Good-bye...

 What I/we have dreaded for a long time now came to pass Thursday of last week...not even a week after Sarah got out of the hospital for Covid...our Otto no longer walks this earth...but he has left tracks all over our hearts.  

Every time I see these photos I want to giggle...

As you can see, he was easy going...

From the time Lorelei could walk, she has snuggled with him, climbed on him, 

and sat on him...

And a few times he has sat on her...

Sarah had a certain quilt that if he saw it on her, on the couch...he knew it was okay to join her.

There are so many funny, happy memories associated with him.  When Lorelei was young and they lived in Indy, when we would go over to visit the first thing he would do when we got there was to run and grab his blanket and come dragging it to us.  I know he was telling us he would share if we would just stay the night.

I have told all the stories at one time or another...such as the time Sarah had him on the leash and walked across the street to get Lorelei off the bus.  When he heard all the kids, he almost dragged her on the bus to get to them.  Something similar happened when Sarah took him to show and tell for Lorelei a year or two later...as they were heading down the hall and he heard the kids he could not get there quick enough.   And there was the time he got on the UPS truck because he was ready to go for a ride!

I have loved other dogs as much, but I don't think I have loved one any more.  He was just the perfect dog with kids.  He was just good with whatever was happening.  

 

Lighter notes...

I have been in a giggling mood when thinking about Otto...this is him 'back in the day.'

He is a lot older now and spends a lot of time sleeping.  

I don't know what brought it to mind, but when they lived at Indy when Lorelei was young...we would go visit.  Otto would be so, so happy to see us.  One of the first things he would do is run grab his blanket and come dragging it in to us as fast as he could.  It was as if he was willing to give up his blanket if we would just spend the night with them.  I wish I had a picture of the look on his face...it was just so full of joy.  

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Then today Roger and the lost watch episode crossed my mind.  He could even remember it.  I laughed till I cried just thinking about it. I know a couple of you have read this story before but some of you have not.  So Here you go:

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Now for some laughter....the following happened just a couple of hours ago...I swear to goodness I am not making this up.

A little background is Roger takes his watch off fairly often and loses it for a short while...usually when he is working out in his shop, or sometimes when he showers.

 So tonight we were sitting here and out the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at his right wrist but I didn't think anything of it.  He looked at me and said, "Well, Rosemary, (Mary is my middle name) I have lost my watch again."   He was totally serious...and he started to get up to go look for it and says, "NO, I didn't it's right here...on my left wrist!"

Oh, how we have laughed...I can still see the look on his face.  He got up and went in the kitchen and yelled at me, Hey I found my feet--they are on the end of my legs...Hey, I bet I could find two new cars out in the garage.....and on and on.

The above is directly from my blog post of March 6, 2015.  A little added info is he has never worn a watch on the right wrist...we have no idea why he looked for it there.

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A few more Grandmother's Flower Garden....most of these were made before Christmas, but night before last I made 2 plus finished another that is not shown in this photo.  Added to the ones shown here I am gradually building a pile of them.

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I started with laughter so I might as well end with laughter.  Here you go:

Who can resist a face like this...

 

Most days I go sit in the swing on the porch to read, if just for a few minutes. An most days Bubbie comes and sits beside me. Some days he just wants to be near me with me reaching down to pet him.

Other days he is a bit more into fun...here he is on the little table beside the swing.  Reaching to grab whatever is near...he is 13 yrs old and will still occasionally try to hide and jump out and scare me when I am walking in from the garage.  Not to mention that he almost always escorts us from the garage to the house...so he can protect us if there is danger.

And while I am at it, have had this for a few days...we have a new name for Otto...The Old Man.  He cannot hear...Sarah has to send Rosie to get him to come in.  He will just stand out in the yard  sometimes.  Does not hear Sarah call...so she tells Rosie to go get him and she will go poke at him and/or get right in his face and yip and it seems to wake him up to the fact he needs to come in.

He is still easy going...loving.  Absolutely one of the best dogs ever.  We always look back with laughter on some of his stunts....The trying to hitch a ride with the UPS guy one time...he got in and Sarah had to literally drag him out, another he was dragging Sarah on the school bus to be with the kids...and one time he totally loved going to Show & Tell for Lorelei.  

Jeremy also bought a Corvette one time...something was wrong with it but I forget what.  He knew it when he bought it...he bought it to fix and sell.  We were there one day and Jeremy was getting ready to take it for a test drive....Sarah told me "Watch Otto when Jeremy gets in the car!"  Oh, his tail could not have wagged any more and his ears perked up.  There was just something about that car he liked. 

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Yesterday we were up close to the swamp area so we had to go by there. 

Can you believe this much color...and there was quite a bit more. 

