My Rambling Starts Extremely Early

It's been a weird 10 hours. Here I am blogging before I have my first photo of the day, before the sun is up .... still after the hounds were fed breakfast and with all my lights off inside the house. The temperature is 9° and they tell me it feels like 2°. I don't really know because I have not been outside but I felt the freezing temps when I opened the door to let all 3 hounds outside. A few months ago I started feeding the hounds twice per day ... so their breakfast is served right after they get back inside ... which doesn't take too long. They are more interested in eating than dumping their tanks after a night of sleep.

A night of sleep it was. I knew something was wrong when I started nodding out at 8:30pm. I am a natural born 'night person'. I am rarely in bed before 1am if not later. So when I am sitting on the couch next to a sleeping bloodhound (Stella) and hearing a snoring bloodhound in the big chair (Sadie), with a basset setting the all-time record for sleeping on the bed (Heidi) ... trying to read a book but falling asleep ... I know my night is about to get weird.

In the life of retirement though, you learn to go with the wave. Follow what you feel and go with the flow. So the lights were turned off, the bloodhounds stayed where they were and I headed off to bed ... It was only 9:10pm. With forecasts predicting a low of 2° I decided to leave my bathroom water running just for my own peace of mind. My water pipes have never frozen here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana in temperature much colder than 2° ... but some recommend running the water, some say to let it drip so I pick somewhere close to just a small steady stream.

I don't think I was awake longer than a few minutes after laying down. Heidi decided I could have my 1/3 of the bed, as close to the edge as possible. It didn't matter though, whatever had knocked me out was working overtime and I was out cold within minutes. Of course when you go to bed early you wake up early ... at 5am I am wide awake. It's dark outside and I can tell from the frozen covered storm windows it is $%*$#* cold outside.

Before that 5am is where things got weird. Some of the strangest dreams took place somewhere between 9pm and 5am. The kind of dreams you can actually remember after you wake up. The weirdness and my detailed memory of them led me to log into my search engine "DuckDuckGo" to check out some of the things I was dreaming about. How crazy is that???

It was nice to see the internet prove they were only dreams and that's where they will stay. My mind is crazy sometimes.

So after a cup of coffee by 6:03am, looking at the calendar on my computer to see the day was Saturday ... I decided what a perfect time to ramble. Well rested. The hounds following their normal routine are sleeping all together after they eat breakfast. Their next scheduled time to go outside will be when the sun comes up. That usually occurs about the time I finish my first cup of coffee with Sadie standing next to my desk giving me the stare down.

That will not happen today though ... the schedule is off due to getting up at 6am. I just poured my 2nd cup of coffee, it's still quite dark outside and the hounds are in the snoring stage of sleep. Not much will take place any different than the weekdays. There will be a lot more college basketball on tv today. I'll not sit and watch games like I do college football but there will be games on the tv in the background. I'll check in at times when things show they are interesting or a good game to watch. I cannot keep that book Area 51 down long ... so I'll continue my reading of that.

Sadie, Stella and I took off for the walk yesterday and we will try to do that again today ... even with the cold temps. If there is no wind it should be okay. Unlike the last two days, I'll be taking the camera this time. The pantry is stocked, FJ is full of gas that was bought at an unbelievable price and the Mini Cooper S needs a wash in the  worse way.

Now on to different subjects that's on my mind.

For those that live in rural areas and would like faster internet service ... I am NOT talking Hughes Net ... but the Exede Satellite Service (Viastat) I had installed in June 2014 I am really happy with. Through all kinds of weather, high winds, torrential spring rains ... I rarely lose my internet connection. My internet speed tests out most of the time around 12Mbps. For example, websites load about a half second slower than instant. They do have their own satellite in space and will be launching a new in this April. They will not confess to me what the new surprise will be but I am pretty sure it is about data limits being increased ... maybe even close to unlimited. As far as customer service, they are knowledgeable and when they tell you something it happens.

Blogging came back up for discussion in my head a few days ago. Nothing different than anytime before. The current template stays ... I actually like it, go figure. It's not a surprise that traffic numbers change based on topic. For example I doubt this post will get a lot of prime time views, but I am here just to ramble this morning. Most of my RV crowd left years ago. The bloodhounds get the most traffic ...even if I do nothing but post a line of photos. Yet, my friends converted bus post the other night is the winner so far this month for the most views.

