Wordless Wednesday - First prize

5 things going on in our house - December

1. I still have a huge backlog of posts to put up.  I had hoped to finish chronicling our vacations by the end of the year, but I don't think it will happen.  Next year, I'll have to be on the ball to put them up sooner rather than later.

2. All our Christmas cards and shopping is complete, YAY!  It's not even the middle of the month and we are done.  That means no running around the mall with the crazies looking for specific items.

3. There's no snow yet.  Well, no accumulated snow.  I'd really like to take Gimli out to play in the snow in the backyard or at the park.  The weather reports state that we probably won't have a white Christmas this year, booooo.

4. Mike's present.  That's all I can say without giving away what it is.

5. Am looking forward to having a few days off next week.  We've been very busy lately and it will be nice to sit, relax and enjoy the quiet.

Gimli, the slipper burglar

Gimli's a shoe loving dog.  Since he was a puppy, he's had a thing for shoes. Any type of shoe - sandals, slippers, sneakers, boots, any shoe that belongs to me.  He doesn't go after Mike's shoes, nor does he go after socks.

The majority of the time, he's content to lie next to them or on them but he's never stolen them... until this past week.

That morning, my feet were cold and I went looking for my slippers.  I found one, but not the other.  I looked everywhere, but no slipper.  Something told me to look in Gimli's crate, where I found this.

I suspect Gimli stole it Monday evening and put it into his crate.  I had left them under the desk and assumed they would still be there on Tuesday morning.  When Mike put him to bed, Gimli lay on top of it so Mike didn't see it in the crate.

I really hope he doesn't make this a habit, the little thief!

Toy Hospital

Most dog owners have a few stuffed toys that have been torn open by their doggie's chewing.  Gimli has a great many of them.  When they are ripped open, we hide them away until I can find time to stitch them back up.

A couple years ago, we gave Gimli a sheep for Christmas.  He wasn't sure what to do with it, though I think he just likes having a toy that's bigger than his other ones.  For some reason, the sheep snorted, but Gimli didn't seem to mind.

You can see him with his sheep here: Gimli and his sheep.

Unfortunately, the snorting sound stopped working and then Gimli started ripping a hole at one of the seams.  We took it away and the poor sheepie has been sitting on our dresser for a few months.

Fast forward to yesterday.  Mike and I picked up some Christmas toys for Gimli and a package of replacement squeakers.  I decided I'd get my act together and start fixing the toys and the sheep was the first one.  Because Gimli follows me everywhere, he saw me grab sheepie and Gimli followed me all the way to the couch where he proceeded to oversee sheepie's surgery.

Yes, he stared at me with that face.

Turns out the noise mechanism, which was just a plastic hose in a plastic bag, couldn't be repaired.  So, sheepie is silent, but he's been stitched back together, much to Gimli's delight.

 

I have maybe 5 or 6 toys to fix and replace with squeakers and I'm sure Gimli will be right next to me to ensure his toy is fixed properly!

12/12/12 = 12 cookies

I've heard today is an important day because it's Dec. 12 of 2012, thus 12/12/12.  I've also heard that it's a good day because it signifies a new beginning and so on.

In the spirit of today... sort of... Gimli received 12 cookies for dessert.  I, unfortunately did not get 12 cookies or 12 chocolates for dessert, because that would translate into 12 new lbs.

Flat Gimli Friday - Waldeck

Mini jail?

Flat Gimli doesn't need a box to see over the wall.
Extra point if you can name the movie.

A Medieval punishment device.  The guilty party was chained to it and had to stand in the elements for a set amount of time.  Not pretty.

A Special Day

It's my birthday today!  YAY!

It's also Walt Disney's birthday so I thought I'd share some pictures of places where he actually walked.

Schloss Waldeck - Mists

I've had this post in my head the day this happened and I've been hoping I don't forget.

As I've mentioned, we were fortunate to stay at a real castle - Castle Waldeck, which is perched above the shores of Lake Edersee.

When we arrived, one of our guides suggested waking up early to see the mists retreating from the lake.  The first morning, we didn't wake up early enough.  The sun rises quite early in Germany in July and even though we were up around 6.30, the mists had disappeared.

The next morning however...

Mike was up around 4 to use the washroom and he realized the time.  He shook me awake and I hastily pulled on my jeans under my nightshirt, threw on my sweater, grabbed the camera and key and headed out.  Mike, however, went back to bed.

I opened the door and the hallway was quiet.  The glass walled elevator, which was in a tower, sat in the dark.  I pushed the button and the elevator hummed as it climbed up to our floor.  When the doors opened, the inside light came on and as I descended, the light came with me down into the darkness.

I stepped from the elevator and into the courtyard. And my breath caught in my throat.

The mist covered everything.  I couldn't see the far end of the courtyard and it was deathly silent, except for the clanging of the flagpoles.  I walked to the battlements and stood with my hands perched on the side.  All I saw was mist, whiteness as far as the eye could see.  I turned back and could barely see the walls.

