Had a busy day, today. Took Penelope to vet brother first thing this morning. She had some kind of allergic reaction last night right before bed time. She went on a scratching and itching attack and broke out in hives. Never seen anything like this. She scratched and turned upside down the rug to scratch her back, rubbed her face on the rug. I gave her a bath in her special shampoo, dried her off, wrapped her up in her blanket, and gave her a Zyrtec. She stopped scratching and went to sleep. I searched everywhere to see if I could find anything she could have eaten or gotten in to. Vet brother said she must have eaten something and had an allergic reaction. Said she could have eaten a bug. Stew saw a couple of those stink bugs last night so maybe she ate one. She got a shot and is back to her frisky, pesky little self. I love her so much! She’s part of Chief and me.

After the vet visit it was time for Wally World grocery pickup. Came home from there and oldest brother came over and youngest sister-in-law came over, with her darling granddaughter, and we had a porch sitting visit. You remember youngest sister-in-law, she tries on shoes standing on one leg like a flamingo. She’s cute, so is her granddaughter.

After they left I strapped on my pedometer and hit the road for a walk. Used to walk 2 miles a day but haven’t in a long while. Made it three-fourths of a mile and my knee couldn’t take the cement any more. Walked my two miles in the woods in Alexander City. Guess I’m going to have to work up to two miles little by little. Taking a trip in June with the grandchildren so I need to shape up to keep up with them. Last trip involved long bike rides which I loved. This trip might involve a hike or two. I don’t want to miss out on anything!

My porch is covered in pollen. Neve have seen it like this. The neighbors dog chewed a hole in my hose pipe so I can’t wash it off till I buy another one. Used the leaf blower to blow it off. Bad idea, just made a yellow cloud that floated everywhere. That cloud is probably why my eyes itch and my nose is running. Maybe that was Penelope’s problem, too.

Can’t even remember how the sky and clouds looked today. After lunch I sat in the swing and watched some purple finches and cardinals and chickadees frolicking on the feeders. Penelope napped in the playpen. The breeze, though light, was cool. Eventually retreated to my lady den and went to sleep in my chair. I covered up with a blanket cause the house was cold and nodded off. Haven’t slept well the last two nights. Didn’t mean to nap but guess I needed it.

Been trying to remember the names of the dogs we had when I was a little girl. We had Ella and Sputnik, short hair pointers. Then came Joe, an English setter, with his crooked teeth. When he shut his mouth his canine teeth stuck out. Looked mean but he was a sweet boy. He would have showed the burglars where the sterling silver was. He went to the farm a lot with daddy and my brothers. He was on the back of the truck once while they were loading hay bales and he just kept jumping on top of the bales till the truck was full. He rode home standing up on the top of the load of hay. I saw Daddy drive through town with Joe standing on top. Don’t know why he didn’t fall off. Daddy left him at the farm once when Joe didn’t come when he called him. I was worried but when Daddy went to the farm the next day Joe was sitting near the gate.

Red showed up at oldest brother’s house one day, had puppies, and eventually moved to our house. She was a beautiful Irish setter, affectionate and sweet. She wandered around town so much two stores kept a bowl of water for her. She might have gotten a bone occasionally at the downtown grocery store. Small town dogs used to be everybody’s friend and enjoyed their wanderings. Leash laws have taken their freedom, yet kept them safe, and the public safe, too. Red had been with us for many years when a random car stopped in the street one day in front of our house and when they opened the car door, she jumped in the car. We were sitting on the porch and watched this happen. One of my brothers wanted to follow the car but Mama wouldn’t let him. I really missed that dog. No more family dogs after Red.

My dachshund, Penelope, is a lot of comfort to me. She knows when I’m sad and will hop in my lap. Never had a house dog till she came along. She used to sleep on the foot of the bed with Chief and me. She loved Chief and he spoiled her. I made vet brother write out on a prescription note that she couldn’t have table food. I put the prescription on the refrigerator but he’d ignore it. He’d give her a tiny bowl of ice cream at night when he ate his ice cream. First time I ate some ice cream after Chief died, she gave me the pitiful doggy face the whole time I ate. I gave her a teaspoon. She’s high maintenance but I love her.

Thought about Penelope when I read this quote. “If you are a dog and your owner suggest that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail.”—Fran Lebowitz. Penelope hates a dog sweater and acts paralyzed the first few minutes when I put one on her.

Dogs are such agreeable, faithful friends. You look deep into their eyes and you can almost see their soul. Nothing can make you smile more than looking into the face of a dog that loves you. Dogs really trust us with their hearts. They give us unconditional love. They never judge us and are always glad to see us.

God bless all the dogs!