Penny Sanford Porcelains

Bored Wife Invents New Westie Game

You are not going to believe what my wife started doing today! She still cannot use her right arm. It was very painful last night and much of today. She can't type; she can't sculpt; she can't sew. She has worked on a computer jigsaw puzzle until her eyes hurt. She is bored with TV. I think she is even bored with me, her husband!  The pain and the frustration has made her grind her teeth which has led to intense jaw pain, so last night she started using a massager on her face and jaw and neck. The dogs have been once again stuck to her warm side. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the hum of the vibrator was not because my wife was massaging her aching jaws and arm...she was giving Mackie a back massage! He was soaking it all up! Last night she shared the heating pad she had on her hurt right arm with him for his bad hips! This little Martian massager we found at Walmart a few months back, and I dug it out for Penny to use on the dogs. She can massage the dogs with just her left hand, so the bored, fretful wife of earlier this afternoon has suddenly turned into a much calmer, happier mommy of Westies. It is funny to see the Westie first be nervous about the vibrating thing and a little jumpy...only to suddenly realize the massager feels good and relax into a jelly Westie!

Faithful, Trustworthy, Loyal, Loving Kelly

Here is loving, faithful, protective Kelly. Her "summer cut" is beginning to grow out. She will have a long, thick coat of hair by winter.

She was in her favorite spot this afternoon at the bottom of the stairs leading upstairs, looking toward the double front doors. She can watch the front door, watch anything going upstairs or coming downstairs, and she has an easy view of the rest of the hall.

I was shooting a few pottery pictures today...a little more pottery therapy to share with you.  The dogs, as usual, were all around, mostly following me, Charlotte in Mama's lap and Lilllibeth looking for Gordon.

With the front doors open wide to flood the space with natural light that is impossible to replicate, Kelly settled down to guard me and the little Westies.

From the very beginning when we picked out Kelly at the breeder in Weir, Mississippi, Kelly assumed the role of Alpha dog. Her puppy feet bounded over to Unc, as she picked him out to be her very special human. That bond has never wavered.

She has ruled our canine pack for 14 years now, a job that brings with it bites and bruises and sometimes broken skin. Her knees and joints have been bitten so many times by disobedient other English Shepherds who have lived here through the years, that Kelly suffers from quite significant arthritis.

We give her medicine to help her be mobile every day.  When I started learning more about being the Alpha of our pack of dogs, Kelly graciously allowed me to hold that position.  Only in private, if I hugged her from above her back and shoulders, a very dominant position in the dog world, would she give me a low growl that was easily stopped with a simple "shush".

When lightning and thunder made Kelly afraid and vulnerable in the pack's eyes, she would come to me to lay as close to me as possible because, I think, she knew I would protect her Alpha status...and protect her. Then there were times I stood back and trusted her to discipline one of the English Shepherds that was trying to step outside of the role for which she was designated in the pack.

Kelly and I have a special channel of communication. She can come to me when I arrive in the farmhouse in the morning, and with her eyes, she can let me know whether she has had her medicine or whether Unc has forgotten it...again.

Kelly and I don't have the bond that I enjoyed with Delta and Daddles. That seems to be something the dog chooses like Lillibeth with Gordon and Charlotte and Kelly with Unc.

Kelly is completely trustworthy around people, always positioning herself between the stranger and her human(s), meaning Mama, Unc, Gordon, me and including the people who work here on the farm.

I've always completely trusted Kelly's ability to judge people. A low growl from Kelly was enough to tell me that the stranger was not trustworthy. Kelly's opinion has never been wrong.

Only the Alpha dog or the leader of a human pack can know the toll it takes to oversee the other members of the pack, arbitrate the inevitable disputes between pack members, and be on guard always for danger from outside the pack. It is a tough job that leaves visible scars and prematurely ages one.

Today, while I was shooting the pottery, Gordon drew my attention to the interaction between Elvis and Kelly. Elvis could walk under Kelly's stomach, and she just stood there and let him sniff all he wanted. She sniffed a little too and carefully wagged her tail. She did not want to knock him down with her tail, ya know.