I found out it is much better to allow anonymous comments with a word verification instead of blocking them just because you are trying to prevent being swamped with spam comments. With word verification I rarely get any spam comments. One or two might fall through the cracks. My 'haters' have seemed to moved on ... there is one that still views the blog daily. She claims she is RVing, on the road blah blah blah ... but her server IP never seems to move from her house location. One I had to block, not really block but blogger blocked her ... I am not sure what she sees if anything when she visits. I guess some people make a living out of ranting after reading other people's blogs. All I can say is "get a life".

I guess I am a little late but saw it first thing this morning on my blog roll that Al & Kelly have decided to sell their winter home in Congress Arizona. Click here to see some of the details along with photos. They have done a fantastic job with that house and property. They just have 'a feel' for getting things done like that. Everything is planned out perfect and that includes their house in Canada. That had to have been a very hard decision for them. I was sad when I read the news this morning. I wish I had that much cash available to buy the place. It's priced at $85,000 and based on what I have seen over the year on Zillow.com, that is a steal for whoever the new owner will be.

My friend over at Travels of a Rambling Van had me laughing about trying to get a UPS delivery, even mail delivery to a location off the grid. He said the maps show his property a little off from the actual location. I have him beat on that one. Most of the maps I use to check my location show me in the country on the east side of town. AT&T thought I lived on the west side of town years ago ... luckily at that time the AT&T installer was a neighbor and knew exactly where I lived. At the time I needed that landline installed for my DSL service.

The main thing he had me doing was looking for all of those Omaha Steak mailers I get. You know the ones, where you never open them and just toss them into the recycling box? Well since my life is all electronic now, I didn't need to look for those fliers at all because I went to their website. Very tempting to buy beef and chicken the way he does. Something I might consider. I can still buy grass fed beef here locally at the farmers market. I also find that Lucky's Market has great meat and fresh fish. Since it is just a few blocks from where I buy dog food, it makes it pretty convenient, except the times I take Stella with me.

I don't have a stand up freezer like he does but believe it or not this 40 year old house does have the space for it and correct wiring for it. The original owner of the house (great aunt) had a stand up freezer, inside a built in space made just for that. It was built into the wall that separates my kitchen and computer room. When I moved in I filled that space with a book case on one side and installed shelves on the other side of the open space for more books and my music. For a short time it served as my compact computer desk.

No matter what, Travels of a Rambling Van has me looking at Omaha Steaks.

I like following the blog roll on the left sidebar. Everyone posts at different intervals. They are scattered everywhere in all kinds of weather, all kinds of RVs .. a few are like me, retired and home based most of the time. I will say this cold weather has not bothered me. I don' t wish I was somewhere warmer. It's part of winter here and so far this winter it's been more than mild, with it half over. I can't complain about that. I like the decisions I have made the past couple of years of staying put. For new readers, a few summers ago I actually had a For Sale sign in the front yard to sell the house. I had a few calls, probably just local curiosity more than anything.

Sure, there are times I wished I lived out west. I spent close to 30 years in California and Washington along with 10 months in Breckenridge Colorado. I loved it out there. I was more active out there but at the same time I was also 20-30 years younger. Evidently I don't mind living here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana too much ... March is my anniversary date and it will be 19 years next month, that I have lived here.

There are also times I take off day dreaming about traveling, living in a van or driving my FJ and tent camping wherever I decide to stop. The urge to live in an RV or a converted bus disappeared over a year ago. One thing that has never changed is the indecision on what to buy to travel in. I still don't have any idea what I would want ... at the same time I no longer spend a lot of time thinking about it. I was warned by someone that has traveled for years with more than two dogs ... that traveling with dogs is work. At times it's not easy. Having dogs that cannot sleep on the dash of your vehicle due to their size but you swear they can tear your knee ligaments when they hit you running full steam ... makes traveling even harder.

With hound breeds and not working breeds, ONE interesting scent can send them into an oblivion state of unconsciousness and your chances of catching them are slim to none. That is not a good thing in strange land. Yea I know, you all know someone that has traveled for years with 3-4 dogs or is traveling now with 3-4 dogs .... good for them ... I found it to be a hassle. As much as I love my hounds I cannot say I enjoyed traveling with them. Of course that short 8 day trip was in the 90° temps so even leaving them in the car while you ran inside to pay for gas because the pump didn't read your debit card ... made things interesting.

