Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The Life of Izzie Part Six & Final



 The need for speed...and lots of fun:)  That’s what Jack Russells are made of!

I am probably the worst doggie blogger on the net.  Months have gone by without so much as a woof from my end of the tail.  How are all my friends out there?

Mom thinks that I have grown too much – there is no more puppy around here anymore!  That’s right; I am a gown up dog now!  I celebrated my first birthday on the fifteenth of January, and a whole year with my family on the 12th of March!

I am a happy pooch.  Pampered and spoilt some might say, but definitely loved.  I am a valued member of the pack now.  My whole family love and play with me and think well of me.  I have earned my spot as a doggie companion to my humans – I give them lots of cuddles and kisses and take them for walks.  One of my favourite jobs around here is keeping an eye on Sofia (and her lunch) and chasing away any monkey that may wander into the veggie patch.
 
  Sofia likes to throw pinecones for me.  She’s so sweet and thoughtful!

Yes...I have a good life.

Since I last wrote, lots of new things have happened.  Firstly, I attended my fist dog show with Mom.  We had a great time doing a 3.7km fun dog walk to support Animal Welfare, and an informal dog show.  Mom entered me in the Best Medium Dog, in which I was placed second (woof!) and in the Best Trick class, which I won!  Mom was given a huge container for dog food as well as plenty of Hill’s dog food to fill it.  I got treats and chew toys, a Frisbee and fold-up water bowls.  Treat bags and shampoo were also in the bag...  My family was so proud of me!  Although the walk and part of the dog show was rained out, I had lots of fun.  I got to meet new canines and humans and show off my talent!  Mom and her sisters, Aunt Beth and Aunt Nancy, were soaked to the skin, but kept smiling and drying me off.  Aww...they really love me:)  Grandpa did his part by dropping us off – he certainly wasn’t going to walk with a pack of barking dogs in the pouring rain!  BOL!  (Barking out loud!)

 
 Mom and I – soaked in the pouring rain.  Here we are getting ready for the show!

Secondly, we adopted a new canine.  Her name is Abby and she is really old – at least a good many years older than me, so I can’t really call her ‘sister’.  Instead I call her ‘Granny’.  She doesn’t mind in the least and keeps me in check with all her so called ‘wisdom’ which she apparently has gleaned over a hundred dog years or so.  Ha.  She loves to come for walks with Mom, Gran and the Aunts.  She doesn’t run around and fetch sticks like I do, she just ‘trots’ which is like a medium-fast to medium-slow walk.  She says it is called a ‘power walk’ and helps to keep off the extra kilos senior dogs are prone to piling on:-)    She’s quite a sprightly old lady, though!

  This is Abby.  She looks quite good for her age, doesn’t she?

“Haha!  Good joke:)” Abby and I had such fun in the forest!

Yesterday we went pinecone hunting (winter is on the way which calls for plenty of warm fires...) and Abby came along.  We got so excited when out came the leads and water bottles.  When we were invited to climb in the car, we went crazy!  We love going places in the car.  We drove to a nearby forest to look for pinecones and to have a little snack.  We didn’t even need leads – we ran around and played the whole time!

 We enjoy going places in the car...

As I once told you in a previous Dog Blog post, I usually sleep in my Mom’s bed.  But then she bought me my own bed and made me sleep in the lounge!  That didn’t last long because I cried and whined for her in the early morning which kind of put Grandpa out of spirits:-)  Now my bed is in Mom’s room, and I sleep in it half the night.  The other half is spent under Mom’s duvet, all cuddled up.  She’s always fast asleep when I sneak in, so she is never able to push me out!   When she wakes up in the morning, there I am all comfy in HER bed:)  I have to smile...


I’ve gotten over a lot of my fear of water – as long as it isn’t moving and crashing!

Other than that, all is well.  I have such a fun, happy life that I really couldn’t ask for more...except for maybe a few more treats and training sessions, as those help me further my knowledge of how to be a clever canine.

And now, here comes the sad part.  I have outgrown doggie blogging.  Mom promises to keep you updated, though.  She says I am big now and I obviously don’t have time in my busy life to regularly write:-)  Thus, I bid you farewell and a send plenty of wet nose kisses!

Paws up!
Izzie:-)  

Note from Kelly:  Welcome to my lovely new followers!  In case you're wondering, Izzie is my Jack Russell Terrier.  I have had her for over a year now and we are great friends!  Click here to read previous 'Izzie's Blog' posts!  Enjoy:)

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Time for a Declutter?

Today there is a definite chill in the air.  The sun is dull and provides little else but light.  Today is Friday – a busy day in the Gray household.  Friday is housecleaning day.  Everyone has their ‘zones’, areas in the home that are assigned to their management.  Each person is in charge of cleaning their zone for the coming weekend.   Mom also decided it was high time to begin some winter decluttering:-( 


If there is one thing I decidedly hate, it’s a messy, cluttered house.  Somehow I cannot function properly – I get horribly stressed trying to find my way around.  Putting things in their rightful places becomes a mammoth task because they have no right places!  Of course when one starts the decluttering process, it usually means that for the rest of the week you’re going to be sorting, cleaning and doing more sorting.  (Sigh...)
 
I dislike it immensely, but it is needful and good.  Organising and sorting is a very liberating process.  I don’t enjoy the actual decluttering part (who does?), but I do so love the end result – a beautiful clean area in which to live and work.  I believe it is a good thing, something that should be done every once in a while.


And what about our hearts, minds and souls?  Surely our very lives need to be ordered and decluttered once in a while too?  Are there areas in your life that could be sorted, organised and cleaned?  Are there any areas that may need improvement, prayer or help?

Let us think on that today.  What might the Lord be telling you about the things in your life...?  Pray and ask Him to reveal to you anything that might need to be cleaned, dusted or destroyed.  If the Lord lives in your life, in your heart, then allow Him to ‘declutter’ you.  If He lives in you, He needs a clean heart to work with. 

I love the verse in Ephesians 1:7 which says:  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”  How beautiful is that?!  We can be forgiven, redeemed and cleaned because of God’s glorious grace!


Let us all think about this while we sort and organise our homes, rooms, cupboards, etc.  Let us allow the Lord Jesus to work in our hearts and to help us!  He loves us so much, may we never forget that!

P.S.  My heart needs as much work as anyone else’s!  There are constantly areas in my life that need improvement.  I comfort myself with the verse “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6)  This reminds me that we will always need forgiveness and grace – we are a work in progress - until the day of the Lord!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne 

P.S.  I decided to play with different shutter speeds at the beach the other day.  I wanted to try different settings to create different effects...  I have a long way to go till I reach my 'perfect' water photo, but this is a start!  Xx