Thank you, Becky, for your comments. I love hearing stuff like that. I love hearing everyday things from people they interacted with on a daily basis. Please write anytime.

I was sick today with a stomach thing. I would've called Mom and told her, and she would've been concerned as all mothers would be when their "child" is sick. Even if I just had a cold, I had to call her and tell her. I guess that is the kid in me. She was my mom, and when you are sick, you need your mom! I could always count on her to care. If I was really sick, she would ask if I needed anything and would bring it out. Usually, I wouldn't say I needed anything unless I was REALLY sick. So today I would've just called and chatted. She would've said, "Well, what did you eat yesterday? Do you need some 7-up?" -- things like that. I think it was just a little 24 hour bug thing. I ate today but felt tired. Anyway, funny how when you are sick you want your mom to know. I'm an adult, haven't lived at home for years, but still you want that "mothering" I guess when you don't feel well.

Today was a beautiful day. Sunny and in the 70's. They both would've enjoyed today outside.

Been missing Dad. I always miss both of them, but some days I focus more on one. Yesterday it was Dad. I found a picture on my computer of Dad taken in Dec. 2006. He was on the couch working his crossword--Greta on his lap and Hossie sitting right next to him. It is a good picture of Dad--just like I remember him. And surrounded by Dachshunds. I guess I haven't really talked about how important Dachshunds were in our lives. Ever since I was little, we've had Dachshunds. There was Otto and Penny (1) before I was born. I have a memory of my first Dachshund, Penny (2). I was very small and sitting on the back porch with her. Since then there has been Heidi, Sophie, Duchess, Hoss, Gimli and now Greta. Dad always loved teasing the dogs. He'd come in from work and throw his gloves at Heidi--just close enough to scare her. Or he'd put a piece of bologna rind on her back where she couldn't reach and watch her turn around in circles trying to get it. Sometimes Heidi would sit in the the kitchen chair next to him when he ate. He would line up dog treats on the table and flick them at her. One time he tied a dog treat to a string and dangled it front of, I think Penny's, nose and moved it when she tried to get it.
Yeah, Dad had a twisted sense of humor sometimes! One time he hit a golf ball in the backyard and it hit Sophie on the head. He thought that was really funny. He would practice in the backyard and Sophie would run after the balls and chase them.
He liked to "fight" with Sophie. He'd sit in the chair in the living room and hang his arm down and she would jump on it and bite and growl and he'd sling her off and she'd come running back for more. She always got to lick his ice cream bowl at night.

When Penny got sick and had to be put down, Dad was the one who did it. We had Heidi by then. I remember how much it upset Dad to do that. Then when it was Heidi's turn, he and Mom took her in. Mom would still talk about that sometimes. How hard it was. Sophie is 16. I always thought Mom and Dad would be here when it was Sophie's time.

They both loved taking care of their "grand dogs". When Sophie was younger, I'd take her over to "Grandma's" a lot when I went to work. Mom liked having her there. She'd send me an email during the day and say, "Sophie is a good doggie. She likes it here." Actually, Mom and Dad had a big part in raising Sophie. I got her when I was in Bloomington working the graveyard shift at B97 radio. I wasn't getting any sleep at all because I'd be trying to sleep and Sophie would want to be up. So, Mom and Dad, being the parents they were, came and got her. They ended up keeping her until I finally moved back home. Mom housebroke her. Dad loved to pick her up and carry her outside. He'd put her little face up next to his cheek and talk to her. "Sophie's a good doggie". Sometimes he'd call her "Soapie". I could always tell when he'd been petting her or carrying her because she smelled like his cologne. Oh, I named her because of Dad. When we had Heidi, who was red, he always said he wanted a black Dachshund and he'd name it Sophie. So, when I called to find out about Sophie and they said she was black, I knew what I was going to name her right then. When I went to live in Chicago, I didn't take Sophie right away. I remember when they brought her up. They were driving a green La Sabre at that time, and I remember when they pulled into the parking lot at my apt. complex with Sophie.

They kept Joe and Judy's Dachshund, Duchess as well. Mom liked how she went upstairs and slept at night in the front bedroom. Mom even kept Jonna and Dave's dog, Gimli, one day when Dave came to play golf with Dad. They never said they couldn't take care of the dogs. They were always happy to have them. Sometimes they'd even be babysitting for more than one.

Same with Hoss. They loved Hoss. Mom always said he was a blessing for John. When John lost his dog, Einstein, Mom said she prayed to St. Anthony to find him. She said he didn't find Einstein, but he "found" Hoss instead and sent him to John. Hoss was a sweet little dog. He was so good. He'd jump up in the chair and sit with Dad. I think Dad liked that. We miss little Hoss, too. He was part of our family. I have one tiny video clip of Hoss and in the background you can hear Mom saying, "Hoss is such a good doggie." When they said they were going down to Jasper to get Hoss while John went on vacation, that was just typical. They loved doing it and did it often.

Susie