Missy the Energetic (or not)

 Missy is alive and well, but she has slowed down a tremendous amount over the past year.  It is hard having a dog that is so loved getting old.  She is still capable of going up and down the stairs, and with great effort she can still climb into our bed.  Whenever she gets up, she has a pronounced limp for awhile.  She sleeps the majority of time, but that is nothing new for her!

She still has to be with me at all times.  If I go outside, she must accompany me.  She is my dog through and through. She has enjoyed our oldest son moving back home, and she will curl up with him every chance she gets.

I obviously don't have any way of knowing how long Missy will be with us, but I do enjoy every day that we have with her.  She is still the sweetest dog that we have ever owned.  I know this one thing for sure--never leave food on the counter. She can still muster up the strength to get a yummy piece of meat off the counter by standing on her back legs.  She no longer bothers herself for anything much more than meat now.  In times past, I have lost many loaves of bread and several desserts to her tummy!  She has trained me well, and I still don't give her the chance to get any food from the counter.  Who knows when her sweet tooth might just kick back in?

grace and peace,
julie

I have no idea where the thought came from today, but I suddenly felt an urge to blog.  It has been a long time since I even thought about our blog.  I have considered in the past deleting it all together, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  Then out of the blue I felt the urge to post.  I lost my love of blogging when I went to work as an English  teacher at our local high school.  The thought  of making a spelling/grammar mistake overwhelmed me, and I don't have oodles of time for proof reading.  However, I do miss writing and sharing bits of our life.  I also miss farming and gardening.

I guess it is easier to blog than build fences, so I will start here.  We are still a happy family that is hoping to start a small, self-sustaining farm.  We have recently added chickens and bees.  We have two hives of honey waiting to be extracted, but we are lacking the equipment. Our garden didn't do very well, and I didn't do much canning this past summer.  I asked Hope to run downstairs to get a jar of jalapeños from the canning pantry.  She came upstairs with a jar and an announcement of doom in the event we had to live very long from our canning storage.   Perhaps next summer will be a better garden year for us.  On the upside of things, our neighbor has shared tons of his garden produce with us.  We have enjoyed his bounty all summer long, and we are thankful.

Our dogs are still alive and well.  Missy is still her old Mastiff self, and Lynryd has had some ups and downs in the past few months.  I will share those later.  Our kids are all thriving and there are lots to share concerning them, but that will also be for a later time.  Until next time...

grace and peace,
julie