we could go back out because he thought he saw a new place called the Pie Shop. He was so excited. I was so confused. He is not a real sweet eater, especially pies (one exception is apple pie). We went back later that afternoon and he went up and down the counters looking and finally asked where the savory meat pies were. I could not translate that one until he told me like the ones in the pubs of England such as Steak and Kidney Pie or pasties. Plus, I can assure you that they would not have Faggots and Peas, which is on almost every pub's menu. Let's just say that faggots are spicy meatballs made out of beef and pork organs. The peas are mushy and also usually served with mashed potatoes. The only thing here that  could somewhat compare to the savory meat pies

 would be a Shepherd's Pie or Chicken Pot Pie. With that said, we do not go in a Pie Shop for those. He was sadly disappointed that the choices were chocolate, key lime, lemon, banana, peach, apple and a handful of other pies. He didn't even buy an apple pie to take home. I remember the horrified look on the waitress behind the counter thinking they would have meat pies in her shop.

Cooking at home is entertaining because I cook on the stove while he uses the cooker. (Yes, they are one in the same.)

 Two easy sandwiches that we make (with some minor adjustments) are Welsh rarebit and a Bacon Butty. The Welsh rarebit is really a grilled cheese. I like mine just that way. The British way that he grew up with is to put Worcestershire sauce on the cheese. I suppose it is what you grew up with. The Bacon Butty was new to me. Usually I made BLT's. For breakfast he asked me one day if I fancied a Bacon Butty. When he explained it was toast that was buttered with bacon inside for a sandwich. I must admit that was good. I still like the idea of adding lettuce and tomato. Or even an egg for a breakfast sandwich. It is a little give and take. Some days all I want is a tomato and mayo sandwich. Again...it is what I grew up with.

Some other words that mean the same but are separate items would be:

• waistcoat      vest
• jumper         sweater
  
• 
  
• 

• vest             wifebeater
  

There are times I ask my darlin' husband about his opinion about a style. I asked what he thought about me getting bangs. He had a horrified look on his face. I turned my magazine picture of a woman with bangs and showed him what I meant. He sighed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, you mean fringe!"  He explained later what he thought I meant when I used the word bangs. I will not even mention it here. 

When I put the date on my blogs, he politely questions me about why I put the month before the day and then the year. Then, I remembered that I thought for a long time that his birthday was June 12th. Because he writes it out 6.12.1951. It wasn't until it came out in the beginning of our relationship that I realized that he was a December baby just like me. In fact, he asked me if I needed a rubber to erase my mistake. Yes, you guessed it. The Brits call an eraser a rubber.

Well, at this time, I have mentioned from A to Z most of our vocabulary differences. I don't throw fits over these differences (or wobblers as he would say).

 

Instead I embrace them.  Oh, wait a moment, I should have said all of the differences from A to Zed.

 

I learned that when he took me to the showroom to trade in my great big Tahoe for a Zed-3. I had not a clue what he meant. Until I saw we were pulling into a BMW showroom and he took me to a little two seater convertible that I had always called a Z-3.

 I believe that is when it dawned on me just exactly why our relationship is more than words. (Or as he would say, " Bob's your uncle.")

Properly Training Your Humans

How To Properly Train Your Humans

If you wish to understand your humans better then you need to pay attention to all of their communication. This can be verbal and non-verbal. It can be with other humans or to us, their "pets."

First, let me introduce the two of us, Maggie Mae (the one writing this blog for Lola) and Davis who are patiently working with our own two humans, lovingly nicknamed by their granddaughters as Lola and Smiley. 

Together they have four wonderful children and four beautiful granddaughters. They felt like their jobs prevented them from ever owning one furbaby, much less two. But once, Lola retired and was home working on her writing, things changed. While Smiley was off at work, she really started to look around and talk to others, as well as Smiley at night over dinner about maybe getting a dog. It was a big step. They both are dog lovers and had dogs before, just not the two of them together.

After some research things just fell in to place. It was like magic. They had a name, just not the goldendoodle that they wanted so much. The two of them did shopping on respectable breeders, as well as looking for re-homing and local animal shelters for dogs that had that 'goldendoodle' look. Both of them are most definitely hands on parents so it was not going to be pick one out on line and have the pup flown to them or drive to go and pick him or her up. Their philosophy, as I heard them talk about it many times, is that the dog will find you. 

Turned out that a FaceBook friend that Lola went to school with thought that a friend of hers had a Mom close by that was a breeder. So she got the name and number and she made that call. Turned out that there were two litters of pups waiting to find their forever home. Lola and Smiley were cautious, wanting to do the right thing, as they took this very seriously. Lola talked to Kim, the breeder, got directions to her home and went to see the puppies. She had converted their garage into the home for all the puppies and their Mommas. She even had a place where she could be out there with them and it was heated. 

Lola and Smiley could see that she loved them with all her heart. Turns out she has been a groomer, a trainer, showed dogs in Dog Shows and was into breeding dogs. She had two black standard poodles and an English Golden Retriever who had puppies a few weeks apart. They were all black puppies. We sat on her kitchen floor as she brought a couple out at a time. One little fellow kept trying to climb up on Smiley. Even when his sisters kept pushing him away. They all were about the same size and all were cute as could be but according to our two humans, Davis melted their hearts and that is who they chose. Deal done.

Look at just how happy he seems. He is still that way, even though now, he has me, Maggie Mae to play, snuggle, protect, share, get into shenanigans with as well as to put up with my pestering him. What else are sisters for?