At least she has finally decided the little white bouncy furry things are indeed dogs. For a long while, I'd see Kelly watching and studying the little Westies, pondering their mere existence. 

Kelly has seen many new fur faces come into this household, and she has welcomed every one, even those who were a little slow to learn that Kelly is the Alpha dog on this farm, second only to her humans.

Kelly is 14 years old. She won't be with us forever, but I'm making a concerted effort to give her special attention every day. Best case scenario, she will live several more years as long as her pain is manageable.

I wonder how many human relationships in my life have been as faithful, trustworthy, loyal and loving as my relationship with Kelly?

Please tell me about your special pets that have lived past 14 years.

More pictures of Kelly to be added later.

Round The Clock Westie Nursing Care, LLC

Here is my report on patients Penny and Gordon, our humans.

I'm Nurse Annie, ranking medical specialist with Round The Clock Westie Nursing Care, LLC.

Mama Penny fell again this afternoon.

She was really, really tired from the morning and early afternoon up at the farmhouse.

When she walked through the studio door, carrying an armful of stuff...none of it smelled like food, so I don't know why it was so important for her to carry down here...she tripped over the corner of the doggie steps.

It seemed like she fell forever.  The paperwork and the vase with the flower Daddy had picked for her flew everywhere.

Daddy was on the phone with a business call, but he said, "I've gotta go, my wife just fell," and he hung up the phone immediately so that he could help Mama. I'm proud to report that my staff was already on the scene checking out Mama's condition. 

Mama was crying because it hurt, and because she was so tired. She was saying to Daddy that she had spent all the day so far doing things for others, only getting four pieces of porcelain finished, and when she could finally get away to have some peace and quiet, she didn't watch where she was walking and didn't pick her feet up enough to avoid the steps.

When Mama cries, we jump into action. Our highly trained Westie medical skills know just how to treat tears and tired spirits.

Daddy got Mama into bed, and he sprayed some stinky herbal stuff on her knees and wrists and elbows and back and gave her some medicine.

Then we moved in to work our magic.  Lillibeth used hypnosis on Mama to take the pain away. Then she curled up against Mama's back and shared her heating pad with Mama.
Lillibeth has developed a wonderful method of wiggling her nose and blinking her eyes to hypnotize humans into doing everything she wants.

Elvis brought magazines and curled up around Mama's knees.

Elvis keeps talking about being a neurosurgeon like his television hero Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies, but, like Jethro, Elvis is a few dog biscuits short of a full biscuit jar, if you know what I mean!

Here he is sporting one of the patriotic dollars Mama got for us to wear around the Fourth of July and other patriotic holidays.

I actually wore that collar first, and if you don't mind me saying so, the collar looked much, much better on me!

I must say that Elvis is looking more and more handsome as his hair grows out...but don't tell him that I said that!

Mackie offered to go catch a rabbit or a little mouse or some other critter for Mama to play with while she rested in bed this afternoon. That might be what would cheer Mackie up if he were having a bad day, but it was not the right medicine for Mama today.

Instead, he collected as many of the new squeaky chipmunks as he could find and put on a squeaky concert for Mama. She asked Daddy for some headache medicine soon after that, but she did not stop Mackie's play time. Later he took a nap with his head propped on Mama's head or neck .

Mama and Daddy recently got us one of those Hide a Squirrel things where we pull a squeaky toy out of different holes in the fuzzy stump. They also got six extra chipmunks or squirrels for backups.

See, when Mackie came to live here, he brought his favorite squeaky toy, a chipmunk that looked just like one of these new ones. Mama named it "Louisiana Lou" because Mackie came to us from Louisiana. Then Mama found some chipmunks and skunks that were similar.

Mackie played with them for a good while, but then they all eventually disappeared. Mama says she thinks Mackie has hidden many of the squeaky toys that he has not torn apart. 