I stood for while in silence.  Thinking how many soldiers stood on these battlements standing watch, knowing the enemy was in the valley below, but unable to see them.  Wondering if they would survive the fight.

I looked down and it hit me again that I was standing on stone.  I was standing in the courtyard of a castle!  A real live castle!  The lump in my throat came back.  I never believed I'd be able to spend the night in a castle.  Hell, I never thought I'd make it to Germany.  I thanked God, I thanked the Universe for sending this opportunity and for us being able to grab it and run with it.

I took this video just as there was a break in the mists.

I stood on the battlement, thinking and marveling and just drinking it all in, before I realized I had been out for about half an hour.  I raced back upstairs and poked Mike until he woke up.  I remember saying, "Get up, you need to see this!"

We stayed for a short while later before we returned to our room to get ready for breakfast.

This castle is officially one of my favorite places in the world.

Waiting for puppies

Yesterday started off a little unconventional and in retrospect, I should have figured out that something disappointing was going to happen.

Yesterday morning, Gimli was very clingy and wanting to snuggle. Instead of our morning walk, we sat on the floor for a while, while I gave him belly scratches and massages and kisses. The rest of the day, he was never far away.

Then in the afternoon I received the e-mail from Gimli's breeder. Turns out we won't be getting a puppy in February. The Momma dog, Gimli's 1/2 sister, had a false pregnancy and so there are no puppies. The breeder only realized something was amiss when Momma dog's milk started to dry up. The breeder's going to breed Gimli's other 1/2 sister when she comes into season in January, but she's not sure if she'll breed this last Momma dog again.

This means waiting til June before a little four legged creature get's to join our family.

After work, I took Gimli on a walk and we ended up going through the park.  It was getting dark and there wasn't a soul around.  We had a good run back and forth, Gimli played with the leash and wiggled his butt and, as silly as it sounds, I felt better.  I felt grateful that I had Gimli and that I get to see him every day.

Wordless Wednesday - Soft and Fuzzy

Schloss Waldeck

After our day in Alsfeld, we hopped onto the Autobahn and headed to Schloss Waldeck, (Castle Waldeck).

I must admit, though I knew we were going to stay in a castle for a few nights, it hadn't actually dawned on me that this was where we were going to stay.

Legend has it, Schloss Waldeck is the castle on which the Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs story is based.

We arrived in mid-afternoon and we had to park the bus at the base of the hill because there was no way that bus was going to make it up the narrow, sloping road.  Of course, if the bus couldn't make it up the hill, then we had to trudge up the hill to the narrow entrance to the courtyard.

Mike struggled and we were fortunate enough that one of our fellow travelers helped push him up the hill because there's no way that I was strong enough!

At the top of the hill, we met up with the King of the castle and he allowed us to enter.

We were taken to the rampart where they had a small area for refreshments set up for us.  Then we saw this and my eyes widened.

The body of water below is is Lake Edersee, on which we were scheduled to visit the following day.

We received our room key and headed in to relax and change before dinner.

I'll leave you with some pictures of Schloss Waldeck.

Next in the series is an experience I had that I never expected.

Saturday Smiler - Can I come too?

Flat Gimli - Wolfie

You know you're crazy when you ask a guy dressed in a wolf costume to pretend to be a flat version of your dog.  I do hope this poor man isn't scarred for life.

Wordless Wednesday - Tucked in

Little Red Riding Hood - Alsfeld

One of the delights we experienced in Alsfeld was the play, "Little Red Riding Hood".

There are local performers that put on various fairy tale plays for the many tour guides that visit Alsfeld.  The tour took us through the winding streets as we took up pursuit of the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood aka "Rotkappchen".

Now now Red, don't go talking to strange creatures.  Especially men in wolf suits...

Guess who?

No no, I couldn't possibly harm a nice little girl walking by herself in the forest.

Grandma???

Apparently after you eat a little girl, you must drink large amounts of wine.

Red and Grandma are saved, all the while the wolf sleeps with a belly full of stones.

Take aim!

Poor wolfie

Saturday Smiler - What and get these paws dirty?

Flat Gimli - With a monster

I don't even know what this thing is, but we had to get a picture of Flat Gimli with it.

Germy... again...

Please forgive my absence over the past week or so.  What started out as being busy as the weekend started, quickly became yet another bout with germs.

I haven't posted about our September trip, but I got the cold while on vacation... awesome, I know.  Although, in my defense, I did pick it up either on the airplane or in our hotel in Las Vegas.  Two places known for their cleanliness, right? ;)

Then, this past weekend, I picked up the flu.

This makes about the 7th time I've been sick this year ranging from the stomach flu, colds and respiratory flu.

I'm doing much better now, the chills and aches have gone away and physically I feel stronger.  Only a slight stuffy nose and sore throat remain.

