ValerieDykstra.com

This is Charlie. He’s my dog. Gordon is not the father figure Charlie needs. I asked Gordon yesterday what kind of dog we should get next time and he said, “ceramic.” Read more →

Our house is presently overrun by dogs. We are dog-sitting and it's been kinda wild. Here are some cute profile shots of the poochies. Shelby, the pastor's dog. Lucy, our beloved dog who isn't really ours anymore. I am so blessed to get to babysit her though. And this is my little Bearsie Boy. He's the only one that is actually ours. Aren't they all so cute? Labels: dogs, photos Read more →

Remember my little Senor Frodo? He loved to sleep under the Christmas tree. Labels: christmas, dogs, photos Read more →

Rachael 13, Hannah 12, Deborah 9. A wee girl Hannah, 12 years old. Labels: christmas, deborah, Hannah, photos, rachael Read more →

I love my sweet dogs very much. Lucy is a beloved Basset Hound cross and has a most wonderful disposition. She's never had puppies, but certainly would have been a great mother. Hannah recently bought an expensive ($35) fake dog. It's a Rottweiler puppy that "breaths." It is realistic looking, rolled up in a little ball sleeping, steadily breathing. She named him Hoot. Hoot has a little bed that he sleeps in on Hannah's bed.... Read more →

Our little Bear Dog has made a tasty discovery. Gordon leaves his shirts on the bedpost, (drives me crazy, but that's another story), and Bear has discovered that each shirt sports buttons. Last week Gordon had three shirts hanging there when Bear learned the joy of chewing buttons off, one by one. Gordon put one shirt on to discover it no longer had buttons. Frustrated, he sighed and grabbed the next shirt on the post.... Read more →

Yesterday I came home from work to find a citation in my mailbox. Not a mailed citation, a hand-delivered one. It was for my little Bear not being licensed. Yes, Bear was spotted in the window. (He sits on the back of the sofa in the window protecting us from those with sinister motives). Evidently, Mr Ticket Fellow travels with a portable computer and typed in my address when he saw Bear. To his apparent... Read more →

(Hannah and her scooter in Edmonton's river valley, 2006) Hannah has a grand sense of humor. It seems to me that her humor is quite well developed for a 10-year-old. She tickles me to no end. I have warned the kids repeatedly not to let Bear have any chocolate. Knowing chocolate can be deadly to a dog, I'm a bit paranoid that a six pound dog might succumb to death quickly from a small amount... Read more →

My two furry babies, Lucy and Bear. Lucy is an amazing dog and a poet. Here is her poem: I am a D-O-L-L. I have eyes of autumn brown. I have ears of softest silk. My teeth are like ivory. My legs like tree trunks. Yes, I am a D-O-L-L. Bear's poetry isn't quite as good: I am an S-T-U-D. I have eyes of steely gray. My teeth are sharp as needles. My tail is... Read more →

Today our little Bear is at "the cutter." Poor little guy. I had to have him at the neutering joint at 7:30. He was shaking, I don't know if it was his nerves or the cold. He was pitiful. The girls got their allowance a couple days ago. They live for allowance day and Dollarama. After their Dollarama trip, Deborah had some money left over. She seems to find left over money tormenting. She must... Read more →

1. I joined a writers' group. I hope to have fun, fun, fun. 2. I made soap the other night. Note to self and anyone else who plans to make soap: There is a GREAT BIG difference between fluid ounces and ounces in weight. I had never thought of that, but now I KNOW in no uncertain terms. 3. I had a huge confrontation with a teacher at the kid's school. She rebuked my 11... Read more →

Lucy and Christopher, 2005. I haven't been able to train the pets to pray. Someone, unfortunately unidentified, was. Oh to be that spiritual! However, I do think my dear Lucy is related to this spiritual dog. Lucy is a unique blend of Bassett Hound, Dachschund, and Corgi. This spiritual dog appears to be the same blend. I bet they're sisters. Lucy didn't get the religious gene though. Do you see t he striking resemblance? Pray... Read more →

As you may recall, Hannah wondered if Bear would ever become "erect." Well as you can see, the answer is yes. It was a slow event. One ear was erect four days before the other, leading us to believe only one ear would stand up. But one morning we woke to find the little Bear fully erect. Isn't he cute? Read more →

