family health home

Aleksandr Is Gone

September was a rough month. Aside from the mad rush to finish projects in the house to get it ready for sale, we were devastated by the sudden loss of Aleksandr, our dear, sweet dog of twelve years. Long-time readers of my blog know that I have referred to Aleksandr by alternate names, including Doggle Woggle. I’ve treated our dog like our kids on my blog, not using his actual name for privacy reasons. (Not…

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family observations

A Random Mailbox

A random mailbox sprung up in the mostly vacant lot near my house. In the photo above, I have taken a photo of the mailbox from the road. Note that the opening for the mailbox is not facing the road. The mailbox is being held in place by sandbags. If you look really closely, on the right side of the mailbox in the photo, there appears to be a rain gauge. I’ve seen random mailboxes…

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family

A Eulogy for Our Sweet Stinky

Our sweet Stinky passed away 2 days ago, on Friday, June 9, 2017. Erik and I are heartbroken. We got Stinky 18 years ago from a farm near Royalton, Minnesota. Our children were wee tots at the time and one of them decided she should be named Snowball because she was mostly white. That’s the name we used when we took her to the vet for her shots and spaying. However, we immediately started calling…

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observations

Conscientious Dog Owners, Bah! Humbug!

Time to pretend I’m a grumpy old man shaking my fist at kids who would so much as look at my perfect lawn … but, darn, those conscientious dog owners! How dare they take their dogs out each day, giving them long strolls through the neighborhood? Who are these kind-hearted people who care about their pets? Have they been watching the Dog Whisperer or the Doggie Dominatrix? And why are there so many of them?…

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observations

An Observation About Mosquito Bites

This morning, while walking Doggle Woggle, I was bit by a mosquito in the crook of my arm. I smashed the mosquito and went on my way. The bite swelled up, as mosquito bites normally do, and it itched a little. Here’s the interesting thing about my mosquito bites. Ever since I developed eczema a number of years ago, I’ve noticed that mosquito bites do not last long on me. Where they typically remained welted,…

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