Today I'm grateful for the friends I've had in my life.

I just finished cleaning all the crystals on my chandelier that hangs in the dining room. Does it sound like I'm putting on airs? Well, good; just for a few minutes anyway. I took all the crystals off and then I got an old typewriter brush (remember typewriters? Those things with a carriage and ribbon and a return key or lever?) and brushed the whole fixture. I have to tell you the dust flew.  Then I put all the crystals in a bowl of ammonia to soak while I vacuumed up the dust, then laid all the bright crystals out to dry on a clean towel.

I've lived in this house for nine and a half years and this is only the second time I have taken all the crystals off the chandelier and cleaned them. This time I even discovered there were two replacement crystals hidden on the top in case one was broken. I vacuumed the whole fixture including the chain and cord that attaches to the ceiling. I then rehung the crystals.  Sounds like a major job, but this is the sweetest and smallest crystal chandelier I've ever seen. It only took me about half an hour to clean it and part of the time I was taking pictures of it.

So many people have gone "contemporary" these days. Most people would have traded this light fixture out for something in brushed silver and white globes or Frank Lloyd Wright style. The other fixtures in this house were so "Brady Bunch" that I've replaced most of them, but I tenaciously hang on to this one. This one reminds me of my good friend Carolyn who has graduated to glory and sings with the angels now. She had a chandelier a bit like this one and she used to clean it and make the crystals sparkle on a regular basis. Every little glittering crystal reminds me of her. If I ever move from here I think I'll take this chandelier with me.

Today I am grateful for all the friends I have had in my life and the ones I have now.

This is so humiliating.

Of all the pictures of me in my humom's vast library of pictures, she chooses this picture to be the wallpaper on her computer.  Every time someone walks into the room and sees that picture they laugh.  Now, if they laughed and gave me a cookie, that wouldn't be too bad, but they just laugh.  They do say I'm "so cute".  That helps a little, but cookies would be better.  

If I really wanted to get picky I could point out her messy desk, but she calls it "organized chaos", whatever that means.  I think that just means it's OK to keep it messy.

I did talk her into adding one more picture of me when I was a puppy.  See how cute I was/am.

I was just a baby here and used to go to the doctor with my dad and all the nurses would ooooh and aaawww over me and tell me how cute I was.  Now people say I'm fat.  What happened to cute.  Humom still says I'm cute though.  She sure got stingy with the treats when people started saying I'm fat.  Grrrrr.

That's all I have to say about that.

Boogyman in the chair!

Last night I couldn't sleep.  My human was snoring and not troubled at all, but there was something in the room that wasn't right.  I kept barking at it and my humom kept telling me to "shush".  Finally, I got her attention.  She turned on the light and got out of bed and looked in all the rooms in the house.  She opened the front door and the garage door from downstairs and then came back and told me I was silly.  Me...... silly.  Hmph.  I kept barking, but softer this time, because I could see someone in the chair that scared me.  I am the one who usually gets in that chair and someone had my spot.  Frustrated, humom got up again and looked where I was looking and spotted the intruder.  She laughed right out loud.  Can you believe it?  I was humiliated.  She said it was a lamp shade.  She picked it up and turned it over and set it on the floor.  Then she picked ME up and set me down right beside it.  I sniffed and sure enough it didn't smell very menacing.  I felt so foolish, but humom said I was a good girl for protecting her.  That made me feel better and then she gave me a bite of Pirate's Booty and I really felt better.  I'm looking around now to see what else I can protect her from.