#2Doods Eating & Growing Up

Thought it would be fun to share a couple of photos to show how much both pups have grown. Cooper is probably close to full size but Murphy has several more months left to grow.

This is Cooper's first week at home, just over 3 months old.



Compare him to the half gallon milk jug he's playing with.



This is Cooper now, over 7 months old. He's grown a LOT in those 4 months.



Now for Murphy. He came home at just under 3 months old, this was his first week.



This is Murphy now, he's just over 4 months old. He's put on a lot of weight but hasn't grown quite as quickly in height.



Here is another comparison. The first night Murphy came home, he fell asleep wrapped around the water bowl.



Here are the two of them with Cooper laying on the floor eating (water bowl behind him). Cooper looks small from this angle. LOL!



And here is Cooper eating off his new table Stu built for him (water bowl underneath).



But this is still my favorite and fairly recent photo of the two of them...




Ciao for now!

"Reactions"

There is a lot I could say on this topic, but the quote says it all. Every action has a reaction. Think about it...

Ciao for now!

2 Funny Doods - #2doods

As you already know, the Doods can sleep in some odd positions, especially Cooper. His nickname is Inkblot or Pretzel. Here's an example...or two...





Murphy sleeps a little more traditionally...well, a little more.





Here are the two of them...






Look closely....



A couple of funny things they have done lately but I couldn't capture a photo of...wish I had! Cooper now has a feeding table with a hole for a water bowl and one for a food bowl. We also have their old water bowl underneath for Murphy. The food bowl is only there when he's eating. Imagine our laughter when we saw Cooper drinking water in the bowl UNDERNEATH the table, through the open hole!

As I just said, we keep the old water bowl under the feeding table, mostly for Murphy. Not to be outdone, Murphy has taken to standing with his front feet on top of the table to drink from that water bowl!

We love our doods!

Ciao for now!

"Thankful"

Remember this not just today, but every day!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends!

Ciao for now!

Busy weekend....

Early Friday morning, we loaded up the 2doods and headed to neighboring Cookeville. First chore, dropping the pups offatr doggy daycare. Stu had a 10am appointment to get his FIRST tattoo, a Celtic wedding band on his wedding ring finger. If you remember, I did mine, double hearts, a while back.

We are both really pleased with the results...and he is no longer a tattoo virgin. In fact, he is now considering a special one honoring his family history. Time will tell... Here are a few photos.





We ran errands, saw a movie [Daddy's Home 2], did a little shopping. At Sam's Club, I had to get some teddy bear love....LOL! When done, it was time to pick up the pups and head home.



At Cracker Barrel, I enjoyed the Christmas display but not as much as the GIANT Twizzlers!





An early bedtime for us all since we had to get up even earlier on Saturday. We were boarding the pups for the weekend (their first time away from home - sniff) while we headed over to see our friends Pauline & Earl. Once at their home, we drove over to Dollywood for the afternoon and evening.

They had never been and have only been living in TN for a year now. The crowds weren't bad, the weather, while windy, turned almost balmy by evening. We browsed shops, bought a couple of things, took a ride on the coal train, saw a show, watched some craftsmen at work, counted eagles in the sanctuary, looked at the beautiful light displays, walked thousands of steps and enjoyed a chatting over dinner.

We offered to take a photo of some folks attempting a selfie, and in turn, they took our photo.



We got home around 10:30, after driving through a downpour. We sat up and chatted while we enjoyed some wine, beer & frozen slushie drinks. Needless to say - we all slept well!

Sunday we all relaxed and finally, around 2pm, we headed home. It was strange to not have to worry about the pups since we weren't picking them up until Monday morning. We took advantage of that and did a major grocery shopping before we went home.

Monday was another hectic day. We picked the pups up from their boarding facility and headed back to Cookeville where they went in for a day of doggy play, topped off with baths & grooming. We ran a couple of errands including getting watch batteries replaced for me (and buying a toaster oven for Stu at JC Penney on sale - $60 toaster over for $20), stopping Verizon to get a charge removed from our bill and I even got a flu shot!