I might be suspicious that another Westie, perhaps jealous of all the attention Mackie was getting or tired of hearing the incessant squeaking may have hidden them herself....but that is just hypothetical, ya know! I also suspect that the nine new chipmunks will continue to disappear until there are none left.

Mama tied a string to the tail of one of the chipmunks so that she and I can play with it...just us. She says it is helping me get over my fear of squeaky toys. I've not been able to tell Mama and Daddy why I have to go hide every time the squeaky toys start to squeak.

Well, Lillibeth has doing her hypnosis thing on Daddy. He is such a sucker for a little blondie like Lillibeth. Daddy is slowly improving from the staph infection, but he is still uncomfortable.

We are working around the clock to keep our humans healthy and happy, but that is what we do here at Round the Clock Westie Nursing Care, LLC.

When there is more to report, I will let you know.
Respectfully,
Head Nurse Annie
PS:  Now that little flirt Lillibeth  is getting petting from Mama AND Daddy at the same time.

I think it is time I moved back in to check Mamas vital signs again, especially if she feels good enough to be petting one of my nurses.

Escorting a Young Lady Wearing Nothing But A Fur Coat

"Honey, I just escorted a young lady wearing nothing but a fur coat back to the studio," Gordon called out as he came through the studio front door, the little string of sleigh bells ringing to announce his return.

"She was all alone outside, and it was dark...," his voice trailed away until he reached our bedroom. "She mewed and mewed the whole time I was in the shower. Rosalie is safely back inside tonight eating her tuna."

With that, my husband gave me a gift of love. It made me giggle with delight because he had never used that turn of phrase to let me know that Rosalie was safely back inside for the night.

It was one of the moments that goes into my mental scrapbook. There is no way to capture the moment in digital pixels.

My mind's eye can "see" Gordon picking up Rosalie and letting her ride on his little bundle of dirty clothes and wet towels as he came back from the shower in Grandma's house.

(Note: We are S-L-O-W-L-Y renovating Grandma's house so that we can move into it. It is  30 feet or so from the studio. The bathroom is finished except for painting. We've had the paint bought for months, but we have not had time or energy to paint. Our living quarters in the studio has a bathroom and hot water and all that stuff, but Grandma's house has THE double, handicapped shower with fabulous water pressure and two built in seats, etc!)

Back to Gordon's gift. I'm not completely sure why his off-handed funny remarks or interaction with the fur kids feed my spirit so deeply. If you have psychological insight, I would be very interested in learning.

The other day, he popped his head around the corner and said, "I have a young man here....". Then he stepped fully around the corner holding Mackie like a little live teddy bear, all clean and fluffy standing up in Gordon's arms, showing his adorable little fluffy tummy. ".....who wants to see his mama."

With that small gesture, Gordon wiped away a day full of stress. Mackie licked my face, relaxing the stress lines. Then Gordon hugged us both as if Mackie were our child.

The fur kids are our children...or at least the closest we will ever get to having children.

There are times the hormones cry out for a human child, but most of the time, I must confess, I am thankful we only have to worry about rabbits and moles and grasshoppers and fleas...and not sexual predators, drugs, crime, sex parties and all of the things kids can get sucked into these days.

While I took a little nap this afternoon, my loving husband gave all four of our powder puffs baths. He had already helped me bathe Charlotte who stays with Mama and Unc. He also helped give routine worm medicine to all eight dogs!

My emotional batteries are fully charged with Gordons love tonight!

I'm putting a shortcut to this blog post on my computer desktop so that I can re-read it the next time Gordon does something Like a Typical Man!

Lunch with the fur kids

This was a first for me...taking one of the fur kids to have lunch at a local eatery.

Gordon's aunt and uncle came through nearby Winona, Mississippi, today (Thursday) on their way to Pigeon Forge, TN. They have a little Maltese, Toby.

