Pudgy was the family dog, but he was my dog.  My family had moved from town out to the river and my parents said that for my 10th birthday I could pick out a puppy from our old neighbors in town.  I picked him out of a litter of 5, part spitz puppies, and I named him Pudgy because he was soooo pudgy and furry.  I took him everywhere with me.  When I would get off the school bus, Pudgy would be there waiting for me.  If I decided to get off the school bus at an earlier stop with my friend Sandy...there would be Pudgy.  He knew before I did what bus stop I was getting off.  We had an old row boat at the river we lived on and Pudgy would ride on the bow (the triangle at the front of the boat) and I would row us up and down the river. One day Pudgy did not come home and I called and called, but no Pudgy.  For 2 weeks I went out after school and on weekends, calling and searching.  Then one night, I was sleeping on the couch, I heard that familiar and wonderful sound...WooooWooWoo Woooo...as I jumped up and headed for the front door, I could hear all the other family members calling and running too.  There he was, all dirty and smiling up at us.  We soon realized he was missing a front paw.  We took him to the vet and they had to remove some more of the knawed off foot, but he was fine.  I was so grateful to have my wonderful dog home.  He did fine with the 3 legs and went everywhere with me and then one day, he got bumped by a car and the vet had to tie up his opposite back leg, so for awhile he hopped around on 2 legs.  What an amazing dog.  He still would know which bus stop I would get off of and there he would be.  My friend lived a couple of miles from my bus stop.  When I left for college, Pudgy died of heart worms.  Bless that dog.  I still miss him.

On Sunday we had a light dusting of snow and this morning I awakened to the sound of the snow plow.  I looked out the window and saw the mountains here covered in 3 to 5 inches of snow.  It is so pretty and wonderful when it snows.  We can use any kind of moisture in these high desert mountains of Southern Arizona.

It is good to be back online again and since my computor crashed, it is good to have a computor again. I feel a bit rusty, so bear with me. 

I woke up this morning between 5:00 and 6:00 to a convention of coo coo ka rooo's...the white -winged doves...or, it was Carlos Nakai having a flute party. The sky is blue and not white like it has been for several days now. The wind has calmed down and it is about 50 degrees outside. The Cottonwood trees have finally stopped all the "cotton" puffing so the allergy stuff should abate. I've been helping a friend who has been told she needs full upper and lower dentures and all her teeth pulled. She has been choosing to see dentist across the border into Mexico. I just spoke with a lady who had a really bad experience with the same dentist my friend is seeing. She said her tongue is still numb from the last work they did 3 weeks ago. I started researching on the internet to see what I could find out. I feel we should see a dental clinic up in Tucson. With what the one lady told me of her experience and the poor English and language challenge I do not feel she should have all this work done down in Mexico. My friend is trying to save some money but the risk is just not worth it in my opinion.

Every Sunday I meet with a couple of my friends at the local diner. We rotate each week to each others homes and do art work and then a game of Scrabble. It is helping each of us unblock that creative energy. Writers have blocks and so do Artist. I did an oil pastel of my daughters dog, Lucy and yesterday I did an oil pastel of my daughter. I hope to soon start painting in acrylic. It feels good to get going again.

Today, I plan to work in the garden. I got a tomato plant at the Farmers' market on Saturday. I have a frame and a plastic sleeve that you put water in each of the pockets and it becomes a mini- greenhouse. The cilantro and parsley have come up and also the marigolds. I cover them with this white mesh stuff, called Agribon. It helps to keep the frost off and then the bugs. It acts as a greenhouse and you can water right over it and it helps to hold the moisture in. I love this time of year!

**EDIT**

Here is the Lucy drawing: