winter lights and paw prints

winter lights and paw prints
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I guess all of the snow we didn't get in November had decided to visit us all at once. It feels like it hasn't stopped snowing since Sunday morning but I actually know that this isn't true.

Winter. It's definitely here and it looks like it'll be here for a while. Good thing I gots me some new boots huh?? My old ones were literally falling apart so I splurged out on a new pair just before Christmas. They are really sturdy and warm but I'm having a bit of a time adjusting to them because they are a little higher than my old one (they are like a hiking boot - I have big ass snow boots for shovelling in).

I've managed to survive the first two days of being back to work in spite of the fact that for some reason I got almost no sleep last night. I woke up every 40 minutes or so, either too hot or too cold or just plain old uncomfortable. I suspect I will sleep like the dead tonight, based on how I feel right now. I hate when I have nights like that because honestly, I really enjoy sleeping.

The one nice thing about this snowy cold snap is how happy it makes Sam. He LOVES the snow. Loves it! Last night, in a minus a million wind chill, he was sitting at the top of the steps on the deck, smiling his big joker grin while the snow swirled around him. If we didn't drag his butt into the house, I think he'd stay out there all day. Gracie is enjoying it more this year than last (she HATED going out in the cold last winter) but she does not dig it as much as the Sam man does.

So yeah, there truly is a silver lining to every snow cloud, right?

starting to think about getting ready

It's been a while since I've posted and I wish I could say that the delay is because of some really exciting stuff but honestly, it's just been sort of busy at work (where I usually post from) lately and when I do have a spare moment for farting around, I'm playing Farmville. Yep, Farmville.

My cousin's 10 year old son invited me to play it with him during the summer and I said yes. At first, I had my doubts about it but the more I played and the more weird little reward things I got, the more I got into it. He, of course, like most 10 year olds, moved on to other facebook games but I stuck it out with Farmville. Now I play with a bunch of my friend each day, we send each other animals and (this week anyway) christmas gifts. It's all very silly but in a way, the silly aspects of it distract me when I'm getting stressed about things so it can't be all bad.

Not sure what the weather is doing in your part of the world but 'round here, we're having an unseasonably beautiful fall. Except for a few flakes the other morning which didn't amount to anything, we've had no snow and the temperatures have been very mild. I'm not complaining but it is weird. What is also weird for me is the fact that I only have 5.5 days left in the office this year. I start my winter vacation on December 14 at around 2 p.m. Nice huh?? I had a bunch of vacation days leftover at the end of the year (I usually do) and I like to add them to the already generous holiday break we get where I work. I'll be off work for almost 3 weeks. Nice huh?

Last year, I didn't start to decorate until I was already off work (around the 16th) but we've started the process of moving stuff up from the basement. I always forget how many bins of stuff I have. It never looks like that much when I get it all out but boy, there are a lot of boxes. Boxes of lights, boxes of Spongebob decorations, my Simpsons Christmas village, all of my cool/funky snowmen. We're not traditional christmas folks so our decorations are more fun and silly than some folks would care for. Of course, our big December 25 tradition is to get up, drink coffee and watch our well used DVD copy of "Pee Wee's Christmas Special." For me, it's not really Christmas until you've heard Grace Jones sing the Little Drummer Boy or k.d. lang do Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

In other news, we've been dog sitting for the beautiful Bella for the past two weeks. Her humans are expected to be back in town tomorrow and I'm sure she'll be glad to get home. I think she has a lot of fun here with our dogs and we treat her like she's one of ours but I'm sure she'd prefer to be at home with her own people.

The three dog dynamic is very different than two dogs and I think Gracie has been most bothered by it. She has a tendency to be a little jealous so having another girl dog in the house kind of gets up her nose. The other weird thing is that Bella cannot figure out the doggie door. She has gone out on her own a couple of times while Mark was standing by the door but she won't come in on her own. She'll go through the flap but won't push on it with her nose. I know she can do it but she won't. Having to let a dog in and out for 2 weeks makes me really appreciate how lucky we are that Sam and Gracie are clever enough to come and go as they please.

On that note, things seem a little too quiet in the kitchen (where the dogs currently are) to me. I had better go make sure that they haven't figured out how get into the pantry on their own.

current weather

current weather
Originally uploaded by Julep67

The current weather here is gross.

Hot, sticky, smelly and gross. We've spent the biggest chunk of today, cowering in the air conditioning. The breeze outside died mid-morning. Not fun.

Both dogs celebrated birthdays this weekend, Gracie on Thursday, Sammy on Saturday. They are both now 2. For their birthdays they got extra trips to the dog park and lamp chops. Not bad huh?

I'm back to work tomorrow. The past two weeks have flown by but I had a blast. I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to going back but I can honestly say that it's not something I'm dreading. I'd just rather always be home with the doggies if I could be.

waiting for squirrels

waiting for squirrels
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Just got back from running an errand on campus and cannot get over how hot the midday sun is today. We're in the midst of a humid spell and I'd love nothing more than some lungs full of fresh cool air.

I think the weather is getting to the dogs too. They have access to the air conditioned house, lots of shade in the yard, water and ice cubes but they both seem a little off the past two days.

Sammy woke up in the middle of the night, whimpering to go outside. when I got up to let him out, he ran outside when I stepped onto the deck (to turn the motion sensor lights on). He was a little skittish though and every time the bug zapper zapped, he jumped. Eventually he was able to do his thing but it seemed, well let's just say different, like he was a little upset (his tummy). He then ran back into the house and normally, he likes to do a little "hey I just pooped" dance before doing that.

When we came back into the house, he ate a little of the kibble which was leftover in his bowl and then settled back to sleep. Shortly after we woke up, he barfed the kibble up (on Mark's side of the bed). On the weekend, he got a hold of one of Mark's work gloves and I think he ate part of the thumb so that could be what's got him out of sorts, could be the humidity too.