Woody's Old Town Grill has an outdoor patio as its entrance, so of course we went there. Plus, I was craving one of the mushroom burgers that I used to get there in the early 1980's. Their mushroom burger of old is no longer on the menu, but they still make it for folks like me who can't get them out of our minds.

It was in the 90's today in Mississippi, and we were dreading melting over lunch, but I was thrilled to discover that the patio was perfectly situated for a super breeze. We were completely comfortable, and we lingered over lunch for a long conversation.

I thought the restaurant owners must have known some secret about raised patios being cooler...or they planned for the air currents created by nearby passing vehicles to help cool outdoor customers...until I learned later today that the building had begun life as a freight office, designed for 18 wheelers to back up to the front door. At least I might get an "A" for creative meteorology?

Codye, our waitress, even brought some water in a bowl for the dogs. I thought that was a particularly special gesture.

Annie wore one of her custom collar slipcovers with embroidery. Pattern and details are here.

Annie had a blast sitting under my chair or right at my feet, watching people come and go. Because of the raised patio entrance, she got to watch bobbing heads with people attached emerge from the ramp and then disappear down the ramp. She loved it, and I was proud as a peacock that my fur child just sat and watched, perfectly at ease and not interested in drawing attention to herself!

Annie gave me many of those smiles I have worked hard to earn from her. Because of the abuse in her background, it took a while to earn those smiles. They are priceless to us!

Seeing us meeting strangers (to Annie) holding a little white dog, I think Annie was worried that we were bringing yet another dog into our fur family here on the farm, or that we might be giving her away.

It was just a fleeting expression of concern. Annie can convey her emotions very effectively.

Toby was enthusiastically expressing his male machismo, and Annie looked at him with a withering look that said, "Look, kid. You are like 1/3 my size. I could whip you with two paws tied behind my back, and besides, you are a bowaay. (psshhaaww) Leave me alone (sneer)."

Tonight, Annie has chosen to curl up with her head on my shoulder so that I could whisper into her pert pink ears those little private phrases that I only share with my precious Annie.

Each time we take Annie on a special "adventure", she and I grow closer. It is a privilege to watch this little furry treasure open up and give more of her little heart and allow more love to reach the old emotional hurts.

What a Wee Westie Lass Wears

Aaahh, what a Wee Westie Lass wears on a sultry summer evening in Mississippi...

Why, a vivid, sleeveless kimono!

Annie models her completed frock for you after I spent five minutes this afternoon finishing the bow.

What can I say...the kimono band started out in a squiggly Dr. Seuss mood, but I was listening to Star Trek: Enterprise when I finished the bow, so the bow is a bit Sci Fi.  The kimono influence came from the discussion and documenting a bit of family history from Occupied Japan.

Ya think all those disparate influences will give Annie a complex? Or give her bad dreams? Yikes! Hope not!

No time to sit and chat with you tonight. Patterns and more chic doggie designs to come, I promise...after this big porcelain deadline.

Back to porcelain, folks.

Eyes are hurting tonight. Allergies, I think...so I really cannot tell how these photos edited.

The two shots of the kimono sans Annie are ones I could not clearly see the color and detail on the computer screen. Maybe the fabric has a sheen to it.

I may need to reshoot those pictures another day.

Now, to think of what the next outfit will be...It is fun to sew for the fur babies.

If you missed Lillibeth's Flower Child Dress, here it is.

You may want to check out my collar slipcover patterns that I share, for free, on this blog. Those patterns and ideas are under the categories of Fur Kids or Projects (maybe both).

I won't take time right now to find the exact links...will do later tonight if I have any uummph left after starting the kiln.

Charlotte's Subtle Web

I've not posted as much about Charlotte as she deserves. Charlotte was one of the eight puppy mill Westies we rescued last September.

Charlotte chose Unc as she took her first few steps on the farm. She adores Unc. She follows him everywhere he will allow her to go which includes the garden.

Which means Charlotte will always have tan legs, tummy and hindquarters. As long as she is happy, then I am happy, regardless of her shading.

