Tag: best friends

Meet the Noodle

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After almost three months we finally decided it was time to find a new little dog.

Our criteria were:

  1. Small – 15lbs or less
  2. Terrier MIX  – a pure breed seemed to be too health fragile
  3. Had to PLAY BALL!
  4. On the young side – being a puppy was optional but under 2 years at least
  5. Trainable – being a terrier pretty much assured that.

As I had with Tucker and Buddy I went to the internet to seek the little critter and I found him on Craig’s List.

The add read:

Rat terrier mix looking for a loving home. He is neutered and crate trained/housebroken. He is very intelligent, easy to train, and knows simple commands (sit, stay). He is a great pal to take out for runs and he loves to play fetch!!! We have a full year worth of flea/tick prevention and heart worm medication and we have all of his vet records. He is in excellent health. Unfortunately he is dog #3 in our home and his Alpha-male tendencies do not jive well with our dominant male French Bulldog. We are sad to see him go, but he would be better suited in another loving home.

Location?

NASHVILLE, TN

a long drive.

(200 miles round trip)

We didn’t mind.  I drove approximately 500 miles round trip when we lived in California to go get Buddy.  He was worth it and so is the new little pup.

This is the Noodle

Noodle-Squeeze

At 17 pounds he is about 2 pounds bigger than Tucker, but he fits in the little dog’s bed even with his favorite toy in there with him.

However, it must be said that his favorite place to sleep is…

Seat-Theif!

My seat!

I get up, I come back, and there he is.

~*~

The Noodle has some highly skilled parts that come standard with this breed and are controlled by a very high dose of canine intelligence!

Noodle Parts Chart

(click for larger view)

Noodle-Parts-ChartA fun time is guaranteed with this pup!

~*~

Oh yes, and why name him Noodle?

Tucker had a docked tail that we called the stinger when he wagged it.  He moved it so fast that the little white tip would blur in a visual trail.

Noodle has his whole tail ~ yay!  When he wags, it is wiggly, and looks a bit like a wet noodle.

Ergo his new moniker:  Noodle.

~*~

A good dog is hard to find.

A good used dog?  Almost impossible.

We think we found a great one!

Dega Baby!

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One of the things I didn’t tell you about, and should have… Was going to Talladega for the race on October 23rd.

Although my husband and our friends, Pam and Tim are big NASCAR fans, I could never see any purpose to sitting in front of the TV for hours watching little cars go round and round while some good old boys talked about it non-stop.  To my way of thinking it is tantamount to watching hamsters running in their exercise wheels, and what’s up with that little rat relative Digger?

I digress.

So almost a year ago we began talking about the October Race at Talladega.  And before we knew it the plans were made, the tickets bought, plane reservations made,  and they were here!

Personally I was more excited at the aspect of our friends coming to visit!  We hadn’t seen them since we left California three years ago, and I was looking forward to spending time with them.  Even if it meant having to sit in bleachers for a day…

Well, we drove over two hours, parked, walked over a mile, found our seats, sat down, and realized…

We were right in front of the start/finish line!  

Now some folks would prefer to be way up high so they can see the whole track clearly, and some would prefer to be down in the center of the track where all the partying and crazy stuff is going on, but me, I was kinda liking to be where it all begins and ends.    Although I am not a NASCAR fan, and I don’t have a driver I’m following, it was fun to be there live and in the middle of the action, to see up close what went on in the pit.  Oh, and the really big bonus???  No Digger!  The annoying little rodent was MIA!  😀

Before I get to the pictures I want to take a moment to thank Tim and Pam for buying the tickets.  It was very generous and we all had a great day!  Yes, even me. 

Now, let me tell you, taking pictures of FAST cars is hard.  Add a fence and it is next to impossible!  I found that to get a good shot I had to set the camera for action and face into the oncoming cars.  Doing this allowed the camera to find a focus range and get in a few clear shots.  Like these…

OK, so these aren’t fast-moving cars, but trust me, the fellas in the photo were hustling!

~~~~~

No, your eyes do not deceive you.   That really is 12 inch wide tape holding on the fender of number 20!

TAPE!

~~~~~

You have to look at this one close up!  Imagine driving way over 200 mph, and you are kissing bumpers with the guy in front of you… on a curve…  INSANE.

~~~~~

I took so many photos that day and almost all were trash. The action is simply too fast for this amateur,  and so were the heads of the fans!

I have various blurred shots of the back of several NASCAR fan’s caps.  I thought this red one was attractive…    😉

~~~~~

So for me, even though not a racing fan, it was a great race!  There were four crashes in which no one was killed or seriously maimed (that’s always a plus) and  best of all, I was there with my Sweety and best  friends!

Hmm…  whatever happened to Digger?  Maybe he got run over by one of the fellas on the track?

(Curiosity got the better of ya, huh?)    😉

A Golden Goose?

6 Comments

No,

~*~

A Silver Swan*

~*~

Huntsville Museum of Art

It took visiting friends to get me into the museum in downtown Huntsville!  While there I also enjoyed the WWII quilt exhibit currently on loan.

The creator of the quilt used the Four Corners patch design to signify the troops from the four corners of the world who came together to fight against Hitler and other fascist leaders of the time.

Each of the songs embroidered into the quilt blocks was chosen for a specific soldier known to the ladies who made this quilt.  (Image cropped due to upload issues, sorry, but if you click on the photo it will enlarge to show the whole!  I have no explanation for this anomaly.)

~*~

*Note:  The curator explained to us that to polish the swan piece it must be ‘petted’ with gloves on, as the polishing compounds would embed themselves into the markings of the lifelike feathers.

Oopsie!

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Apparently, my post “Ephemera” was too raw for my audience.  I’m sorry.  I often get asked two questions:  “Why did you quit teaching?”  and  “Why did you choose to move to Alabama?”

My intention was to answer both questions and let you, dear reader, in on some of what makes me tick, what makes me who I am here on the Farmlet.  Sometimes the ugly things that happen in life want to be expressed.  It is a release, a cathartic if you will.

I also don’t like to candy coat things.  So if you are suffering from TMI after reading Monday’s post, then I am truly sorry.  It might happen again, and I can’t guarantee it won’t... 

Or perhaps I will begin another blog for these moments.

🙂