I'm at my wits end to develop a way for me to stay healthy and stave off the germs.  If I could wear hand sanitizer on my fingers full time when out in public, I would.  The fact that cold and flu season is upon us, I fear more bouts with germs.  I've even half considered wearing a surgical mask while out in the malls and so on where germs are more rampant in the winter months, but we'll see.

Flat Gimli - Alsfeld Part 1

After we walked into Alsfeld and approached the main square, we came across the "Dog Station".  I had to get a picture with Flat Gimli.

Wordless Wednesday - My paintbrush

Laundry helper

I was the only one that does laundry in this house.  The only thing Mike does is transfer the clothes from the washer to the dryer and fold after.  The only thing Gimli does is look in the washer, then the dryer for the presence of his toys.  He saw me put his toys into the appliances once and now he's convinced I'm hiding toys in there.

Yesterday, I washed Gimli's towels and blankets.  Gimli followed me into the laundry room and because I made him slightly excited, he was very interested in the contents of the laundry basket.

Back in the living room, I started removing the towels and I wrapped Gimli in one of them.

My apologies for the quality, I took it with my cellphone.

I think he liked it because it was so warm.  I wrapped him in a second one. He then ran over to the blanket and dove right into the folds and rolled around, making cute corgi sounds.

See, even a corgi can make laundry fun!

5 things going on in our house - November

I had a post lined up in my head for today, but I forgot what it was going to be.  This occurred as I was lying in bed, so I think I ought to put a notepad on the night stand to write these things down.

As usual, there's no shortage of things going on in our house this month:

1. Christmas is coming and I'm already going crazy trying to come up with ideas for presents, deciding on cards as well as decorating the house - inside and out.

2. We need to start Gimli on a play class so he can learn to play nicely with other dogs.  He knows how to greet them, but he doesn't know how to play. This will become VERY useful in the next 3 months... ahem.

3. I still have a backlog of posts, so much so that I don't know where to start, which makes me forget what I was going to post for today.

4. My Gimli picture taking has become non-existent of late and I feel bad.  I think I just have to grab the camera and start snapping away.

5. I haven't worked out in about a month and I have to get back with it.  Christmas is coming and I have plenty of baking planned.  I've got to counteract it somehow.

Saturday Smiler - Well Hello

I'm smiling even though my mouth is closed.

What is October?

To a great many North Americans, October marks the beginning or middle of Fall - depending on where you live.  It's a time for the majority of the leaves to turn, the weather to make a sharp turn from balmy to the cold that shocks you because your body temperature is still set to summer and you're not ready for the prospect of putting away your shorts and t-shirts.  It means Halloween and trick or treating.

For Mike and I, it means 3 different things.

In order of occurrence:

Our wedding anniversary.

 

This year, I got Mike a set of wooden plaques that I found on Etsy.  I couldn't resist and they match with the purple/gray walls in our living room.

He got me custom M & Ms with little sayings on them :)

Gimli's arrival.

 

Gimli came to join us in 2008 and our life has been full of corgi hair ever since.

We moved into this house.

After a particularly trying 3 months, we moved into the peace and tranquility of our house - on Halloween night no less.  We had no candy to distribute and we were tired from moving, but happier than ever to be on our own again.

Flat Gimli - Heidelberg Part 2

Here's part two of Flat Gimli's travels - Heidelberg Castle.

With the real Gimli's favorite person in the world

With the real Gimli's 2nd favorite person in the world

Happy Halloween

This year Gimli was nice enough to tolerate a costume and so he's pretending to be a gnome.

Here's his picture that was submitted to The Daily Corgi's Halloween costume contest.  If you haven't already voted, please vote Gimli.  You'll find all the details here - The 2012 Howl-O-Ween Costume Contest.

I also took a few pictures this evening with Gimli and our pumpkins. They are supposed to be outside, but it's been raining non-stop for the past 5 days and I fear the paint will start coming off. I think I was supposed to repaint them with a clear sealant, but that didn't happen.

I'm especially proud of the Evil Queen Mickey Mouse pumpkins. Next year, I hope to have a better showing.

Happy Halloween everyone and stay safe in all this wacky weather!

Rain, rain everyday

"If you think it's going to rain, it will." - Clint Eastwood

It has been raining almost non-stop for the past week.  The ground is mush and water is stagnating under the river rocks in our front yard.  We haven't seen the sun in the same amount of time.  Gimli's walks have been, run out, pee, try and avoid walking even though Candy will pull Gimli along, then be so scared that he won't poo, then I turn around and head home.

And now Sandy or what's left of her is on her way to us.

This is what I see when I look out the window:

You can only see a portion of the large tree, but we are hoping it doesn't come down.

Where was all this rain in the middle of July when we had a heatwave and the grass in the yard turned brown and scratchy?  The gigantic weeds in our yard are surely enjoying this weather, someone has to.

Update:

I took Gimli for a walk around 5 pm and it was windy and cold.  You could hear the wind howling, so I'm sure it's going to be a very windy and rainy night.  I might even beg for Gimli to sleep in the bed with us.