Morgan

This is a picture of our very first Jack Russell Terrier, Morgan. Our son, Beau drew this and he really captured her.
She was quite the old girl here, probably 16 or so. She loved that chair and napped in it every day.

The Embarrassingly Huge Fitness Collection

I’m always referring to it so I thought I’d show it off. This bookcase holds pretty much all my Fitness DVDS and my most referred to fitness books. It actually doesn’t look too bad until you notice that there are three huge and two medium sized DVD wallets on the bottommost shelf.

I currently have no exercise streaming subscriptions and don’t have a membership to a gym. Actually the only gym membership I ever had came as a perk for teaching there - and I still used my DVDs instead! So this bookcase represents 40 years of staying fit. If I calculated 40 years of gym memberships I’d definitely come out ahead of the game.

And yes, there are workouts from 40 years ago that I still use these days. They were originally VHS tapes that I replaced with DVDs as they wore out. I actually did Callanetics so many times that I wore out two VHS tapes and finally bought a DVD of the workout. Same with some of The Original Firm VHS Tapes.

This is definitely not for everyone and I understand that but, for me it’s a huge source of joy. My daily exercise time is my “me” time. It’s me taking the time to care for myself and I love every minute of the process from deciding what to do, to doing it, to thinking back over the workout as I take my post workout shower.

I wish I could bottle the joy and elation that my daily workouts bring me and give a bottle to anyone who wanted one. That’s not possible because we’re all individuals and you really need to discover what lights your fire and keeps you coming back for the joy. I assure you It’s worth the effort to find it.

So what type of movement, sport or exercise lights your fire? Feel free to share in the comments below.

My Serenity Place

Unfortunately the camera fails to capture the magic. :)

We have a huge area of our yard “fenced.” This keeps the critters out and the dogs safe. It also helps stave off the relentless encroachment of the forest. What can I say? Nature lives to go forth and multiply!

Anyhoo, we expanded the fencing an additional 6’ back and 6’ to one side and when we did I discovered this lovely sun-dappled view. The light plays through the tree tops so it dances about on the forest floor and the birdsong is wonderful. I took the picture through the fence. I want to put one of those benches that converts to a picnic table there so I can enjoy the view and read and journal in warm weather.

The UPS Guy Left These

He’s new and I suppose he wants to win the dogs over. Little does he know how much they already love his arrival. The same 4 dogs who are totally quiet when a massage is going on in the massage room go crazy when the UPS truck arrives. (They’ll bark a couple times but are strangely subdued if he arrives while a massage is going on.)

Our old UPS man used to delight in trying to sneak up on the dogs and even did it a couple of times. We shared a good chuckle over that.

Reclaimed Fire Ring

We built this simple fire pit this summer. It’s almost completely built from salvaged materials, right down to the stones. It has a salvaged grate so it doubles as a barbecue grill. It’s enjoy sitting around it in the evenings. Meditating on flame patterns is very relaxing. S’mores and toasted marshmallows (the real deal) aren’t so bad either. :) 

The birds song you hear isn’t augmented in any way. We enjoy it during the warmer months. The songs dependably change from hour to hour during the course of the day. It’s a stark contrast to the winter months when it’s so still and silent. 

Nobody But Us Pillows On This Bed!

Fionn (pronounced Finn) is allowed on the bottom of the bed on a special throw blanket just for him. On this particular morning he “hid” himself in amongst the pillows. I swear he thought he wouldn’t be seen.

He’s such a clown and keeps us laughing every single day!

Wild Flowers with a History

 

When my sister got married, over 21 years ago, wedding guests all got a packet of flower seeds to plant in honor of the bride and groom. We live in planting zone 3-4 so I wasn’t sure that those flowers would even last a single summer.

I planted them where I could watch and nurture them. In the end the only flowers that survived that first winter were daisies. In the ensuing years the forest has encroached but those daisies come up, without fail every spring. Each year when I see them I’m reminded of Shani and John and the love that they share.

Daisies represent new beginnings and true love. Isn’t that just the best? Love you little sister!

Grabbing Some Lap Time

Starsky is a rescue cat. He was considered unadoptable because he has FIV and additional health issues so he was the shelter cat. That is, until we met. The minute I saw him we connected. I wasn’t planning on taking a cat home but immediately asked about adopting him and was turned down because he was, after all, the shelter cat.

One month later I got a call asking if I still wanted to adopt him. Apparently since we met he had been a changed cat. He was getting into mischief overnight and they had to keep him crated whereas he had previously had the run of the joint - open crate - at night. What kind of mischief, you ask? Once he managed to call 911 in the middle of the night. Another time he took down a cat nip display, opening every package and tossed the contents about. As they explained it, “He’s a cat with a serious cat nip problem.”


