Our foster puppy Chuck has been adopted...

8 weeks ago we took on two foster puppies, Chuck and Carli.  Both the most incredible beasts.  Both loved other dogs and people.  Carli was adopted right away which was odd as it was Chuck who had the most inquiries.

She was 6 pounds at 8 weeks and he was 10.  You can't be really blue w/ puppies around.

I know that lots of dogs sleep like this now and again, Chuck slept like this all of the time!  He was always near our yellow Lab, Zoe.  

At 14 weeks, here is Chuck with the new foster puppy Dennis.  Chuck is 25 pounds here and Dennis is 6#.  Dennis arrived last Saturday and Chuck went to his Real home on Monday.  They were instant friends because...well, that's just how Chuck is.  Oh I miss him.

I had house guest on Sunday (and many relatives), so...here is Dennis with the little girls.  Meanwhile, Chuck is out of the frey.

When Chuck is tired, he sleeps.  Oh, I miss him.

Chuck is a Kennel Guy, loves his kennel.  He was more than happy to share his kennel with Dennis the night before he went to his home.

Before Chuck went to have his "nutter butter's" removed (that's what my 11 yr. old nephew called it), Jim took a few pictures of what Chuck and I always looked like together.  Seriously, 100% of the time...when I held him, this was it. 

Don't look at me...I slept terrible...look at Chuck.  He knew I loved him.  Excuse me, I need to cry.

PUPPIES

For whatever reason, I'm less happy now in this glorious spring than I was during the worst winter in Nebraska history.  

I've found that I'm alone most of the time...empty nest right now and St. Jim is on the road 5 days a week.  I am such a good citizen and an extremely responsible person that I knew if I volunteered for something, I'd follow through on it....and do it well!  So, I volunteered to foster puppies for a pet rescue. I suppose that sounds extreme but, had to do something extreme to change my feelings.   

In the first place, I knew that it would get me outside and keep me outside.  I have a few hundred square feet of garden's in the back yard, and I've gotten so much exercise and sunshine this past week weeding and tending.  The puppies play around me when I'm out there....it's great.

Zoe, our 3 yr. old lab is famous for her funny personality and great dog manners.  The good citizen part of me thought that she would be such an excellent mentor for puppies and rescue dogs.  
Also, we have neighborhood children around here every day now!  We've always been "that" house (the one where children are drawn to)but, now I have the joy of children in my space as they bubble with delight while playing with the puppies every day after school.

My parent's older lab, Brie, was here to meet Chuck (above) and Carli.  Brie had knee surgery 4 weeks ago, hence the shaved leg.

I could watch them for hours but, they ARE only 7 weeks old so, do sleep a lot.

Enjoy looking at the rest of the puppy pictures, it sure has lifted my spirits having them here!  Oh!  And to all you mothers, hope you had a nice day yesterday.

My father-in-law died several months ago.  So we left Nebraska for the great state of Wisconsin.  Since my camera is also a piece of jewelry, I'll share a couple of highlights from our 4 day Funeral Trip.  Below is a picture of a Jaguar Limo we saw south of Des Moines, Iowa.  

My husband Jim is a saint, seriously.  He deserves to have the two most adorable grand daughters.  The little one below is Dorothy and Della is in a later picture.  My father in law (August Kasten) was a wonderful man. A great husband, father and friend.  He was a farmer in his younger years, then a Postmaster.  They are Wisconsin Synod Lutheran so, the funeral was really meaningful to me as it had all kinds of theological stuff in it.

Dorothy was fighting sleep so, I used my Trick and she was out in a minute. (NO, I didn't rock her to sleep with a rock).  Then my 17 yr. old son asked, "Can I hold her"?  Here is a precious picture of that.

We took pictures galore as everyone was there.  My mother in law Shirley is in the center.  The back row is John, Cindy, St. Jim.  Front row is Myra, Shirley and Judy.  These people are hilarious!  Look at John's face!  We're going on a cruise together w/ these jokers and some spouses next fall.  I can not wait.  My Jim has the kindest face, doesn't he?

We stayed at Cindy's house (yes, my husband has a sister also named Cindy.  What's stranger is that I have a brother named Jim).  Since we were there over the weekend too, we hit the local GoodWill.  Does anyone else do this?  I take pictures of really interesting strangers.  Jim saw me zooming in on this guy...I looked up and winked at him.  He turned on his heels and walked away fast!  Hahahaha!

My Mother In Law was opening a gift, the little great grandchildren gathered around.  Can you see Della's hair?  I had made a big deal about fixing her hair real "beautiful".  She let me do that and grinned and wore that all night!  I love messin' w/little kids.

Well, that's all I have for now.  I just had to put something out there as I miss you guys!  Hugs!