My guilty (and some not quite as guilty) pleasures.

1. The Singing Bee
I love this goofy show! Joey Fatone is a great host, and we find ourselves singing along to the songs.

2. People Magazine
I don't read any other tabloids, but I am hooked on this magazine. I do tend to skip over the fashion pages, and I refuse to read about Britney and Paris, but there are still some good articles in there.

3. Survivor!
Woo hoo, and Survivor China starts tonight! The best part of Survivor is when the contestants complain about the hardships and we yell at the TV, "Didn't you ever watch the show?" Actually the really best part is when Jeff says, "The Tribe has spoken." That's good for a laugh every week.

4. The Waltons
I'm always thrilled when I can find an episode of The Waltons on one of the cable channels. I even have a Christmas special that I recorded on the DVR last winter and haven't watched yet - I'll save it until closer to Christmas. Nite John Boy!

5. Deal or No Deal
This show can raise your blood pressure! I have a friend who can't watch it because she gets so worked up she screams at the TV. Sometimes we do, too.

6. Rereading Little House on the Prairie books.
I love this series of books and every once in a while will pick one up for an afternoon of pure pleasure. It's exciting to find this series on TV sometimes, too. My daughter shares my love of Little House.

7. Hershey Kisses with Almonds.
No explaination necessary!

8. Pulling out those tufts of dead coat.
There is something very satisfying about plucking out those tufts that stick out. Sometimes I can get a whole section done before the dog in question gets tired of me and walks away. I try to do this outside if possible, because otherwise I have a big mess to clean up.

9. Bacon and pepper pizza.
We have pizza every couple of weeks, but because this combination is so bad for us, its a rare treat. We usually get something vegetarian with no cheese.

10. Lavender.
I love to sniff it outside in my garden, and bring some in to put in my clothes drawers; I use lavender scented fabric softener, and sometimes shower gels. I love it!

11. Scented Candles
Anyone with dogs probably uses these, especially on rainy days, but I like them almost anytime. My absolute favorite is Yankee Candle's Midsummer's Night, but I also like just about anything else.

12. Warm comforter fresh out of the dryer.
On a chilly night, this is like a bit of heaven.

13. Rubbing the silky fur on the dogs' ears.
What is it about Akita ears? The fur is so silky and there is something almost decadent about how good it feels. I rub them between my fingers and rub my face against them. I love Akita ears!

Yesterday, before Wheezer went to the vet, the tree removal guys came - bright and early, they were here about quarter to 9. We had just finished feeding and exing all the dogs, so the timing was pretty good.

We had agreed on three trees that were coming down this time, deciding that another three could come down after they dropped their leaves. The biggest priority was the honey locust tree right behind the house that was starting to tilt toward our neighbor's house. We were both afraid that a storm this winter would topple it right over on their roof!

Four guys came, along with a truck with a bucket, a second truck, and a huge wood chipper. Within 10 minutes of getting here, the first tree (a magnolia tree that died over the winter) was down and chipped. In the meantime, a couple of other guys were taking down the cedar tree, and another guy in the bucket was trimming branches on the locust, the maple tree next to it, and the mulberry trees that hang over the driveway. Incredibly, all trees were down, chipped, the areas surrounding the trees cleaned up and the guys were gone in less than an hour and a half!

It was so noisy with the chipper and chainsaws going that even if the dogs did bark (and they were quiet) nobody would have heard them!

When I started letting dogs out again every one made a beeline for the stump of the locust, and I think every single one of them marked it - even the bitches! There is a circle all around the stump with urine marks, and all over the top of it. If cutting down the tree wouldn't have killed it, surely all that urine did!

Speaking of marking, Arlo is now a real man, he has started lifting that leg up so high I swear he's going to dislocate a hip! He is so funny. Marc would like him to take over Wheezer's job as the downstairs "guard" at night, but I'm not sure I trust an 8 month old puppy to be on his own overnight. There is an awful lot of stuff he could get into. We'll have to think that one over a bit.

We lost our Wheezer (Ch. Nutmeg's Nightstalker) this afternoon He was losing weight, yet he had a pendulous belly, and he was doing a lot of panting. Dr. Joe examined him and said that the tumor had more than doubled in size, and the liver was now involved. When he listened to his breathing, he could hear that there were parts of the lungs that were not getting airflow, so his air quality was diminished. I made the decision that it was time - he was somewhat uncomfortable and I didn't want him to get to the point of being in pain. He could cross the bridge with some dignity and before he was suffering.

Wheezer was always a happy dog, sweet and affectionate and never caused any trouble. He was very good natured and the only thing he really disliked was getting his nails trimmed. Twelve and a half years is a good long life for a male Akita, but it's never really long enough. We're going to miss him.

Sigh. This has been a tough year, 4 dogs lost (I include Mouse) since early May. It's hard losing the old ones, but as hard as it is, I wouldn't give up one day of being surrounded by those old grey faces. I know some breeders place their retirees in companion homes, but I love having them around, even if it means we don't bring any new pups in until they pass on.

Jellybean was kind of confused this afternoon-she was looking for her brother to go outside with, but like a typical bitch, shrugged it off pretty quickly and gobbled down her cookie.

I took this picture of Wheezie yesterday.

This weekend didn't quite turn out as planned - Paula was supposed to be at the shows at the Cape, and Marc was going to go out there to pick her up today; unfortunately she picked up the kennel cough that Nemo brought home from the shows a few weeks ago, so she wasn't going anywhere! She's doing much better now and most of the coughing and hacking has subsided. Babs and Flyer had also had it, but they are fine now - so far nobody else has started coughing, so fingers crossed we are done with it!

That left us with a quieter weekend than planned, but that's okay. Sadly, my sister had to put down her kitty Samson yesterday after a long illness . Her other kitty is going to miss him, and I know Ellen and Mike are very upset - if only our pets could live as long as we do!

We were able to do a few things around the house and had a tree guy come to give an estimate on taking some trees down. He'll be coming back Tuesday or Wednesday to take down a couple, with more planned in the following weeks. This should be exciting! I'm sure Babs will be supervising from the bedroom window. She is Dylan and Stormy's dam, and is one of those big, doggy, old fashioned Akita bitches. She's bigger than a lot of the males we've seen around. Since Temma passed, she is now the upstairs and bedroom queen, and she takes her duties very seriously.





The weather has gotten sharply cooler and we are all loving it! What is it about autumn weather that makes one crave tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches? That's on the dinner menu tonight!

I am really a big dog type of person, I have never felt the urge to own a toy dog. We consider Biz, our Shiba, small, but he's close to 30 pounds (albeit rather fat) and he doesn't fall into the little dog category for most people.

My friend Kari has two Havanese, and she sent me some pictures today of their new puppy, Tucker. Now who could resist a face like this?



He is made for kisses! Maybe when I'm much older....