Lola kept in touch with Kim and noticed that about two years later on her Goldendoodles by Kims Design page that she had two more litters of pups. Some were apricot blonde, one chocolate and a few black. Everyone kept telling Lola and Smiley that two are better than one. Hmmmm.. I certainly don't disagree with that philosophy. We do have two smart humans so they decided that they would drive back out to Kim's and take Davis with them. 

Kim now has a proper building for her pups and their Mommas. There was even a doggie door so the pups were learning to go outside in the fenced area for their duties. Kim patiently took one pup out at a time and we all watched to see the furbabies' reactions. Davis acted like he could have cared less. So did all of the pups, that is until I came out.

Both of us kissed and snuggled and our tails were wagging like crazy. Yes, we picked each other out. Davis even put up with me pulling on his tail. Once we got home

all that Davis wanted to do was to protect me. He guarded me in my crate. Little did he know that even though to this day, he outweighs me by 20 pounds I am the most vocal in every way that you could imagine. Davis rarely uses his vocal skills. He relies on his body language, which at 61 pounds, I suppose he can do that. All you need is patience and you too can have obedient humans. They really want to please you and make you happy. 

First of all, humans want to be sure that we go to the bathroom outside. Our silly humans bought these jingle bells that hang on a ribbon for Davis to use when he was a puppy. The nickname for them is "Tinkle Bells." He fell for this trick hook, line and sinker. I learned to use them just like he did on my first day. The second or third day, I decided to use my own way. Bark! I just went to the back door and gave one bark. They learned what that meant almost immediately. I just wanted my own way to express myself. If at first they ignored me, I let out little woof-woofs or used my paws to pound on the glass at the backdoor. It did not take long to train them.

If either Davis' or my water bowl goes empty, I watched Davis just go to his and then to mine and just mope around, like, "Woe is me!" I found out if I put my two front paws in the steel empty dish and played it like Ringo Starr plays the drums, they come running with water to put in our dishes. My nickname seems to be Ringo and they laugh when they call me that, so I suppose they like him, whoever he is.

Lola and Smiley had to feed us from different bowls for a while. Mine was puppy food, while he had big boy food. His was better and I would sneak it now and then. He seemed to like mine and he would do the same if our humans did not watch closely. We learned another trick too. When they were cooking, stay nearby. They usually drop something, or we give them the pitiful eye look and they will put some cheese or some other treat down for us. Works like a charm every time. 

Another trick that have taught our humans is that they are allowed only so much reading time without paying attention to us. If Smiley has the newspaper held up with both hands, Davis jumps up and smacks the paper with his giant paw. Since I am the smaller one, I simply curl up in their laps and put my head across their books. This is for their own good. It has been scientifically proven that petting your furbabies reduces stress significantly.

Our humans seem to love taking pictures of us. We need to be sure that we are in charge of what they snap to share with others. Sometimes I want to appear like a little doodle angel with my sidekick, Davis. For example, Lola wanted to get a picture of the two of us sitting perfectly in front of the Christmas tree, possibly for a Christmas card. On other occasions, I just want to be the Wild Child.

Somehow SantaPaws still came to see us and left goodies.

Both of us love to watch TV when our humans settle down at night and turn something on. I love shows that have dogs in them.

Davis, not so much. He prefers TV shows that have balls in them. Well, none of that lately. He always loves playing with balls. He will take them to Lola or Smiley and they throw it and he catches them in midair and returns it to them. Me? No way! My thoughts on that game is, "Hey, you threw it. You go get it." I prefer chewing on bone marrows, bully sticks, Oinksies and squeaky toys. Those bone marrows make a lot of noise when I drop them on the hardwood floor and the squeaks that I can make from the Kong balls? WOW! Plus, they usually give one to each of us. But the fun is taking Davis' stick or marrow away from him and hiding mine under me. This is why he usually walks around with his bully stick hanging out of his mouth. Lola and Smiley have nicknamed him Sir Churchill. They say he looks like Churchill with his cigar. 

If we act a bit too rambunctious one of the best things that our humans do for us is take us to Walnut Grove Animal Clinic. We go to see Dr. Taylor for everything, starting from the our first puppy shots.The friendly staff already knew Davis so I was quickly known right along with him. I watched him go to Doggie Day Care without me for a few times. I had to wait until I had all of my shots. Then the day arrived. WOW! So many dogs. In all sizes and shapes! It was rather scary. But the Day Care Crew took good care of me, as did Davis. Now, I know my way around and no big dog intimidates me. Davis always has my back. (even though I really don't need it - he is such a proper gentleman) When our humans drive up, Chris, Jessica, Cheney or David call our names and we race to our humans. Sometimes they tell on us, such as when I have a new boyfriend or Davis has a new girlfriend. I think our humans enjoy the quiet ride home because we are crashed out in the back seat. Then, let's not forget Amber, who grooms us and keeps us looking spiffy. This last time she put little bows on my ears and a bandana for Davis. 

We know when it is Doggie Day Care Day. Some talking box that they call Alexa wakes up our humans earlier than they usually get up, both get dressed quickly, Lola gets her purse and shoes and we stare at the leashes while Smiley tries to take us out for our business before getting in the car. We LOVE LOVE LOVE WGAC! They are the best!

With a little extra work, you too can have well trained humans. We all have that duty to help them. We are not spoiled. We just happen to be great at training humans.