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I had something else to chat about but I swear I have gotten side-tracked and cannot remember what it was.   So.... 

Have to share this little video.

  

Look!

This is Sarah, along with Otto aka Otti when he was a young boy...in April of 2008.

And here he is as an old man...still loving...never grumpy...I wish I were like him.

And this is little Rosie...she thinks she is the boss and Otti just lets her.

These were not what I had planned to talk about, but for the life of me I can't remember what I had wanted to write about last night, and the night just slipped away and I thought I would do it today.  Well, it is almost tomorrow and I just can't recall.  So thought I would share these.

I may slow to visit tomorrow, but I will eventually get to it...hope you have a good rest of the week.

Jigsaw puzzles

I finished this puzzle today...it is the first I have worked in a very long time.  My problem with jigsaw puzzles is that once I start one, I cannot leave them alone.  They have always been a favorite form of entertainment.

I have not touched my sewing machine today.  But then how could I...I had a puzzle to work.  Roger better be thankful I finished it before he starved he died of starvation!!!!   LOL  I am not quite that bad, but almost.  I did stop and vacuum while working on it, too.

I am in the mood to start another but trying to resist that urge. 
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I got an Otti story for you.

My older daughter was at Lorelei's for Christmas...she was feeling bad and was sleeping on the couch because it felt better than laying flat in bed to sleep.  She had taken something to help her pain and was sleeping soundly.  Keep this in mind.

I didn't know this but Otto likes to go up to the Christmas tree and rub his face in it.  I don't know why...maybe it scratches an itch.  Whatever the reason, daughter heard him.  Then realized she was hearing him over and over and said, "Otto, stop it!"  All this without her ever opening her eyes.

Then she realized it was a constant noise and fully woke up, and there he was with the Christmas lights wrapped around him, and he was straining against them to get to her!  They still have not figured out how the tree did not fall over, but she jumped up and made him back up till she could get the lights worked down off him and he could step out and over them.  

A bit of this and that...

This is Lorelei's Otti dog  (Otto)  He is aging so much...

Bubbie takes over my lap at some point most nights....lays on the computer...on me...whatever it takes.

I cannot put out wrapped gifts because he would not leave them alone.  See that ornament above his head?  He will decide to send it flying.  Or will take a run and go and try to slide under the tree shirt.  He does not understand why he does not slide on carpet...which is what he will do the towel in the bathroom with the tile floor.  Oh, I forgot the part that he will pull it off the rack...he will try to get under it...may walk away and then come back and slide under it.

This quilt top now has another border on it...but I cannot seem to get motivated enough to finish it...

This was a tree near my daughter's house in Terre Haute.  Isn't it a beauty?

Just a fun photo from Sarah

What makes this fun, is that both the dogs are laying on Sarah!  And Kitty Soft Paws at her feet.  She is loved.
 

More furbabies...

Click to enlarge....look at that Otti....he is aging so.  It breaks my heart to see it.  That link in the first sentence will take you back through posts showing him.  He could not be a better dog...nothing could be improved.  In my opinion.  He loves his family, loves their friends, so good with kids that you could not ask for more.  Lorelei has climbed on him, laid on him, slept on him....put him in her wagon....he just let her and any of her friends do anything they wanted.

As I have told before, he don't meet a stranger.  He has got on the UPS truck one time...wanted to go for a ride.  Another time, he tried to get on the school bus with all the kids.  And then just this Halloween, he got out the front door, and tried to get in this truck...with complete strangers.  They yelled at the guy to not open his door just in time...I think he did get tickled though cause he saw how bad Otto wanted to go.

Their neighborhood is full of kids at Halloween so the streets are full, and everyone is going slow, so there was no danger. 

Rosie is a pistol...she trembles with joy when any family member comes...she loves so intensely.  She goes from one to the other of us when several of us come in at the same time.  At some point I usually have her in my lap and she lays back with her belly up to be rubbed.

Another this and that post....

A few days ago was 'Take your pet to school' day...Otto was the chosen pet.   I had totally forgotten till Sarah brought it up.  How I would have loved to been a mouse traveling on her shoulder.

Her and Jeremy take him at the appointed time.  They walk in the school.  He heard kids in the cafeteria and strained to go see them.  He would hear other kids and his ears would perk up.

So, imagine the joy when he went into Lorelei's classroom.  Sarah said every child got a face-wash, and when he was done, he just went over and flopped in the floor which made the kids laugh even more.  He has always had a heart for kids....you might easily find a dog that is smarter than him but you will never find a dog better than him.

