The Sewing Mom

My dog, you know the one, just gave me more reason to not be too happy with her. 

She’d been outside and was scratching at the door to be let in.  I let her in and promptly went off to the laundry room to get the clothes out of the dryer.  I could hear her making noises that she tends to make when she’s happy and playing.  She was in the family room when I came out of the laundry room.  I thought she was playing with a piece of mulch, one of her favorite things to chew on.  She was acting a bit suspicious however, so I thought I better check it out. 

I approached her and saw what sort of looked like dog poop.  I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she would be playing with it, I just knew it looked different then mulch.  I opened the back door and tried to get her to take whatever it was outside.  You see, if you attempt to get something from her she’ll turn it into a game and start running around the house with it.  If you ignore her she’ll tend to drop it.  So, I went outside and stood there waiting for her.  I thought she’d follow me, she didn’t. 

Eventually I came back in and took another look.  That’s when it registered.  She had this thing in her mouth and what I saw hanging out of her mouth was a tail, a mouse tail.  GROSS!!  I grabbed the broom and my intent was to scare her into dropping it (although I didn’t really want it on the carpet), but instead she ran outside with it still in her mouth.  I know I should be trying to get it away from her, but I also know that she will just grab it and run, turning it into a game of chase.  I really don’t feel like playing that game, so I’m hoping that she’ll get bored with it (it’s dead and stiff after all) and drop it.  I’m just really hoping she doesn’t attempt to eat it.  I’m just disgusted, yuck.

This past summer my daughter and I, along with my Mom and sister travelled by van through Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. It was a really neat trip because we didn’t really have concrete plans, we sort of went day to day and decided what we wanted to do. No plans, no worries, my kind of trip!

If you’ve never travelled through and around the Great Smoky Mountains, it is something I would highly recommend. My sister lives not too far from there so we do get the opportunity to visit now and then. It’s such a beautiful area, I love being in that area. There really is a lot to do too. There is hiking, horse back riding, fishing and other outdoor sports. If you’re not into the outdoor sports there are so many shops to check out. There’s everything from outlet malls to local craft shops. I was glad we were driving so I didn’t have to worry about how I would get my purchases back home!

Probably the only downside of travelling without making plans is that you’re never really sure where you’re going to sleep at night. The only night that was a problem was when we drove towards [tag]Asheville, N.C.[/tag] We decided we wanted to go visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and headed that direction. Not knowing what hotels were available in Asheville, we opted to pull off the highway a few miles outside of the city and checked into a chain hotel. You’d think with it being a well know chain that it would’ve had better standards. The room was really strange and appeared to be in need of some major updating. It was a huge disappointment, but we made it through the night and the next morning headed on in to Asheville and the beautiful Biltmore Estate.

We enjoyed the [tag]Biltmore Estate[/tag] so much that I would love to make a return visit with my husband. We didn’t have time to really check out the grounds of the Estate, plus it was so hot the day we were there that we cut some things short. If we did decide to go back I think I’d look into an Asheville bed and breakfast for us to stay in. While we were there I noticed that the [tag]Lion & The Rose Bed & Breakfast[/tag] is just blocks from downtown Asheville only 3 miles from the Biltmore Estate. I love staying at B&B’s, they’re so much more private than a hotel.

I need to look at a cute picture of the dog so I won’t remember that she’s driving me nuts!  My little Plinko has entered her teenager phase.  I’m certainly hoping it won’t last long because I can’t deal with her sneakiness and my daughter’s mood swings all at the same time!

We tend to stick to a reasonable routine throughout the week, up at the same time, to bed at the same time, not too much excitement in between, normal, everyday routine stuff.  At night, we always make sure Plinko has gone outside before we put her in her crate for bed.  We tend to go to bed right after she does, around 9-ish. 

Last night Plinko was falling asleep while we were watching T.V. and just before we went to bed my daughter had her go outside to do her business.  She was only out for a few minutes before she was back at the door.  She was let in and put in her crate for bed and we headed off to our own beds, lights out.  Within minutes Plinko was whining.  I wondered if perhaps she hadn’t been outside long enough and maybe forgot to go potty before coming back in.

So, after listening to her cry for about ten minutes, I got back up out of bed and went to her crate.  As soon as I opened the door of the crate she went flying out, running around the house like a big goofball, with no indication that she needed to go outside.  Still, I kept thinking that there must’ve been some reason she was crying, I think I was too tired to realize she was playing me for a fool!

I opened the back door and she then went flying outside.  NOT to go potty, but to chase all the bunnies that apparently are out in the yard at night.  She was running like a mad dog all over the yard and wouldn’t come back in.  So, I went to bed.  Of course, there was no way I was going to fall asleep while she was still outside.  I was too afraid she’d somehow chase one through or under the fence and would follow it.  Instead, I laid in bed wondering how long it would be before she would want back in. 

After about 15 minutes, I’d had enough and really wanted to go to sleep.  I got up, went outside with a flashlight and tried enticing the dog to come back in.  Nothing doing.  I told her I’d give her a biscuit and she sniffed the air to confirm if I had one with me.  Since I didn’t, she ran to the other side of the yard, as fast as she could.  Now, I’m really getting ticked.

I stomped back into the kitchen and got a biscuit and went outside again.  This time she could smell it and did come to me.  I picked her up, marched back into the house, told her what a bad girl she was being and put her in her crate.   I then went to bed where it took me a while to get to sleep because I was mad at the dog.  No, she did not get the biscuit!