Stops at Rest Area's were always exciting. A lot of strange noises and scents made for excited strong pulling hounds. Their normal eating times were off and based on when the camp was set up or how far away the next Rest Area was located. Based on the two trips that Stella has made to buy dog food, with a main 4 lane street running in front of the store ... she is freaked out by the traffic noise. Scared. Jumpy. She wants to take off running. I'm not sure that would work parked in a Rest Area on I-70. Anyway the inconvenience traveling now with TWO large hounds and a smaller one that is skin and bones is not something I want to put up with.

So ... sure I daydream at times of traveling ... but my image is doing it alone, without hounds ... maybe just one basset hound.

Hmmm ... hounds, satellite interent, traveling, food ... I'm not sure if I covered everything I wanted to 'ramble' about but this went on longer than I had planned. This post will be boring to most and that's okay ... I just needed somewhere to write before the sun came up.

Now that it has ... it's time to wake up the bloodhounds with "you want to go outside?", grab the camera, put on my Mountain Hardwear Parka and get outside just to see how cold it really is.

Since this is all rambling ... I've decided not to include any photos ... they would have been old ones anyway.

Hounds Hibernate With Temps in Teens

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I didn't post on the blog. There was just nothing to blog about. With the temperatures floating between 18°-21° most of the day yesterday and it looks like that again today ... we didn't get out much. After Sadie, who I cannot carry if required, raised her left front paw yesterday around noon because it was frozen or had snow/ice between her toes ... staying inside seemed to be the right thing to do.

They hounds slept, I read books, had some hot soup and a nice siesta. All nothing to write home about nor blog about. I am finding the book I picked up at the library this week, Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen is a great book, right from the start.

With weekend temps projecting to drop to the low teens or single digits ... expect more of the same. It might be a good time to "ramble" a little, dig through the photo archives and tell some stories of past hounds or places I've been. Many of those photos still need to be converted to a digital format. So I'm not sure what the blogging situation will be.

In the mean time here are a few photos from yesterday afternoon and this morning.

The afternoon yesterday felt pretty warm but neither hound had any desire to stay out long. These first photos were from yesterday morning. We did take off on a walk later yesterday afternoon but I didn't have my camera with me. It was a nice change of pace.

I knew it was too cold yesterday morning when I glanced out to Sadie seeing her lift her front paw. She limped back to the house.

It might look warmer this morning but don't let that sunshine fool you. It was 23° when we took these photos and WeatherBug said it "felt like" 15°. I had to agree with my fingers freezing almost immediately.

The "to do' list is starting to be developed for the spring of 2016. High pressure washing the fence along the driveway will be one of the first things done. Some minor repairs of nailing some parts back together and I am going to add some steel fencing posts to help support some of the wooden posts .... yes, the same type of steel posts that I just cut down about 5 years ago.

If my memory serves me well ... I am pretty sure that I cut these shrubs at ground level about 3 years ago. My neighbor at the time denied he set them on fire while burning "my bank". I guess the south side of them became mysteriously burnt, reasons unknown. The time is not the factor here but "ground level" is. If I am correct about that, then I have some serious erosion going on that will have to be taken care of. Any suggestions for saving a bank that is being eroded away?? In the meantime I'll do some research on the internet.

The problem has always been, the 10 acre field behind my house angles downward and towards the south end of my property. All of that underground water flows towards my house and veers towards the south end of the property over the bank where Winston was sitting just last May. Back 60-70 years ago, my driveway use to be continuous with a small brick road that went between these two trees. The red brick is still down in the bottom of that gully. It would come out to the road that is still there today and used.

I learned from a cousin that grew up a few houses north of me and was very familiar with my house, that annually they would bring in a load of pea gravel every spring and fill in the washed out yard that is at the edge of my property and bank. A few years ago I had 2-3 truck loads of 'mine dust' brought in, recommended by an old neighbor and that stopped the underground water. Of course that water found another path around the edge of that mine dust over the years.

I may or may not clear that patch of land I talked of last week and make it all green grass. The problem is, a "to do" list is coming together but I am wanting to travel. I'd like to back out to Utah earlier this year to miss the 90° temps and get up to Glacier NP before the forest fires, then head back to Indiana. My issue isn't the list ... it's Stella's separation anxiety.