Charlotte has also spun her web over Gordon, Mama and me. We think she may be a sister to Lillibeth.

She is very shy and nervous around more dominant dogs (the other Westies), but she seems to get along great with the tall English Shepherds.Charlotte spends her time in the farmhouse with my mother and uncle and the English Shepherds. Seeing her little personality emerge is a treasure to be savored.

Today, Gordon and I Westie-napped Charlotte for a few hours for a Westie Beauty Treatment in the studio. She soaked up every ounce of special attention, but she was more than ready to resume her chosen post at Unc's heels.

Today was a good Monday. I was able to complete more porcelain than I expected to finish today, and the kiln is already firing tonight.

Now, I'm too pooped to plod through all the email. Tomorrow is another day for porcelain with time for email and such. Tonight it will be a treat to get to bed before 10 p.m.!  The Westies (and Gordon) continue to train me to "live in the moment", worry less and allow more time for rest.

The Kennel Murder Case, 1933, is playing on the television. They've already featured an adorable Scotty named Captain, I think. All of our Westies paid close attention to the Scotty's barks. I wonder what the little tyke said way back in 1933 that our Westies understood tonight. 

I've not paid too much attention to the story line. There are plenty of dogs in the movie, so it is fun to watch the fur kid reactions when the dogs bark their lines on screen.  A very cozy evening, this is, indeed.

A Flower Child Westie

Lovely day. Truly a lovely weekend.

The icing on the weekend was these pictures that Gordon took this afternoon of Lillibeth, Mackie and Sunny. It was bath day for the boys, Mackie and Elvis.
Elvis helped me with porcelain late this afternoon...his big brown eyes watching my every move while he rested against me as I made some progress on the big looming porcelain deadline.

I made time to finish putting the snaps on Lillibeth's new dress and Annie's new kimono. That was good therapy to see the two girls strutting around in their new clothes.

Something happens to Lillibeth when she is wearing a dress. Annie is becoming that way as well. Hopefully we can capture the transformation on video.

Pictures and patterns to come, I promise.

While I worked on porcelain, I thought about the next little outfits I would make. We've not tried a little dress on Charlotte. I hope she will enjoy the special attention as well!

Our letter to mail to our "adopted" soldier is written and ready to mail tomorrow.

Trying to get to sleep a bit early tonight. First time in about three weeks I have not ached like the flu at night. Very thankful for that!

It is going to be a busy week!

Elvis and Gordon; The Horse Fly Escapes

You just can't make this stuff up, so...all I can do is blog about it.

Today has been a rough day for Elvis, the rescued Westie. Last night Elvis shorted out one of Gordon's 'spensive battery backup thingies that protect all the electronics.

So today, Gordon dug out his old belly bands...Elvis's belly bands, not Gordon's...because Elvis has returned to a certain unsavory bad habit, and he has coaxed Mackie into sharing this bad habit also. The two boys are going through a little jealousy territory thing.

Well, Elvis has gained considerable weight since he came to live here...so the belly band is more of a girdle. A very tight girdle.

Elvis loves attention, so he was willing to wiggle and squirm and absorb all the giggles and ear scratches that came with Gordon putting Elvis in a girdle-belly band.

More than an hour passes.

Elvis has been sleeping soundly on the bed. He has wiggled and squirmed until he has shimmied out of that belly band. He is sleeping on his back with all four legs in the air, mouth open. One very happy dog!

Enter a horse fly. A horse fly the size of a bumble bee.

Annie and Lillibeth spring to attention on the bed. Serious Horse Fly Terminators ready for action. Our Big English Shepherds are scared of horse flies, but little Westies are fearless in the face of a biting horse fly.

Elvis continues to sleep, completely unaware of the danger circling the battlefield.

I am on the phone, thankfully just talking to Unc. 

The horse fly lands on a part of Elvis that is very important to him.

Gordon moves in with the belly band to capture the horsefly and squish it.

Elvis wakes up just in time to see the killer look on Gordon's face, the belly band in Gordon's hand as the belly band and hand lunge for Elvis's personal part.

Apparently my attention tuned into the situation about the same time that Elvis spotted Gordon's killer look and lunge.

I started choking from the laughter. Gordon was doubled over in laughter. Unc was wondering what had suddenly possessed his niece. Elvis was first standing, then sitting in a defensive posture, complaining in that adorable little Westie voice of his.

He is normally very talkative (for a dog), and he makes many different sounds.

Elvis made some new sounds for Gordon tonight, and he had a good bit to say about being waked up in such a rude way.

The horse fly escaped.

I'm afraid Elvis will never look at Gordon the same way again. They did make an awkward peace with Gordon letting Elvis sniff his fingers before he scratched Elvis's ears, but there is definite tension in that relationship.

Why can't we have video cameras implanted in our eyes for just such an occasion?  Life needs a slow motion and a replay feature!.

My sides hurt.

(Is it Elvis' or Elvis's? We've laughed so hard that neither of us can remember.)

Annie's Excellent Adventure

The last leg of Annie's Excellent Adventure this past Saturday, was a stop at Sonic for a milkshake. That is what she is enjoying here.

For those who have called her "fat".  Annie is FLUFFY! I only gave her about half a cup of the milkshake. FLUFFY!

Recap: Annie is a rescued Westie with a history of being abused. She had a biting problem which I am proud to say she has overcome 99.999 percent.

For the first year of her life here on the farm, anytime we took her somewhere in the van, she thought we were taking her somewhere to hand her off to some new family.

Saturday was the first time that I never saw a shadow of concern cross her beautiful little face. YES!!!

My mom, age 85, is the historian of the Thomas Rodney Chapter of the Mississippi DAR. The officers had a meeting Saturday in Winona. This was a good outing for Mama as well as for Annie.

From the first time I said that Annie was going with us "for a little adventure", her ears perked up and she voluntarily headed to the shower for the pre-adventure bath.

We took Mama to the meeting, and Annie, on leash, checked out the building, met the ladies at the door and escorted each one of them to their seat.

I was SO proud of her good manners! We took a little time for her to mark the grass outside, so I had no worries about her checking out every nook and cranny inside.

With Mama settled in the meeting, Annie and I went to gas up the van. $50. $3.79 per gallon. Yikes!

I've been hearing Gordon's daily gas price watch and his exclamations of pain when he has to gas up, but it hit home Saturday when I saw all that hard earned money flowing into the tank.

Then we went to the car wash, and that seemed to be a new experience for Annie. Little nervous but very interested in the water splashing against the windows and the funny robotic arms that moved around the van.

That accomplished, we returned to the meeting, went inside and waited for it to finish.

My little well-mannered fur child sat at my feet or under the chair. Finally she laid down, and I while I was gently stroking her with my toes, she rolled over on her back to enjoy a good belly rub.

One time, before the meeting was quite over, she pattered over to the lady who has and loves dogs. She put her front paws gently on the legs of the chair and paid her respects to Miss Eugenia.

Other than that, she did not intrude on anyone's space. She did not do anything to bring attention to herself or beg for attention. I was so proud of her good manners that I was ready to pop buttons!

Update on other stuff: Websites are slowly coming back online. Backlog of email is beginning to trickle in.

We get several thousand emails a day, much of it spam, so I dread going through email that has been backed up since Friday at 5 p.m. *groan*

The eye doctor is working me in tomorrow afternoon. It has been too long since my last eye exam for them to just order new glasses from my old prescription.

You know you are blind when the employees at the eye clinic look at your file and guffaw and laugh,,"Yeah, you ARE blind without glasses, honey!"  I'm very nearsighted and now, middle aged, my arms are too short to read the computer or see TV without my invisible bifocals!

Oh well, it has been an interesting weekend. Some introspection and food for thought to share with you in the days ahead.

If you emailed me after Friday 5 pm, I'll get through my email as fast as possible between looming deadlines.