I'll Lead the Way! . . . Where We Going?

Our home was built in 1962. Sometimes, I almost wish it was an early 1900's home with all the charm that comes with those, but CC is having troubles of her own with hers!



The first owners of our home had 7 kids; 6 girls and 1 boy. They shared this 3bd, 1 3/4 bath home with all of those kids! My friend Terri grew up in this house and they bought it when she was four. When she turned 16, they added an upstairs with three more bedrooms and a bathroom. They must have felt they were in a mansion!



The stairs are the most interesting part. They're not what anyone would call . . . shall we say . . . OSHA compatible? Each step is small, so your foot doesn't exactly fit on it. Ty's friend Tim, around 6'2", would walk down them backwards because he felt his feet would just slide right off of them. I can't tell you how many times we've been in the living room, heard a huge crash, and then the statement, "I'm OK! I'm fine!" by everyone from children, to teens, to foreign students.



I cannot carry a basket of laundry and see where to put my feet when I go down these stairs. They're steep. The walls are narrow, so I can't put the laundry basket of to one side as I walk down. I have to kind of hold the laundry basket up, peer underneath it, brace the wall with one elbow, and carefully walk down the stairs.



Enter the schnauzers.



Everywhere I go in this house and outside, I am led by the schnauzers. They don't know where we're going, of course, so they have to stop in front of me and look over their shoulders. They adjust their position to whatever direction I'm pointed and lead away.



Are you with me? Do you see where this is going?



They especially like to do this on the stairs.

The stairs start with this little area we call "Jack's Landing." This is where he sits on patrol to let us know who is in the neighborhood, when dogs are being walked, and most importantly, when Himself is home. It's also where my feeders are located, so Hobbs must also let us know the presence of mourning doves, squirrels, and cardinals.

I love how Jack is sitting here so calmly. Hobbs knows there must be something Jack is looking at that he's missing, so he's trying to take in every detail.

Suddenly, one of us goes upstairs. Race to the top!

You brought that ball with you?

Well, yeah. I thought, you know, we could play or something.

On STAIR patrol?

You're right. I'll just play with it on my own. My bad.

See how narrow and steep they are? See how short the steps are? I am trying to go down the stairs, and Hobbs is trying to lead me down them. Here, I have stopped, so he's stopping to look at me to see when to proceed.

Oh, we're not moving. Ok, I'll just stop right here. This is a small dog, and yet he takes up most of the space.

I've made it safely down. WAIT! Now Glenna's going up, but the One With Food is still down. I'm torn! What do I do? I'll have to sit and think about this.

Heh heh. You know, from this position I'm MUCH higher than you, Jack.

Dream on, Kid.