The last few time I have dried clothes in the dryer, I have come up with these stains on my clothing. Not all of it, and not every piece, but enough that I was getting concerned.

So, how do you clean a dryer?

That was my big question. Fortunately, my friend, Gail called em and I asked her. She, it turned out, has had this problem before and she was able to guide me through the cleaning process.

1. Get a bottle of Goo-Gone. Which I already had.
2. Spray a paper towel and have it lie on the shelf parts of the drier and in my case I also sprayed this on the back, where I could see the brown grime.
3. Walk away for 20 minutes.
4. Come back and wipe it down with clean clothes.
5. Take wet clothes and a bucket of warm water and keep wiping until all the soap is out of the dryer.
6. Take some old kitchen rags and wet them, ring them out and toss in the dryer.
7. Tada! Done!!!

I am so pleased with the results and will probably need to do this every six months. The machine is 13 years old and just not working as well as it should, and yes, it definitely needed a good cleaning.

My Grandniece, Abby asked me to post some good videos of the puppies! So here we go, Abby, these are just for you!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Growth

This is my daughter Amanda when she was a year old and today at 29 1/2. She was a beautiful baby and has grown into a glorious, lovely and talented young woman. I am so proud to be her Mum!

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

LOST



Kathleen Alynne, November 8, 1978-June 19, 1985

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong
And carry on,
‘Cause I know I don’t belong
Here in heaven.

This is my daughter, Katie. She passed away and I lost her when she was 6 years old. Her loss was the greatest I have ever suffered. She was a bright and beautiful child with a sunny personality, and she was loved by all.

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Sleeping


Shubi was the funniest dog I ever had. From day one she wanted to sleep. While other puppies were running around, chewing and getting into trouble, there was Shubi, always ready for a nap. We all still miss our little sleeper. Here are some of our favorite pictures of her.


Shubi and baby Greta when Greta first arrived from Germany. Shubi was such a good mother to Greta.


Me with baby Shubi. She was my little snuggle bunny, and the best nap taker a girl could have.


Hubby and Shubi. One of my favorite pictures.

You all probably think I pose Greta in these pictures. Truly, I don’t. Greta is such a ham, that we now keep our digital cameras all over the place to catch her every move, (or non move).



Today it was her stuffed basketball. She dragged this thing all over the house and then settled it up on the chair where she could snuggle it. This thing is larger than she is!



She finally fell asleep with this ball and once again I caught her with the camera.

Later in the day, Lily, an eight month old White German Shepherd, female came to visit us. She is a little smaller than Fritz and just a tad on the apricot side, but she is the sweetest little girl and I would have kept her in a heartbeat!


Fritz, Greta and Lily

The dogs played and played and got along so well. The funniest episode occurred when Greta was chasing the two big shepherds! That girl has no fear!


Fritz and Lily

I was amazed at how well all the dogs got along. There are times dogs will be snappy with each other, or not want to share their toys. This was not the case. All the dogs shared, and seemed to enjoy each other.


Two beautiful dogs

Sadly it soon was time for Lily and her owner to leave us. The two beautiful shepherds stood, one last time for a picture. What regal beasts they are!


Lily and Fritz

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Pets

Top: Hubby & Fritz, Hubby & our beloved late Shubi.

Middle: James and Matina with Greta

Bottom: Greta and me, Hubby with Fritz and Greta.

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

ACTION!!!

Fritz jumping through the hillside grass during a hike.

Greta bounding throught the snow last winter. This is probably my favorite action picture

Yesterday we took the dogs swimming. Fritz is a natural. He will swim out to chase a stick, and he looks so relaxed, that his effortless strokes leaves you amazed at his talent! I was watching him as he swam back to shore and I swear I could see him smiling!

Greta is our biggest surprise. The first year we had her, she hated the water. I despaired that she would ever get used to it. Then last summer we were at the lake playing fetch with Fritz and Shubi, when Greta just jumped in and started to chase the stick as well.
Last night Greta was swimming with delight. Seeing as she is so small, she really has to work at swimming the dog paddle, but she is so happy and just loves to swim that it makes watching her a pleasure.

I would throw Fritz’s stick first and off he would go. Greta would start after Fritz’s stick making the cutest noises of excitement, and I would toss in her stick.
At one point I had tossed her stick and she ignored it. I thought maybe she hadn’t seen it, but she swam right over to Fritz and took the stick out of his mouth!
Even when this girl is in over her head she runs the show!
The funniest thing is, people notice Fritz and not Greta. He is large, white and beautiful and one boy asked if he was a wolf? Once I assured him that Fritz wasn’t a wolf, then he wanted to pat him.
Another person was surprised that Fritz was a German Shepherd and asked if he was a full blooded one. I smiled and said yes. It’s always amazing to me that people still don’t know that there are white shepherds!
Greta doesn’t mind that Fritz was getting all the attention. She is very secure in the fact that she is the most beautiful dog, the most talented dog on the beach.
They both came home after their swims and happily collapsed.

Okay. Dog ownership is sometimes not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s sort of like having a baby all of the time. They need to be fed, groomed and put to bed, just like a baby, and even though you can train them to go outside to do their poops, come springtime, when the snow melts, you still need to go out and scoop the poop off the lawn and chuck it in the woods.
I don’t usually worry about such problems. I take care of the indoor stuff, like food, water, pills, when needed, and baths (not my personal favorite, but hey…), and Hubby does the poop scooping. However, as you all know, Hubby is on crutches, and as much as I would like to send him out there with a shovel, I just can’t bring myself to do it.
Yesterday I was out with Greta on the leash and I saw that enough snow had melted that the entire side hill of our lawn was literally, “COVERED” with poop. It was cold and windy and I thought, “Hmmm, not now”, but today it’s going to be a little warmer and so I cannot put off this rather distasteful job any longer. It’s now, or come mud season it will become totally disgusting.
So while all you mother’s with little pooping babies lament poopy pampers, just think of me out there with a bucket and shovel and be glad that when Junior is finally house broken, he/she will know how to “flush” it away!