puppy – FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER!

Kuma, the Teddy-bear Akita

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 Posted in 4th of July, Akita, animal training, animals, boyfriend, California, casino, dating, divorce, dogs, father figure, Japan, kayaking, lake, Lake Tahoe, puppy, river, swimmingLeave a comment

Her husband had two Akitas. Beth wanted to get one for their six-year-old son. She got Lee a puppy and named him Kuma, which is Japanese for Bear. The two older dogs kept attacking the puppy. The marriage wasn’t going well, either. Beth and her son moved out and got their own place. Kuma came… Continue reading Kuma, the Teddy-bear Akita

When a House Feels Like a Home

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021 Posted in college, divorce, fixer, house, house remodel, memoir, moving, neighbors, online sales, pioneers, puppy, sister, yard2 Comments

It’s been ten years since I moved into my little house. It has changed so much, and that’s a good thing. I liked the location but not the house. It was vacant. I saw it three Sundays in a row. The third time I looked at it, I decided I could live there. It was… Continue reading When a House Feels Like a Home

Designer Dogs

November 30, 2020November 29, 2020 Posted in dogs, humor, last, memoir, puppy, relationshipsLeave a comment

(re-run) As I watched the end of the Oscars with a little dog cozied up in the chair with me and my sister asking when she could go to bed, I thought back on the man I met two nights before, the one who wanted to get a Doodle Dane, a cross breed between a… Continue reading Designer Dogs

9-11

September 11, 2020September 11, 2020 Posted in 9-11, attack, divorce, fences, memoir, puppy, TV, veterinarianLeave a comment

It was 9:30 in the morning, California time. I was doing my usual clean-up after sending our three young children off to school. The oldest was almost 15, the middle one 12, and the youngest just 7. The new Dachshund puppy needed to go outside, but with hawks around, I needed to go with him.… Continue reading 9-11

When a House Feels Like a Home

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020 Posted in college, divorce, fixer, house, house remodel, memoir, moving, neighbors, online sales, pioneers, puppy, sister, yardLeave a comment

It’s been nine years since I moved into my little house. It has changed so much, and that’s a good thing. I liked the location but not the house. It was vacant. I saw it three Sundays in a row. The third time I looked at it, I decided I could live there. It was… Continue reading When a House Feels Like a Home

Designer Dogs

March 28, 2020March 29, 2020 Posted in dogs, humor, last, memoir, puppy, relationships3 Comments

A Different Kind of Flip

May 14, 2019May 13, 2019 Posted in appliance, college, Craigslist, fixer, flip, Home Depot, humor, kitchen remodel, Las Trampas Ridge, lipstick on a pig, piano, pig, puppy, relationships, tea cups, weddingLeave a comment

Eight years ago I bought my little house due to a divorce. I downsized and lost 3000 square feet, an angry husband, and many beloved pieces of furniture – a wing chair, an antique trunk, some beds, a dresser, and an antique dresser and mirror that I refinished by hand after buying it in a… Continue reading A Different Kind of Flip

L is for Loco (Loca)

April 11, 2019April 10, 2019 Posted in animal adoption, animal rescue, animal training, best, dogs, granite, humor, Jack Russell terrier, labrador, leash, memoir, puppy, relationships1 Comment

Tonight at chorus rehearsal, an older friend asked me how my dogs were doing. I told him about Pepper, the lab mix, whom my contractor calls a sweetheart. She got a little loca the other day. The granite guys came to make templates for my counter tops, and Pepper, who is usually pretty happy to see… Continue reading L is for Loco (Loca)

First Dog, Lost Dog

June 30, 2018June 30, 2018 Posted in animal rescue, best, dogs, farm, high school, holidays, humor, memoir, Midwestern, Nebraska, Omaha, outdoors, puppy, relationships, roommate, small town, SPCA, student, teaching, worstLeave a comment

After moving to farm country to teach high school Spanish, I watched my roommate Kristy come home one day with a German Shephard puppy. “Meet Shane!” she said. She hadn’t asked me. She hadn’t asked the landlord. When she did ask him, his response was, “Not in the house.” Kristy made Shane a bed of… Continue reading First Dog, Lost Dog

Designer Dogs

June 4, 2018 Posted in dogs, humor, last, memoir, puppy, relationshipsLeave a comment

As I watched the end of the Oscars with a little dog cozied up in the chair with me and my sister asking when she could go to bed, I thought back on the man I met two nights before, the one who wanted to get a Doodle Dane, a cross breed between a Great… Continue reading Designer Dogs