My favorite place... Dunes of Sand!

Ah the Sand Dunes, one of my all time favorite places on this planet.

We went camping this weekend with the family.  Great time with a campfire, family time and dune fun!  I'm glad Jake had a good time too.  He wants to bring Samuel back.  I told him that this was like a kid's paradise.  I mean, I can appreciate it but after a while, as an adult, I just get sick of being dirty and sandy.  As a kid, that doesn't matter in the slightest.  You can really get down and dirty and enjoy everything the Sand Dunes has to offer.

Don't get me wrong, it's still fun as an adult.  If you haven't been, make a trip next year.

After all the family fun, Jake and I went and hiked Zapata Falls, which is a creek from snow melt.  He found out just how sensitive his feet were to cold.  Good times.

Moving moving... moving...

I've decided to move and rent my house.  Partly financial, partly in hope of what else is to come in life.

This is a hard choice because I love having my own space and my own house.  Course it would help if I was there more often so I could get more done.  Since Jake and I have been serious I've spent more time at his place than at my own.  It's getting to be an expensive place to keep my belongings rather than my home.

Financially, in order to afford my new car, this makes sense too.  I can make a profit off of renting rather than just scraping by.  All in all, it makes sense.  Plus I'm renting to someone I know and trust so I'm not so worried about that.  Still, it is a bitter sweet.  I don't feel like I've been able to really settle my life somewhere.  I feel like I have been on the move or just not quite settled enough to really take a deep breath and relax.  I haven't felt like that in a long time.  So hopefully just a few more moves before I get that feeling.

So where am I going?  Theo will be vacationing with my parents for a while.  He'll be so pleased to be with my mom, whom he loves, and have a grand old time bullying my dad to put him outside on his tether so he can spend time communing with nature and possibly catching birds.  Whitman will be with me "at Caitlin's house".  My things will probably be all over the damn place again.  My parents will probably get some and I'll bring some to my sister's house.  Then I'll have some with me wherever I am at the moment (probably Jake's).  So again, unsettled.

Hopefully it isn't forever though.  My sister is going to go through some treatments so maybe I can help her out at home some.  Or at least not stress her out more.  That's the goal.

I have to say though, I am purging my stuff FOR SURE this time.  Where do I get this much stuff?  I have no idea.  I honestly think that some of my stuff gets together and buys the rest of my stuff a drink and then more stuff is born.  I would like to get rid of 2/3 of everything I own.  I am not really materialistic so I wonder where I got all this.  It will feel wonderful to shed myself of anything I haven't touched in the last year.  That's quite a bit of stuff.

I MUST do this because I am not moving all this crap again.  I HATE MOVING!  You wouldn't know it though since I end up doing it all the time it seems.

Anyway, here's to the future!  Homeless again!

Princess!

Meet Princess, my current foster dog.

The poor thing has had a hard life.  I guess she was a 9 Lives, which is what the rescue was called before we started Lucky Dog Rescue, dog.  9 Lives adopted her out when she was a year old.  Seven years later, her owner dumped her and her brother at the humane society where he was euthanized.  I hate people that give up dogs for stupid reasons but doing it to a senior dog is so much worse.  Princess was given up because a family member's allergies were too bad... after seven years.  Bull crap.  How much do you want to bet they have another dog already?  Anyway, that's beside the point.  Princess was dumped at the humane society and thank goodness they scanned her chip.  That got them in touch with an ex-9 Lives member who got a hold of us.  I got the sad email about this senior lab dumped at the humane society with nowhere to go so, of course, I volunteered to foster her.

When I first brought her home she was so nervous that she couldn't settle down and wasn't eating.  It was a full 36 hours before I could get her to eat.  She was overweight, limping from a bad leg break that never healed properly, had cloudy eyes and had the worst ear infections I've ever seen in a dog.  She was also itching herself so bad that she was opening sores.  She really just broke my heart.  It's hard to see such a sweet dog that has gone through so much.

It took a couple of days but she finally calmed down and her very sweet side came out.  She loves pets and scratches, follows me around and loves carrying around bones or toys.  We had a few scuffles with the other dogs, which is funny because this old girl has the boys in line.  She has no problem telling them what for.  Most of the time she's just as sweet as can be.  She's great with my cat and good with the dogs as long as they aren't showing interest in her food or bones.

Her health has gotten much better now that she is on a good diet.  She's lost a lot of weight, though we still have a few pesky pounds to go.  Her coat looks so much better and the itching has gone down dramatically.  Both her eyes and ears have cleared up.  She doesn't have a hearing problem.  She also doesn't have any training but we're working on that.

Overall, she's a really sweet dog.  I do enjoy having her around.  Jake may not feel the same way but the way he says "Princess" is hilarious and oh so cute.  I do like her but I would love to see her adopted.  Sadly, several people have come to see her but they realize she's an elderly dog and walk away.  Sure she's elderly but she has lot of good years yet to live.  She's so sweet that she deserves those with a happy family that loves her.  I hope we find that home soon.