She is passing tests where I leave for short periods of time, most of the time ... but didn't like being left in the FJ when I stopped in the library this week. Although there is no damage in the bedroom lately, she is still digging  at the door trim and was still able to move my chest of drawers ... with a 25lb dumbbell on the floor to block any movement.

With her anxiety ... it would be hard to stop for grocery shopping. When I buy gas she seems okay, because she can see me. When it gets a little warmer, we will stay overnight in the tent in the backyard to see how she handles that. With that anxiety I am not sure that Stella will be a good camper ... hard to say until we try a few things. I was about to leave a few weeks ago to a friends place in AZ and warmer weather but when she started trying to dig out of my bedroom while I was gone, plans were put on hold. There is no way I am going to let her destroy a friends house while we are away.

That's all for this morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. I'll post more later, possibly today.

All The Photos Have Been Fixed

I didn't plan to do it all tonight but it's like anything else I start ... I get started and can't stop. The closer I get to finishing "pulls" me onward. So 5-1/2 hours later, it was finished. Actually it was good to do. I was able to resize all the new photos to the XL size I have been making most of my photos the past few months of the hounds.

It also had some good and bad parts in the process. I was able to see just how healthy Heidi looked only a year ago before she became so thin. I was also able to see how much weight Sadie has put on these past two years. Winston got grayer but still in great shape. Although recently I can tell his hearing is decreasing ... faster than I would hope.

I decided not to re-activate the old email only to have over 20,000 emails loading back into the account ... just to see if those photos on the blog would show up automatically. So on my 2nd monitor, I opened a different browser and went to my blog. I used that screen to scan through the blog looking for posts where the photos were missing.

Then I would write down the photo file name, which is what that paper is at the top of this blog post, export them from my Apple Photos program into my computer "pictures" file so Blogger can upload them. I used the 2nd monitor to put the photos in order plus added the original captions, if the photo had one.

It was funny ... as I uploaded all the photos of the Coachmen RV I bought in September 2013, I thought to myself I probably should have kept that RV and I would be on the road as I type this. Sure I could not have gotten off road like we did last summer but that was a nice RV and the inside was immaculate.

As I was uploading the photos of the major repair job for me, not being a mechanic ... I started thinking how happy I was that I sold it when I did. Add in the time where the rear inside tire went flat during the winter while sitting in the backyard ... I was certainly happy that I sold it.

I was also able to see how I drove some readers simply insane with my decisions changing at times within DAYS!!, going back and forth on what to do. I'm sure many of them have left this blog and no longer read it.

After glancing through all those older posts while posting the photos I did not feel the obsession to travel that I had back in 2011-2013. Even in the spring of 2014 I was raring to go with the Chevy 2500 HD 4x4 pickup ... only to trade it for the Toyota FJ a little over a month after I bought it. When I was loading those Chevy photos back into the blog I realized just how nice that pickup truck was. It's no wonder the car dealer that took the trade, sold that truck within 3 days.

I am happy though with what I have, the FJ. I am also content with where I am right now but I do know that traveling is in my future.

I have to log off and get some sleep before the hounds wake me up this morning to go outside. It feels like a Friday night but it isn't. It is 3:32am though ... so I am out of here.

A late night in "the tropics" but at least all the photos are back on the blog.

First Morning In The 30's

I will say that I am not a fan of cold weather but I do like a morning like today where it's high 30s, sunny, crisp cool air and a hot cup of coffee. That is what it was like this morning with Sadie, Stella and I making our first of many trips outside today. The basset's made the early trip to dump their tanks but not the 2nd trip. Evidently they can feel that winter is in the air.

It didn't matter that it was 37°. As Sadie was running in from the back of the field, Stella met her head on and the playing began ... wet grass and all. They can be going full out effort, trying to get position on the other, pulling on ears and skin but never growling ... then stop immediately and the session is over. They've come back inside and are asleep probably until brunch is served around 1pm.

Yesterday was warmer, a great weather day. Stella and Sadie got a little pre-game exercise in the morning. That seems to be their normal routine.

Once again I didn't do much, at least nothing to write about. Read my book, played some Mahjong and then tuned into the Toronto - Texas MLB game around 4:30pm. I grew up with sports and remember watching the only game of the week on tv in black and white ... Saturdays ... it was always the New York Yankees. I remember parts of the World Series in 1958 (?) with the Los Angeles Dodgers. So I've been watching sports for a pretty long time.

Yesterday in the 7th inning of the Toronto - Texas game, I watched one of the strangest innings of baseball that I can ever remember. I'll not go into details but it lasted 53 minutes. It had one of the strangest, correct called plays that lit the Toronto fans up with enough anger they were tossing cans of beer onto the field and some on the fans below them from the upper deck.

Needless to say, the scene was ugly, disappointing. It's baseball after all, not hockey.

Anyway it was a great game to watch. I watched every play of that game and then the hounds and I took the daily dog walk. Heidi stayed inside and Winston had be woken up from a deep sleep, but he always likes to on the daily walk. I also watched every pitch of the game last night between Houston and Kansas City. Since the pitcher of KC was a long time pitcher of my favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds, until this past July. Why is he in KC? ... economics of modern day professional sports. I hate that part of it.

We were able to still fit in time outside and the daily hound walk before the first game and between games.

During the night game, Winston headed to the bedroom to sleep in the dark, Heidi took the big chair and both bloodhounds were on the couch with me. Last month sounds from the tv during the game would startle Stella and last night she slept solid through all the turmoil on tv.

It looks like I might make a 2nd post later today, not sure. If I do I will label it in the first sentence so you will know there is also a new post below that one. I might pull the rake out today and rake some leaves. They would be easier to rake now while they are damp but would be hard to mulch them.

I added a new blog to my reading list late last night, over on the left side. It's called Dirt Roads & Dogs. All smaller dogs than mine, can walk without a leash and camp in tents or a Toyota 4Runner when the weather is bad. Reading through some of her posts and looking at her photos gave me a little urge to travel again. Then I see the hounds in their environment this morning and think I need to stay here. Nothing changes.

The sun is out, blue skies ... another great day here in "the tropics" of southern Indiana.

Heidi Is On Medical Leave From Blogging and Traveling

As you can see, Heidi is as thin as the picture. As I mentioned before she was down 13 pounds from last September and 7 of those 13 pounds were lost since late March. A few posts back I wrote about taking her to the vet after we returned from our June trip to Utah. Her stools were too soft for too long, she was skin and bones ... although she had escaped any seasonal allergies for the first time that I can remember.

After a week of the vet recommended dose of Pepsin AC, then few a few days of pumpkin added to her kibble, I did not see any positive changes. The vet had ruled out parasites as the reason for her weight loss. He had no answers on why she had lost so much weight. She still had and has a huge appetite, normal basset hound energy but wasn't showing the normal amount of irritated skin this summer due to her allergies.

I had almost decided it was the food that I had changed to a couple of months ago, feeding it to her a month before our June 8 trip. She never had car sickness on that 3,000 mile trip. She seemed normal the week we were gone. She likes to rid in the car, always has. Still the vet and a few friends thought it might be stress from traveling based on her past history before I bought her through a rescue service.

I thought time would take care of itself plus a change in food would help her digestion problem. Since it was hot outside, I stayed inside and continued to look at our next trip possibilities. I was looking for places that were cooler than the Midwest temps and high humidity, and wasn't on fire. There were not many places west of the Mississippi River that fit that criteria.

Like always, things in life can change in an instant, even with the best plans sketched out. I had l just let the hounds out on a Sunday morning, the 19th, (correction ... it was the 12th) before I was heading up to REI in Indianapolis to pick up a Yakima Roof Top Storage Box. Both Winston and Sadie like to dump their tanks in the field but never Heidi. Since day one it's always been on the gravel driveway or a small corner in the front yard.

That requires me to operate a pooper scooper in quick fashion right after she is done. Only on this morning it was different. Bright red blood was showing up in her stool. Out of my 3 local vets in the area of this small town, only one was open for office visits on a Sunday. She happened to be Heidi's original vet from the time I bought her years ago until last October, when I went looking for other opinions on her skin issues.

For some reason this vet also did not want to see a stool sample to check for parasites. Both vets in the past few weeks had squeezed her stomach and intestinal areas and found no issues. Both said she did not have parasites. I thought it was strange they wouldn't check the stool but I'm not a vet.

By the time we arrived at the vet office and the vet had checked her out, it had been over 24 hours since Heidi had eaten anything so a blood sample was taken and sent off for analysis. I would get the results back the following week. I was pretty sure that blood work would answer all the questions we have had for the past few months.

That put our travel plans on hold. Yes, I was close to leaving for another trip. My house to-do list was complete and the urge to travel was too much ... so we were heading out.

Heidi's blood work results came back the following Thursday and everything was normal !!! How can that be after losing 28% of her weight when she wasn't overweight to begin with at 46 pounds? Why the digestive problems that had flared up in the past month of so? What about the UTI she had in May? But yes, the results of the blood work showed her red cell count was within the normal range, no liver or kidney issues as they seemed to be working normal. The tests did not show anything out of the ordinary. I still find that hard to believe.

The vet asked about her past activity, what food was she eating, basically a past history since last October, when I wanted to move away from steroid shots for her allergies. She suggested that stress might be an issue and yes, she may have been stressed out from traveling. You can tell by the photos I took of those trips, she never looked stressed out when traveling ... so I really didn't think that was the issue.

She suggested we go back to a no grain food, although from the photos I showed her on my iPhone, she could see the improvement in her skin after I had changed from a no grain food to a chicken and rice formula. She recommended something different on the no grain food.

She wanted me to make sure there was no chicken or chicken meal in the ingredients and also no potatoes. She did not recommend a brand. She also recommended keeping her at home for the next 30 days to see if she would start gaining weight with a different food high in protein and high in fat. During that time I could also watch for any other changes in Heidi. We set up a followup appointment for August 19.

I spent the rest of the day and night looking at different no grain dog food again. Something I had done in the past but I wanted the latest news of any changes. Only a day later did I find out that Merrick, a food we had used in January, had been bought by Nestle-Purina. It will be interesting to see if any of Merrick's dog food blends change due to the take over. As it were, Merrick was no longer an option ... no matter what.

I asked some friends for suggestions. There is a lot of no grain food but a large percentage of those foods have potato, or sweet potato as a carbohydrate source. I also found that even if Bison, lamb or fish  might be the first ingredient, further down the list you would find chicken meal in some of the different brands.

I also emailed Fromm Pet Food customer service asking about what they would recommend, since I was feeding their chicken and rice formula at the time. They replied with two interesting comments about what they have found in dog allergies. I'll not go into detail but essentially they found that chicken and grains were the first and second culprits of dog allergies.

A friend suggested a no grain food made right here in Indiana. It was rated not only 5-stars by Dog Food Advisor but was also listed as 1 of only 125 blends of dog food after a thorough analysis by an independent reviewer.

This food is Earthborn Holistic. After looking  at a list of no grain foods I had made at one of the local stores I buy dog food, I found that this food was about $10-$15 cheaper with it's competitors. The store owner thought the price difference was due to shipping, since we were only 75 miles from Earthborn's Plant.

I must say that just after a week, I could see a change in Heidi's skin. She had some places where she was chewing again before changing the food.  It only took two days to see a normal firm stool. The first serving I cut her old and new food 50/50 but noticed the next morning of a much different stool. That afternoon I fed her 100% of the new food on her 2nd day. From that day forward she has had nothing but normal stools.

Her hair continues to grow back in all the leg, stomach and neck areas that looked destroyed back in February and March. Her skin condition was so bad at the time the vet said in March there was no chance of hair coming back to those areas. He was surprised when he saw new hair growing in the June.

I did take some "before" photos of her at the time I changed her food. I will take weekly photos of those same areas to track the results and post them in future posts.

She must be feeling better on this new food Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast. She now is barking daily at the time she wants to eat, huge difference. Plus for the first time in many many months she has gone on the daily dog walks in the early evenings. Over the 7 months she never went on walks when I asked. Yes, the hay field has been baled for the summer, so we are back to walking early in the morning or early evening when the sun is setting behind the trees.

Sadie and Winston making sure it's cut right

Monday morning

Otherwise nothing that is blog notable is going on. We are beating the heat, drinking lots of water, reading, and doing a lot of what Winston and Sadie do during the day ... photo below.

Winston on the couch ... Sadie under the table