Starsky takes our Jack Pack in his stride and always has. He is now blind in one eye and is not as playful as he used to be but he’s doing well having lived several years past the expected lifespan for an FIV+ cat. He has a daily routine, which he pretty much sticks to. He has twice daily eye drops and an herbal squirt that he takes like a trouper.

All in all he’s one amazing cat and we feel blessed to have him here. Oh, and he still loves Cat Nip.

The “Twins”

They aren’t really Twins. Fionna is actually 3 years younger than Reilly but they are always together.

They even prefer to share the same crate. We got a larger crate for them once we realized that they were cramming themselves into the same smaller crate for naps.

It’s so funny to see them walk around a corner and into a room side by side and perfectly in step.

4 Jack Russel “Terrors” Do New Years Resolutions

Fionna

First up Fionna who says:
I'm going to exercise daily and make sure I eat my nutrient dense, species appropriate dog food in proper portions to be my healthiest.

I also need to stop hanging around with mom so much because, dang it all, she's really starting to rub off on me and I'm not sure I like it!

EEK! I'm even doing run on sentences like she does!

Hutch says:
I'm going to avoid walking up too many hills and perform a series of daily Up dogs and Down dogs in order to elongate my leg muscles. I'm hoping this will give them a longer, sleeker appearance.

Reilly says:
I'm going to stop using my impossible cuteness to my advantage. Well only 50% of the time because let's face it, when you're blessed with this much cuteness it would be a sin not to use it at least part of the time. Please don't hate me. I come by it naturally.

Fionn (that's Finn to you) says:
I'm going to stop stealing Dad's gloves out of his pockets - right under his nose, hee hee.

I'm warning you though, underwear and socks? Those are still fair game!

BTW, I prefer Van Heusen undies and LLBEAN socks.

Starsky the cat says: Their Cat? THEIR CAT??? Between you and me I own those dogs. I'm going do my best to tease the life out of those dogs. THEIR CAT? They'll be eating those words in 2016.

Reilly adds: It's really a shame that mom didn't catch my best angle in that picture but even at my worst I'm still way cuter than the cat! Don't ya think? heh, heh heh


Thanks for reading. Stay tuned to see how those resolutions pan out in 2016!

PS, This is mom to this pack. I thought maybe I'd vow to put and end to run on sentences and maybe even a few of my other grammatical faux pas but honestly it drives the grammar police crazy and it's part of my charm so I guess you can't count on that changing in 2016! ;)


This is obviously an old post but it’s so darn hot and humid and the thought of January weather is a bit cooling, NOT!

16 Reasons Why Jack Russels are the Worst Pets!

THIS brief article gave me the biggest chuckle this morning! Hope it makes you smile too! Remember that grinning is anti-aging face exercise in the form of joy!

And Then There Were 4!

Tonight Reed decided to walk on the treadmill and just see what would happen. With in 30 seconds he had three dogs walking with him. They just jumped on board.

Poor Hutch was watching and trying to figure out where he could fit in the scheme of things. Finally, he made his move and then there were four.  It looks like Hutch jumps off but he didn't. I have more video I'll put below.

Notice Fionna nipping at the hem of Reed's pants. She's letting him know she's there in case he decides to hand out treats.

Look What Happened Yesterday

Reed was walking Fionn and Reilly on the Treadmill when Fionna decided she wanted to join in on the fun. Note she has no lead. She spontaneously jumped on and continued to walk for 20 minutes. She's a high energy little dog and would run and walk 6 times a day if you let her. She may have also been angling for another breakfast but was happy with a doggy biscuit.

Reilly wasn't sure he was too happy with the change. He's our Dandy and is pretty sure the world revolves around him. As you can see, by the time I was able to film them he got over it.

Tired Dogs

Another older post I found: Play hard in the snow, rest easy by the woodstove, then rinse and repeat!

Old post alert:

This why the dogs look so tired when they're relaxing around the wood stove. Yes, we do leave our lawn furniture out all winter. It's LLBean all weather furniture and it's worth its weight in gold. The chairs have been wintering out for 18 years without any noticeable changes.

PS: The furniture still looks great 20+years and counting. 

Napping With Her Babies

Fionna by the woodstove. She gathered her favorite toys and bones up and situated them within easy reach prior to settling down.

Hutch’s Baby Book

Hope this works!

Click here to view this photo book.

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