Designer

………………………I read this book in high school…..I think I may have to read it again…….I’m surprised it hasn’t been banned!

…………………For Halloween I do all of my decorating on the inside of the house. I used to get lots of pumpkins and bales of hay to display them on, but the squirrels ate them before Halloween even came…..The squirrels use to leave a mess, and drive the girls crazy…..which in turn drove me crazy……..so no more outside decorations…..The kids don’t come down my long driveway anyway so who was I decorating for…..the mailman?…………….The above photo is one of my displays inside the house….It’s a little display on my kitchen window shelf……The Skeleton….the Pumpkin and the Cat are surrounded by my Zinnias from my  garden……………These little happy creatures make me smile, and that’s a good thing………………………..HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

…………………While taking a walk around the neighborhood on this cold brisk day I happened upon two “Skeleton Parties!” At one house there were skeletons everywhere….climbing the sides of the house, all over the roof, on the mail box and coming out of the ground. The young mother who lives there was coming out of the house with a baby carriage. I asked her if she put the skeletons up……She quickly replied….”NO, my crazy husband did!”……..I’d like to meet him!!!……At another hose just across the street there was another skeleton party going on. There was a group sitting at a table and a horse and rider!………….Happy Halloween!

…………………………….Jac and I have always had pups when we moved from the city to Ct…….We started with Margaret “Maggie”, a white Westie, and Charlie, a black Scottish Terrier….we added Elizabeth Taylor Dubelle Dell’Olio “Ellie B”, a black Scottie with BIG EYES….[very unusual for Scotties]…..so we were a family of five. Charlie, as things turned out would be our only male, and he was definitely a Momma’s boy! Jac’s boy…..As he aged and got more grey hair, Jac said he was the Cary Grant of terriers, and he was……a very handsome lad!!……..When Maggie was a very spunky little thing with a mind of her own….when she passed we got Annie, and when Charlie eventually passed we got Lily….They were both Brindles, and not pure black……Ellie developed cancer and died when she was only 4 years old…….Out of all my babies Ellie was a real daddy’s girl, and I have to say my favorite. She was the absolute sweetest She loved to have her soft belly kissed……..We got Sammy to replace Ellie, though I knew she could never be replaced……..We called the breeder and I told her I wanted a PURE BLACK female, and she replied that she was expecting a litter any day…….When the litter arrived she called and said she had a pure black female!

“Samantha’s story”…….I was told the female was pure black, but the runt of the litter. I replied that I didn’t care as long as she was Black and had an out going personality……The breeder said she thought this little female was….in her words….”A HELLION!” …..just what I wanted…….On the day that we went to Mass. to pick her up we were very excited. When we arrived Jac and I were escorted to the pen where the puppies were kept. I knew which one was Sammy even before she was pointed out to me…….I picked up this little ball of black fur, and brought her very close to my face…..Puppies smell so good! I stared into her eyes. Terriers are known for turning away when you stare them down…..but not Sammy. She looked me straight into my eyes…..and then LICKED MY NOSE!!!! I knew she was MINE!…….We named her Samantha after the good witch……..Jac drove, and Sammy sat in my lap for the 2 1/2 hour trip home…….The breeder told us we should not take Sammy into the house. She knew we also had Annie and Lily at home [Lily was Sammy’s half sister]…….She advised us to leave Sammy outside and to bring the other two out to “discover” her so they didn’t feel their home was being invaded by this outsider!…….It didn’t take long for them to find Sammy in the garden. There was a lot of sniffing, and none of them knew what to make of each other. Lily and Annie tried to walk away from Sammy, but she was on their heels….She wanted to be a part of the group…..It was so much fun to watch this little runt demanding her place…..a little HELLION indeed!….Sammy followed them right into the house, and they looked at her as if to say….”what do you want, it’s time to go back from where you came!”…Eventually Lily and Sammy became BFF, but Annie was always a little standoffish with Sammy…..Lily was Annie’s and she didn’t want to share her……….Sammy lived up to her name, and soon stole my heart. How could you not look into that face and not fall in love. Sam was very unlike the other two…..She was our watch dog and barked at everyone! The other two never barked. Sammy always led the way when we sang Happy Birthday….the only song they would sing to! She was the only one that would climb on the couch and sit on me…..where ever she liked!…..Until her last week on earth she acted like a puppy, with all of the energy a puppy has. She was the first to chase bunnies and squirrels and ground hogs….or what ever else she found in the garden….the others followed her lead…Same was definitely took the alpha role….Sammy soon ran the show, and it was funny to watch her antics!! Over the years Sammy stole my heart, and became my absolute favorite, and until her dying day was Daddy’s girl……..My routine over the years always revolved around taking care of my fur babies. It will take a lot of adjusting and getting used too not having them around…..From a family of 5….I’m the only one left, but I don’t want another………..I’ve had the best!

……………………..It’s with great sadness that I let you know my Samantha….Sammy……passed away overnight…….When I came down from my bedroom this morning Lou was standing at my front door gazing out into the gloom. I thought, that’s strange…..He turned and said to me…”Lou, Sammy passed away”. At first I couldn’t believe what he said. I put her to bed last night, said “goodnight my baby” and went upstairs. He found her, cleaned her up and laid her in her bed……I knew she hadn’t been feeling well for a few days, but she always eats something in the garden not good for her….but she bounces back…..I was going to call Dr. Paul to take a look at her if she was still lethargic this morning…..Instead he’s coming to pick up her little body………….Now she is with Jac………ALL OF MY GIRLS TOGETHER……..It’s going to be a very sad house without my sweet Sammy.