(Hannah getting yummy kisses from Bear, 2006) Hannah came into the living room carrying Bear. "Will Bear ever get erect?," she inquired. I spat my lemonade across the room. Wondering where she learned THAT, I said, "That's a good question. Why do you ask?" She responded, "Well Chihuahuas have erect ears and so do Pomeranians, so do you think Bear's ears will go erect?" Read more →

This is Bear. Bear is a ChihuaPom (Chihuahua-Pomeranian). An unusual combination, we agree. Since Frodo's death, Hannah has searched and searched for a dog she could afford. In Alberta, one is hard-pressed to find a mutt or a free puppy. Hannah is a thrifty little gal, but most dogs are still out of her league. She called no fewer than 30 people before she called Bear's breeder. As it turned out, this breeder is the... Read more →

We just returned from our first camping trip for the summer. We went about an 1 1/2 hours out of the city. Good friends from Calgary met us on the second day of our stay and we had a great time camping side by side. Our kids played gloriously well together; the weather was beautiful; the campsite was wonderful; the beach was lovely and clean. Other than one drenching wet night, it was perfect --... Read more →

We just returned from a camping trip. When we left the city, our van was burgeoning with camping supplies for the week. We were a sight, I am sure. The top of the van carried supplies; the bikes rode precariously on the bike rack; one seat of the van was removed and replaced to full capacity with our week's livelihood. Lucy, green with motion sickness, was on my lap hanging out the window, her long... Read more →

(The last photo of Frodo, taken a week before his death, with Deborah's friend Jocelyn.) We had a tough weekend, mostly Hannah and me. Every time I sliced cheese I looked down at my feet expecting to see little Frodo waiting patiently for his treat, his tail swishing excitedly on the floor. He had such a gentlemanly way of waiting for his treats. When I walked through the back door, I was painfully jarred with... Read more →

Frodo Dykstra August 15, 2005 - June 16, 2006 Today tragedy struck our family. Frodo got out the fence and went straight to the street. Hannah and I immediately went after him, but we weren't as fast as him. He got hit by a car right in front of Hannah. He died instantly. We brought him home, wrapped him in a towel and mourned. Oh how we mourned! Gordon built him a fine little coffin... Read more →

Frodo will soon be neutered (May 29). Tonight when Hannah prayed she asked God to "Help Frodo not to be too sad when he loses his manhood." Read more →

I'm flying high today. I got a $.40 per hour raise. That was kind of cool. I also got very good to outstanding on my performance review. The highest in the store. Yippee! That's all good and fine, but the really good news is that I quit cake-decorating purgatory. I am so happy. Surely the world's a better place without me wielding a bag of buttercream frosting. Senor Frodo, our manly little Chihuahua, is on... Read more →

Salutations! Spring has arrived in the Great White North and I LOVE it. I walked around the yard this morning and was pleasantly surprised to find an abundance of tulip and lily shoots. Spring! Is there anyone who doesn't love it? Later we got a rain shower. How delightful when the moisture comes in the form drops rather than white fluffs! Simply invigorating. My cake decorating adventure is pretty cool. I worked 36 hours this... Read more →

The snow is drifting down delicately and my snowman flag is whipping in the cold breeze. Lucy and Frodo are wrestling and growling in low rumbles. I smile at their carefree canine antics. I'm thankful for the joy in my heart that allows the simple things to bless me. I read a couple days ago that joy is spiritual and happiness in natural. I liked the distinction. Gordon was called to a serious accident yesterday.... Read more →

Frodo will be old enough to be neutered soon, and boy do we expect things to calm down around here. He keeps me emotionally-hopping answering questions provoked by his ungentlemanly ways. With nose wrinkled in disgust, Hannah asked if something pink came out of Daddy's penis when he mated. I was very very happy to say no. (It helped that she spoke in past tense. She thinks Daddy hasn't "mated" since Deborah was conceived). Read more →

This morning Hannah came into the living room carrying Frodo. With her nose wrinkled and her lips turned down, she grimaced. "During the night, Frodo's penis got really hard and something pink came out. There were two balls on it too. It was gross!" I smiled and said, "I guess our little Frodo is growing up." Although we had lots of dogs growing up, I never paid any attention to the male dog parts. When... Read more →