The movie today was Thor: Ragnarok. It was "okay" but not as good as the first or even the second one. That said, two new characters were introduced that we hope to see in the next movie, Valkyrie & Korg. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it at that.

Now we are home, pups are sleeping blissfully (they smell so good and their fur is so soft), Stu is napping while thinking he is watching TV and I'm, well, I'm blogging.

Ciao for now!

"Negativity"

We all know those folks. No matter the topic, they have something negative to contribute. I'm not talking about someone playing Devil's Advocate - there is a time and a place for that.

I'm talking about the the Arnold Arguers and Debbie Downers of the world. Those folks who spew vinegar in every situation when sugar would be better. I call these people toxic personalities and they are contagious. If you spend too much time around them, you find yourself spewing vinegar when you least expect it and often when it will do the most damage. Damage to those closest to you.

So after spending time with someone who makes you feel incompetent, depressed, generally negative about things - take time to evaluate the relationship. See if there is something you can do to help that person be less negative.

If not, maybe it's time to bail. Find friends who lift you, not ones who pull you down. Get marriage counseling. Seek a new job or maybe a new career. Do what you can to keep the positive in your life!

Ciao for now!

Something new.... "Patience"

As many folks who have moved from RVing full-time to a more stationary life know (and understand), it's hard to keep a blog interesting. I mean, who wants to read about cleaning house, doing laundry, what you're cooking, doctor appointments and other things from everyday life.

Since enough people enjoy our blog for me to not stop it completely, I've decided to add a little something. Many of us are on Facebook but many others are not. Every day I see sayings that I enjoy and often share.

So in that spirit, I will be adding some posts with those quotes and sayings. Sometimes with a pretty photo in the background (that I may or may not have taken) but sometimes with just a colored background.

If you see one you really like, please drop a comment. I get so few now, I worry who is actually taking time to read.

With that, I'll leave you with a #2doods photo...waiting at the door.

Ciao for now!

More changes...Selling our RV lot in FL

First, we bought a house. Second, we decided to become snowbirds. Third, we got a puppy. Fourth, we added a second puppy. Fifth, we opted to not be snowbirds this year. Phew!

We also have a busy 2018 planned. We have two weeks of cruising in late January/early February. There is a lot we want to do around the house and yard this spring. We hope to start the process of building Stu's pole barn as well. Then in October, we will be spending 6-8 weeks in MD-DE for our annual doctor visits, meeting & greeting family and friends, the wedding of a granddaughter and then a trip to Walt Disney World with our youngest granddaughter as well as good friends and their grandgirls.

We've done a lot of talking recently and realize our snowbird years are finite and since we'd like to travel a bit, it makes sense to sell the rights to our RV lot in Clermont. So, if you or anyone you know might be interested, here is a little bit of information.

SOLD!

Unfortunately, we don't have any good photos of the lot itself, not sure how that happened. We took photos DURING the paving and DURING the shed installation, but not when done. LOL! Here are a few before the paving was extended on one side and before the shed was installed.

This was after the extension of the pavers but before the shed. The shed is approximately where the cargo trailer sits.

Ciao for now!

Another visit - from & to...

Last Sunday our friends from Philadelphia, TN (formerly of MD) came for an overnight visit. We always love to see them and never fail to enjoy ourselves. Even though it was cold and damp (we had some very light snow flurries), Monday warmed up and the sun came out from behind the clouds.

So, we opted to head off to the Muddy Pond Mennonite community to introduce them to what we discovered a couple weeks earlier with our friends who are buying our property here in TN.

They fell in love with the rockers at Muddy Pond General Store but they also discovered something we missed on our other visit - a whole upstairs filled with goodies!











Including more differently styled rockers...




From there we continued on The Country Porch for a little more shopping (I just had to get more of the relish which is very much like my grandmother's picalilli relish from my childhood) and some lunch.



Loved this sign...


A great day and one I know we will soon repeat...

Ciao for now!

Officially fall...time to...fall back, change smoke alarm batteries & more

I've had fun finding images about FALLING BACK and thought I'd share a few.

Jim Hunt does some very humorous ones...

Some announce events at the same time...

While many are just pretty to look at...

But this is the serious one...

Ciao for now!