Jake (now named Stormy Beaches) at 12 weeks of age.
Here in West Virginia area and beyond, we've received heaps of snow lately. I like the snow, but I was a little put out when I had to go two days without power and heat.
We were able to build a fire in our fireplace, but the blowers won't work without power, so the heat didn't get very far. It went straight up and into the upstairs bedroom. Wished I could have crawled in bed up there until it was all over, but somebody had to tend the heat source. My husband and I took turns tending the fire, but then he was able to leave for work and leave me behind to my misery.
The dogs thought we were on some exciting camping trip as they watched me pull baked potatoes out of the embers of the fire. I also got adventuresome and used a hand-me-down iron skillet to make omelettes. But quickly I grew tired of playing homesteader and wished again for the luxury of my electric stove.
Sigh.
Aren't we spoiled things?
Chester, our ancient cat, cried for nearly two days, asking me, I assume, to turn up the blasted heat. There was nothing I could do but make everyone a bed in the family room and hunker down until it was all over.
Those two days seemed like a really long time. I was so bored because it was was even too dark to read, which is my mainstay when things get slow. However, I did curl up with a good old book of Kanawha County Marriages 1854-1869 and underlined all of my husband's kin and their early marriages. It was so cold, dark and hard to see. My hands were so cold, I could barely draw a line to highlight those records. But genealogy is a beloved hobby of mine and it did help the time pass.
Still, when I think of the people who have actually lost their lives to the cold weather, I feel ashamed to complain. Think of how cold it would have to be to actually kill a person and now think of how many elderly and little children have had to suffer in this weather. It's so sad and the death toll in Kentucky and Arkansas just keeps rising. Our local power crews have been aided by those out of state and but we still have counties that won't have power until this weekend. It's been a bad scene.
When my husband and I drove to our favorite local Tex-Mex restaurant this weekend, we were talking about the weather and how many problems it has caused but we both noticed how much like "Christmas Land" the landscape along I-64 West looked. Every tree or bush was coated with small ice balls and hung low to the ground, bowing to the weight of the extra load. It was beautiful. Like a million tiny icy lights glistening in the afternoon sun.
We finally ran out of rock salt this weekend for our steep driveway and had to resort to fertilizer. It didn't work nearly as well, but I appreciated the generosity of the friend who gave it to us.
But thinking of that salt reminds me of Salty, the dog of my friends, Julie and Robyn.
Julie, called during the two days I was "stranded" and told me that she and Robyn were considering a new Papillon. They've been mourning the loss of their wee girl Salty all this time but recently had started making calls to breeders and trying to get on the waiting lists of the good ones for puppies that might become available.
I know they were feeling a little guilty about starting a new life without Salty in it, but the Lord does make a way for us all, doesn't he? Julie had just about worn herself "down to a nub" (as my Mom would say) calling breeders. Some of them were great, others maybe not so much. It was a lot of pressure for her, as she was still mourning Salt and not feeling quite up to par in all respects. And many of us know how hard it can be to weed through all the breeders out there claiming to be the "best."
But just as soon as she laid this little problem at the Lord's feet, he provided just the right dog for her. Isn't that how it is once we learn to wait? The Lord shows us what he had in mind all along.
I was thrilled when Julie told me they were considering a male Papillon from the same line that my mother's Papillon, Freddie, was descended from, Farley's D Papillons
Jake was this little feller's name and from the pictures they sent once my power came back on, he looks like Freddie, too.
So, this weekend, Robyn and Julie went to retrieve their new puppy and I can already tell how excited they are with this new one. It won't take Salty's place, but maybe will create a new place in their hearts. They've never had a male Papillon before. My experience with Freddie has been very positive. He is extremely playful and loving. Really, all of my male dogs have been more affectionate and more easygoing than my females.
But of course, I've loved them all.
I always liken the difference between boy and girl dogs to humans. Guys just want to play, eat and sleep undisturbed. Satisfy those needs, and they are happy as can be. (The term "play" has a broad definition, including unfettered access to the remote controls in every room.)
Ladies are a bit more complicated and we are always worrying about things that our fellows seem to find just a bit too much to bother with. We have things we need to get done in order to play, eat and sleep undisturbed, so we're always juggling those things. And trying to find the remote way down in the couch cushions.
Anyway, what I'm saying here is that male dogs are easy going and loving. And that's a good thing. I think my friends are really going to be surprised by how sweet this little fellow turns out to be.
The music you're hearing ("Got to Get You Into My Life") is the song I think of when I go to pick up a new Scottie or help a Scottie rescue. I felt that song particularly approriate to my last girl, Dee-Dee. I promised her the first time I met her that I'd come back for her someday and although it was two years later and many days of thinking of her, it finally happened. She was simply meant to be mine.
I think these lyrics work just as well for a much-loved and yearned for puppy that our loving God brings to us.
I'm happy for you, girls!
Got To Get You Into My Life
I was alone, I took a ride,
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I could see
another kind of mind there
Ooh, then I suddenly see you,
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life
You didn't run, you didn't lie
You knew I wanted just to hold you
You knew I wanted just to hold you
Had you gone, you knew in time, we'd meet again
For I had told you
Ooh, you were meant to be near me
Ooh, and I want you hear me
Ooh, and I want you hear me
Say we'll be together every day
Got to get you into my life
What can I do, what can I be,
When I'm with you I want to stay there
If I'm true I'll never leave
And if I do I know the way there
Ooh, then I suddenly see you,
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life
Got to get you into my life
Got to get you into my life
I was alone, I took a ride,
I was alone, I took a ride,
I didn't know what I would find there
Another road where maybe
I could see another kind of mind there
Then suddenly I see you,
Did I tell you I need you
Did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life.
