THREE THREE THREE

My very favorite number! The number of pets we have, the number of sons I have AND the number of days I have posted consecutively on this blog so far this month. ;)

The final batch of the 'Chilly' lens pets collection was supposed to have been added to the store today...BUT because I stayed up way too late again last night, I wasn't up early enough in the day to take the pictures for the listings. SOOO that will have to wait until tomorrow.

In other news... 

So, one of my dogs is trained to ring a bell that hangs on the front door when he needs to go potty. This is Elmer... dog genius! ;)

The bell can be a great thing... when you're in the other room or doing something that would otherwise keep you from noticing that one of the four legged critters in the house needs to use the potty.

The bell can also be a curse... pretty much, ALL the time. :p Like when he repeatedly rings it, pausing only to look at you to see if you're coming yet... or if you're maybe just not moving fast enough. It can be especially annoying at 4 am, waking me up out of a dead sleep. Or even better is when he stays all warm and snuggly on the couch, until the SECOND I lay down to go to sleep... then he gets up and rings it. :p

Oh sure, I'm glad he alerts me to the need to go before having an accident on the floor. But sometimes I REALLY hate that bell.

These days I tend to stay up pretty late (or early, depending on how you look at it) sewing. I usually go to bed sometime between 5 and 9 am, sleeping while the kids are in school and waking just before they get home at 2 or 3. Last night (this morning) I finally put the needle down and hit the sack at 5am. So you can imagine my frustration when that bell rang just three hours later. GRRRR But I'm a good doggy mommy. So I dragged myself up, shoved my feet into my shoes and stepped out into the FRIGID morning air. Frost covered the entire lawn. My eyes still foggy and unclear from lack of sleep... and the lack of glasses, which I forgot to grab when I got up. But as I turn down the sidewalk I am greeted with an amazing sight. 

It was actually even more amazing when I first walked out... but after waiting for Elmer to finish his tinkle, running back in to grab my camera, only to find out I was missing a memory card... running back in for the card, only to find out someone snatched two of my batteries for use in the video game controller... then running back in for said batteries... and trying to focus with my half blind eyes, it faded a bit. But the clouds just looked SO cool. And the colors of the sky thanks to the just rising sun were absolutely breathtaking.

So today (and only today) I am thankful for that bell, for my crazy dog who wakes me up at all hours ringing it and for nature's most incredible gifts that are just outside the door to greet me! :)