When Lorelei was little she climbed on him, sat on him, laid on him, and all the  other kids could do the same.  You would think with all of that, that he would have stayed away from her, but most of the time he followed and laid close by.
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Lorelei is funny...she drops things or spills things...not any more than the average child.  But she says I am a klutz...I take after my mom....who takes after her mom, which is you Mamaw!  And she told me that is what she tells her teachers that!
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One night Sarah and Jeremy went to her former boss' house, I guess he is till her boss in one sense, but she runs the place in Terre Haute and he is at their place over by Indianapolis.  So either they were taking a part to him, or else going to pick up a part from him.  This was after work, and Lorelei was with them...and it is about a 30 minute drive to his house.

A bit of background is that Sarah can be at work in about 5 minutes...so they get out, and Lorelei says to him, 'Tell me why do you live ALL The way out here and drive to my mommy's work?'  I forget what he answered her...he has known her a while...and they all got a good laugh.

But one thing, don't tell her any secrets....

I decided the easiest random 5 thing I could do was find five of my favorite shots.

1.

2.


3.


4


5



And some of you have probably never seen these...of when Lorele was a baby and Otto was a much younger dog.   They were taken 7 years ago and still make me grin from ear to ear.  The video quality is not that good, but you still can hear the laughter.





That makes up my Willy Nilly Friday 5 post....I hope you enjoyed it....

For your viewing pleasure...

First a pic of Lorelei and Rosie--

I cannot resist a this video...

This is Lorelei helping her mom paint a few days ago.  
And of course there are more of Otto and Rosie.

I just love this one of the two...

And isn't he wonderful to let her chew on his ears...I have never seen him get mad or upset with her.  And her little teeth are sharp.

More Otto and Rosie

Though I am not there, I am betting quiet moments like this are rare.  She must be worn out not to be picking at Uncle Otti.

Otto doing what he loves to do...lay in the sun and snooze.  He looks like he is sleeping, but when I look close at Rosie, it looks like she is trying to nibble at him a little.  You can click on all images to expand the view.
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While on critters, the spider in my flowers has built a beautiful-er spider web that is up higher.  I think it is growing.

First the A-side...

Then the B-side.

Just getting this ready ahead of time in case the modem crashes.  I am going to try to schedule a couple posts.  So far, haven't had a bit of trouble this day.

Introducing Rosie

The kids had the opportunity to get this poodle/chihuahua puppy a while back and took advantage of it.  Lo has been wanting a puppy for a long time....

Here she is snuggle in with Uncle Otti on the way here a couple weekends ago...

Look at that face!  Lucky for her she has Uncle Otti....he is just so good with her.

I wish you could see her in action...it is so funny...she will be after Uncle Otto and then Kitty Soft Paws will walk by or come in to watch.  Rosie will see her, and its on!  She runs to tackle Kitty Soft Paws...Kitty S.Ps swats her, but only with her paw.  No claws at all.  Then she will take off running with Rosie in hot pursuit.  It cracks me up to watch them.

In a minute, Rosie returns to get after Uncle Otti again, and in a minute, here comes Kitty Soft Paws back.  The same thing happens again...this one time, I was watching Rosie.  She was busy picking at Uncle Otti, she looked and seen Kitty, went back to Otti, then stopped and looked at Kitty again and could no longer resist.

And Sarah says at times Rosie will sometimes be laying still, and here will come Kitty Soft Paws and will pounce on her.  Never a dull moment.

She loves to snuggle into Uncle Otti to sleep in their cage...if she gets put in with him.
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I am worn out this evening...in and out with laundry all this day.  But that is not what I want to talk about/ask.  What do most of you use to clean the doors, etc. of your kitchen cabinets.  I usually use Murphy's Oil soap, but wonder if there was something better.  Tell me what you use and why.

Snuggle time

It was snuggle time at Lorelei's house today.  I had these in message...always LOVE to open up and there be pictures.

 I think they both look happy, don't you.

I love it when we are spending the night and sometime during the night, if the door is open to our bedroom, or if we are sleeping on the couch, at some point Otti will come and see me.  He will just lay his head on me waiting for a bit of loving.  I will generally pet him a little, then will just leave my hand laying on him.  Sometimes he just slowly melts to the floor and I make sure my hand stays on him.  He is just so funny and so loving.

Look at those faces!

Another snag from Facebook...doesn't Otto look like he is just so content?  An look at those missing teeth!  As my brother used to say...a picket fence with the gate open.

Had to turn the heat on this morn...and supposed to be down to 36º tonight.  It stayed chilly throughout the day today.  I am not quite ready to give up sitting on the porch.  I feel like I have not got my fill of that this year at all.  Still, I am enjoying the autumn colors.

Waiting.....

I snagged this from Facebook...I don't think Jeremy will mind.  This is Otto and Kitty Soft Paws...waiting for their little person.




It so reminded me of this one taken many moons ago of Sarah's dog waiting for her to come home.  What loyal and loving buddies.