Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

“Pax”, our big ninety pound dog, likes to hear his own voice.  He will lumber out into our yard barking every step of the way until he reaches the far end and then make sure no one can pass our yard without him commenting.  As I said, he likes the sound of his own voice.  He is the most vocal of our four dogs.  And also the elder.  All four dogs will run out into the yard to do their business.  And he will do it right away and shortly after will bark in front of the entrance demanding we let him into the house immediately.  If he needs to go out, he will come to me and make sure he is heard because my wife would not respond to him as quickly.  He has no patience.

Tags: dogs, dogs barking, four dogs, my wife, Pax, Pax has no patience, Pax likes the sound of his own voice, pets, the elder
Posted in humor, local, marriage, pets, relationships, time | No Comments »

I have to dress as if this day is important discarding the sweats I usually slip on after I awake and put on clothes I would not mind anyone to see me in.  Despite my depression.  It matters.  Eventually the depression will lift.  And knowing you took the care to really start the day makes a difference, which means showering, putting clean clothing on, brushing your teeth, etc.  All that affects your attitude to face the rest of the day.  Working from the outside in.

Tags: affects your attitude, brushing your teeth, depression, depression and facing your new day, dress so no one would be ashamed to see you, It matters how you dress, putting clean clothing on, showering, wearing sweats, working from the outside in
Posted in balance, humor, knowledge&learning, life, local, mental health, time, your job/mission/profession | No Comments »

This is in praise of Bic pens.  I don’t use expensive pens.  I would only lose them.  Bic pens are cheap.  When one does not work, I simply throw it away.  I just make sure the caps are on it when I put one in my pocket.  I have ruined too many pants that way when they leaked.  I store them all over my house.  I don’t like being too far from a pen when the urge strikes to write so I keep my pens in strategic spots in my house.  I get a little bit nervous when my supply of Bic pens dwindle.  My wife, of course, thinks this is all ridiculous.  And criticizes me when I feel compelled to replenish my supply in the nearest Office Max (or Wal Mart).

Tags: Bic pens, lots of pens, my wife, urge to write, Why I don't use expensive pens., writing
Posted in humor, local, marriage, money, time, your job/mission/profession | No Comments »

Coco, Tilla and Cool Hand Luke have their nightly routines.  The first two are two of my dogs (I have four) and the third is one of my cats (I have seven).  Coco, when she is ready to retire for the evening, lies down on the far side of my bed.  In fact, once in awhile she even jumps on my bed after I have gone to sleep.

Her brother, Tilla, last night joined me in my office (or “man cave” as some people would put it) and while I was watching TV came in the room and nudged shut the door and laid patiently there waiting for me to retire.  As soon as I was finished watching TV and left my Lazy Boy chair he immediately jumped on it.  His bed time is nine (but not mine) and if I am not on the chair he will take it.  More than once he wouldn’t budge.  I had to sit on him before he reluctantly left so I could watch TV.

Cool Hand Luke’s favorite spot is in the same room.  The black cat (interesting enough the two dogs mentioned are also completely black) will sit on some books perched on top of a book case to the left of my Lazy Boy chair and by the window.  She is often found there.  That is a new spot for her.  For a long time she used to lie curled at night at the head of the bed to the left of me.

She does not get along too well with some of the other cats.  For a number of months other cats were often lying together on my bed especially Jasmine, a dainty female, with some or all of her four kids she had in two litters.  Sometimes Buttons, a tiger colored cat (we have two), will lie on our bed too; although he often hides under the bed.  He sometimes terrorizes Cool Hand Luke.  Of late, the cats have not been spending the night on the bed so Cool Hand Luke has returned occasionally to her old spot.

The other pets’ routines at night I have not noticed or they do not have the same ones every night.  The other cats are great at disappearing.  My wife who sleeps on the other Lazy Boy chair in the living room says the cats are quite noisy at night.  I would not know.  I sleep solidly.

Tags: bed, bed time, book case, Buttons, cats, cats noisy at night, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, dogs, four dogs, Jasmine, man cave, my wife, pets, pets nightly routines, seven cats, sleep, sleep solidly, tiger cat, Tilla, watching TV
Posted in animals, humor, life, local, pets, relationships, time | No Comments »

Why is it your own “blood” does not validate you?  My writing growing up was always taken for granted by my immediate family–my mom and dad and two sisters.  In the beginning it was my letter writing.  In the sixties I started keeping a journal.  In the late seventies I wrote poetry.  And now I am going on the fifth year of keeping a web site and blog.  Both of my parents are now dead.  I am not sure if my two sisters ever go on my web sites.  They usually don’t comment on them.  My writing is who I am, what is going on which is important to me.

Gratefully my wife cares about my writing, as well as other friends.  I found out I had a talent for making people laugh at open mikes.  And that is a validation of my writing although humor is not the only type of writing I do.  I keep getting hits on my web sites and that is encouraging.  And occasionally I get a poem published in a literary magazine.  I guess we choose our friends.  We can’t choose our family.  Up till his dying day my father who lived until ninety-two was more impressed with money than anything I wrote.  I was a failure in that area.  That still hurts.  Sometimes you have to go outside of your family for validation.  And that was my case.

