The Best of Friends

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Bozeman, Montana to pick up Good Ol' Reg. We were in Bozeman just long enough to remember why we love Montana and Wyoming. I have been waiting to make this trek to pick him up since about January 2008. I really love this dog. For those of you who personally know Reggie, you know that he is a bit self-centered. He doesn't like to compete for attention and will pout in a corner if another dog is around. I was planning for him to act in a similar way around Cora. At most, I expected Reggie to completely ignore Cora. Boy, was I wrong! They love each other...most of the time. The have slept together, played together, fed each other, the list goes on. Reggie has been so patient and understanding with her. She lays on him, pulls his hair, feels his cold nose, sticks her fingers in his mouth, tries to eat his food, and he does nothing except maybe walk away from her. Of course we had to deal with Cora smacking Reggie in the face. Reggie is not perfect either. He likes to gently take food from her. You know, since he took it nicely it is OK. Ha! Cora will tell you different when she is screaming NO, NO, NO! and crying. LOL. I had never heard her say "no" until Reggie came back.

We have now had Reggie here one full week. It has been perfect bliss. Really, I love having him here. Cora laughs so hard when he barks at her. She thinks it is the most funny thing on Earth when he wrestles his toys. Reg is definitely getting old. He tires out quickly and spends most of his time sleeping. We had friends over yesterday for brunch and he got off his bed twice. Once when they showed up and again when they left. He has big bursts of energy but just wears down quickly. I keep saying he is old, but he is. Reggie turned 12 this last February. He behaves like a perfect elderly dog. It is actually really nice that he is chill and mellow with Cora around. She doesn't get knocked around quite as much as she would with rambunctious pup.


Cora is reading to Reggie. She gets scolded at the end, but it is still a cute video.



This video is of the two buds watching a rabbit outside.

Cora and Reggie have made my heart swell about 16 times too big. Seeing them together reminds me of Tod and Copper from The Fox and the Hound. I had to add the lyrics from the song "The Best of Friends" because it was just so appropriate for this blog entry.

When you're the best of friends
Having so much fun together
You're not even aware, you're such a funny pair
You're the best of friends

Life's a happy game
You could clown around forever
Neither one of you sees, your natural boundaries
Life's one happy game

If only the world wouldn't get in the way
If only people would just let you play
They say you're both being fools
You're breaking all the rules
They can't understand, the magic of your wonderland

When you're the best of friends
Sharing all that you discover
When that moment has past, will that friendship last?
Who can say? There's a way!
Oh I hope... I hope it never ends
'Cause you're the best of friends  

P.S. I didn't add captions to the photos because I really think they speak for themselves. :)

Shingles...Not the ones on your roof

The snow is quickly melting away and Deadmonton is not feeling quite so dead. I am afraid to say this, but I think Spring has Sprung! For some reason, cabin fever hit hard this year. I am guessing a big part of that was having an energetic little Belle crawling around. :) She has so loved being outside these last two weeks. Yesterday goes down in the books as a great day. It reached nearly 50 degrees, so Bug and I headed out to the park. Dear Daddy is quite sick (I'll get to that), so this gave him peace and quiet for a couple hours in the afternoon.

First, Cora and I went for a quick 20 minute jog. We then headed over to the neighborhood park to play. Did I mention is was 50 degrees out? I had Cora dressed in layers. She had a couple lighter weight jackets over her clothes (same thing I was wearing) with her purple high tops and a baseball cap. Yep, she was rocking the ball cap. She doesn't like the bill facing forward because it gets in her field of vision, but she loves to wear it backwards. She needs something protecting her fair skin on her head. I thought she was dressed just perfectly for the weather. We get to the park and most kids are in snowsuits. It was 50 degrees! I know I was getting a couple side glances from other moms, but oh well. I am not sure if it was because Cora wasn't wearing mittens or because she was sitting in a mud puddle. Hmm. She had a great time. Clothes and babies wash. Cora was such a little stud at the park. She was walking around like she was Little Miss Hot Stuff. I am not even joking. When she walks normally, she holds her hands up and out a bit for balance. Her cool swagger is quite different. She effortlessly hangs her hands at her sides and gets a bit of bounce in her step. She has this attitude that says, "Yeah, I've been doing this walking stuff for over a week now. I am an old pro. No biggie". She cracks me up. Cora exudes a "leader of the pack" attitude at daycare. I definitely saw this same attitude come out at the park even though most kids were at least 3 years older than her. It was pretty interesting watching her try to play. The other kids ignored her, but I don't think they'll be able to ignore her when she is older. I have a feeling we're going to have a little competitive tomboy. She was a muddy mess by the time we got home, but we had so much fun. She is Cool Cat Cora.

A fun day at the park equals some really muddy clothes. Doesn't it look like she had so much fun?

Dear Lee is quite sick. He came home Friday around 5pm with a swollen eyebrow and a strange blister. By 7:30 his eyelid started to swell up. We call Alberta Health (a nurse hotline), and they told Lee to go to the medicentre immediately. The nurse couldn't diagnose whether it was shingles or an infection over the phone, but it was too close to the eye to matter. He needed medical attention. The doctor at the medicentre took one look at him and diagnosed him with shingles. Shingles? Really?? It really struck a chord with us that Lee has been stressed out enough that he broke out in shingles at the age of 27. That's a little bit scary to me. OK, I am not going to lie. It freaked me the hell out. I've always been a bit paranoid about Lee's health considering his genetics. And, mine, for that matter. My family doesn't have a clean bill of health either. As awful as Lee has been feeling with the shingles, I am trying to see this in a positive light. It has certainly been a wake up call for us to get our health in check. We eat pretty good. Most of the time. We need to exercise. A lot more. Lee needs to get in a for a physical. I just had my basic checkup last week and everything is good. However, we both need a full screen done. The last time (and first time) I had mine done was in 2007 and I think Lee's was done in 2006. We're due.

Cora did an excellent job of taking care of Dad while he was sick. She did all this without going near his eye. :)

P.S. This blog entry was written weeks ago, but I am just publishing it today (March 27, 2010). I had no idea I was so far behind in my blog entries. My sincerest apologies to my dear readers. Particularly the ones in Omaha, NE.