Tags: blog, choose our friends, dad, friends, humorous writing, immediate family, impressed with money, keeping a journal, late 1970's, letter writing, literary magazine, make people laugh, Mom, my parents, my wife, open mike, poem, poetry, sisters, taken for granted, validation by parent, we can't choose our family, web site, writing, writing is who I am, your talents and gifts
Posted in art, death, humor, life, money, relationships, time, wisdom, writing, your job/mission/profession | No Comments »

“Thump!  Thump!  Thump!”  I say that to my favorite dog.  And his tail just wags faster and harder.  Tilla has had other names in the past:  the loveable mutt was first called Atilla The Hun, now shortened to Tilla.  Then the Olympian.  He the was the only dog athletic enough to clear our fence forcing us to build it higher the next year.  He tried then right away to go over but bounced right off it and did not try again.  He is a lovable rogue. I am sure he will earn other names as time goes by.  He is the same dog that never forgot being chained to the table twice when we were punishing him.  You can not keep a leash near him:  he will simply chew through it so leashes are kept out of his reach.  He never forgets.  Right now I feel sorry for him for he is limping slightly.  The vet says he has a torn tendon.  I am hoping we can correct that in the future.  Anyway, he is my dog.  I won him over by giving belly rubs almost any time he wants one and he loves his sporadic walks I give him.  I love him with all my heart and soul.  I never thought any dog would replace Daisy–a black mutt I had since she was a puppy but he has.  Dogs don’t live forever so I will enjoy him now.  Everything is by grace.

Tags: belly rubs, chew leashes, Daisy, dog jumped the fence, dog limping, dog tail thumping, dog walks, dogs, everything-is-by-grace, God, lovable rogue, loveable mutt, my dog, pets, Tilla, torn tendon, vet
Posted in God, humor, local, love, pets, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

I dump my coffee if it gets too cold or is older than an hour.  My coffee pot has a timer on it.  I have had fights over this.  Of course, with my “other”.  How can you waste coffee?  In my defense, I only make an amount I can drink in an hour.  It is funny, the things couples fight about.  My first wife used to get really pissed.  Maybe, that is why I am no longer married to her.  Couples have broken up over less.

Tags: coffee, coffee pot, dump my cold coffee, dump my old coffee, things couples fight about, waste coffee, wife
Posted in balance, humor, local, love, marriage, relationships, time | No Comments »

“Tilla wants out again!”  He is the only dog of our four who know how to pop open the front screen door and let himself out the front door into the fenced yard.  All we could say is, “Tilla wants out again.” as he runs into the yard.

Tags: dog opens the door, dogs, four dogs, pets, Tilla
Posted in humor, local, pets, time | No Comments »

Tilla likes to make us laugh.  He hopped on the head of the bed while my wife was in the bathroom.  And we looked at him calling his name and his tail went thump, thump, thump.  He would not move.  We do have a king sized bed and my wife slept to the right side of him because there was more room there and I slept to the left side of him cheek to cheek with my right hand draped around him.  He is an eighty pound dog.  You would think he knows enough to sleep at our feet on the bed but this was not about sleeping.  This was about making us laugh.

Tags: big dog, dog makes us laugh, dogs, king sized bed, my wife, pets, tail thump, Tilla
Posted in animals, humor, local, love, marriage, pets, relationships, time | No Comments »

Pax is a Rottweiler mix, one scary ninety pound dog.  He is twelve and most of the time has this bemused expression in his face.  Tilla, his son, loves to tease him.  He will have a bone in his mouth and run alongside him cheek to cheek eliciting warning barks from him.  Tilla know how far to tease him.  I really got mad at Pax the other day.  I bought our favorite crusty rye bread and broke off a piece.  I was not paying close attention for a second or two, temporarily laid it on the ground and Pax swiped it.  I was going to grab it out of his mouth but my other dissuaded me from doing that.  I was pissed.  He did it again.  He is a great bagel thief too.  Don’t lay one nearby:  he will grab it so quickly you will never see him do it.  He is getting a little crotchety.  He has his favorite spot in the yard–in one corner and will bark at anyone who has the temerity to pass nearby.  He is not really mean.  He just looks the part.  He is one dog I never want to get loose.

Tags: bagels, big dog, dog bone, dog loves bread, dogs, pack of dogs, Pax, pets, rottweiler mix, rye bread, Tilla
Posted in animals, humor, local, pets, relationships, time | No Comments »

Sometimes your animals don’t like you.  Cheyenne a beautiful grey and white long haired cat simply does not like me.  Almost every time I approach him he stiffens as if to say, “Don’t you dare touch me.” and runs in the opposite direction.  I don’t quite understand it.  We have seven cats and he is the only one (minus Buttons who is about as wild as can be and still be a house cat) who does that.  I try repeatedly to pet him.  It is almost always the same result:  he runs away from me.  He wants nothing to do with me.  Cheyenne does not like me.

Tags: Buttons, cat doesn't like me, cats, Cheyenne, house cat, long haired cat, pets, seven cats
Posted in animals, humor, local, nature, pets, relationships | No Comments »

Both of us two nights ago entered our bedroom and there was our eighty pound dog Tilla on the head of the bed right in the middle ears pert waiting for us.  He would not move.  I slept to the right of him and my wife to the left of him cheek to cheek.  Both of us slept on our side.  I never know what Tilla is going to do next.  Thank God the bed was a king sized one!

Tags: big dog, dog sleeps in bed, dogs, pets, Tilla
Posted in humor, local, marriage, pets, relationships, time | No Comments »