Gracie seems to be faring a bit better although since we had the carpet cleaned, she's full of piss and vinegar. I still haven't put the room back entirely so there is a little more room for her to play in and she's taking full advantage of it, chasing Sam, at top speed, wanting to wrestle with either Mark or I (and getting us to play along).

Btw, the carpets turned out well. I'm pretty impressed and wondering why I've not done it before!

iced gracie

iced gracie
Originally uploaded by Julep67

. how much would I love to be home, on the deck, with Gracie and her bowl of ice cubes right now? Well, lots.

. she was not impressed with me when I left for work this morning

. I've been spending parts of my morning (before heading out to work) on the deck with the dogs

. they love it when you're with them, they aren't so happy when you go

. if only they understood how I much I can empathize with what they're feeling because I feel the same way too

doggy bounce

It's finally starting to feel actually summery here. Did I say "finally" cuz it's been a long time coming!! Don't think that I'm a huge fan of really hot steamy weather but I like it to be at least warm enough to be able to wear sandals to work. And not having to turn the office furnace, in mid-June, is also nice.

Convocation has been happening for the past couple of weeks and it's a lot of fun to watch the proud parents and happy grads taking photos. Unfortunately, some of the folks taking photos have almost been hit by vehicles, at least almost hit by us, the last couple of days. See, Convocation empties out onto University Avenue. Everyone sort of congregates outside of Grant Hall, trying to get photos of their grad with the Clock Tower, or the with the Chancellor, etc. I have, more than once this week, watched parents backing up, into traffic, with a camera clutched to their faces. It's scary. I think next year, they should consider closing the street because I worry that someone is going to get plowed over by a bus.

We got to the dog park last night (we hadn't been since the weekend) and it was pretty busy, which is nice for the dogs. Our dog park is not a dedicated strictly to dog park activities. The area we can use is inside a running track. Also inside the track are four baseball diamonds. We often walk the length of the park, between the ball diamonds because the dogs will run back and forth between us, trying to herd us. Anyway, last night, I had to laugh. There was a young girl sitting on the bleachers, wrapped around her boyfriend (I think they were in high school). They had a little mop top of a dog with them but she was paying more attention to the boy than to the dog. The dog was pretty friendly and Sam and Gracie were playing with it but I couldn't help but chuckle thinking, her parents probably asked her to walk the dog so she plunked it at the park while she was fooling around with this guy. She wasn't exactly following the rules of supervising and being in control of your dog at all times!

In any event, now that we're talking about dogs, why not do the doggy bounce?

what a weekend!!

Queen's University Spring Reunion Weekend 2009
Originally uploaded by Julep67

The inaugural Spring Reunion Weekend was held on campus over the weekend and it appears to have been a huge success. I would have been surprised if it hadn't been though. Kingston and campus are at their very best, at this time of the year and many grads have never seen either in full bloom. Lots of neat, new events were planned and a good time seemed to have been had by all.

I'm feeling a little tired today after putting in some extra hours over the weekend but I should be back to normal by tomorrow. Slept very well last night and had yesterday off, sort of. Because I'd worked on Saturday, and Friday night, my chores all fell to yesterday. I did about 6 loads of laundry and finally packed away the sweaters and pulled out the capris. I have another couple of loads of laundry to do but the lion's share of it is done and that feels good.

The rest of the week will be spent trying to get the house cleaned up again. Between the dogs and the deck construction and just everything else that's been happening lately, the house is a bit of a mess and I'm not thrilled about it. We had to do a bunch of cleaning (unplanned) yesterday because both of the dogs were throwing up. They both ate different things that they shouldn't have (in Sam's case, some garbage from the bathroom - kleenex and a piece of foil; in Gracie's case, some stuff from the basement - drywall and some rubber from a floor mat). I would never have imagined that two tiny stomachs could hold so much vomit, but there you go. Gracie started in the basement and then we got her up into the kitchen where she was sick a bunch more times. She also threw up on our bedroom carpet. Sam barfed on the deck and in the flower bed. It was a lot of puke and they both slept a lot afterward. They seemed to have it out of their systems by last night. After lots of water and a bland, small dinner, they were both find this morning. Fun huh?

The rest of the cleaning will continue. We're just going to putter, a little bit every night this week and hopefully have it all ship-shape by Thursday. We're having friends over for dinner on Thursday. Nothing inspires a clean house like impending company does, does it? I'm quite excited about it too because these are old friends who we don't see nearly enough of and I miss them like crazy.

clouded over

I'm not overly thrilled by the clouds which have gathered and are currently hanging out over my office right now. I'm working at some events this afternoon / evening and tomorrow and I really had hoped for sunny and warm. If we're lucky, it'll clear up!

I can not get over how quickly the week has gone by. The whole month of May actually. I knew, because of what we had going on at work, that the month would zing by but even still, it feels like I'd be hard pressed to remember May at all, in a couple of months.

What with the working and all, I suspect the weekend will fly by too. This week, we managed to get the bins of summer clothes upstairs (they hide out in the basement during the winter). I haven't unpacked everything (and then packed up the winter stuff) yet but it's upstairs, so that's a good start. Everything that will be packed away is clean so I just really need a couple of hours to sort stuff out, do ironing, that kind of thing. I'm the world's laziest iron-er and love the winter because I don't really have to iron anything. My only genuine complaint about summer is the ironing. I'm a whiney baby and hate to do it.

This morning, I would have paid cash money (up to and including $10 CAD) to stay home with the dogs instead of going into work. They are so awesome and cute and, did I mention, Awesome?!

Here's a video of them wrestling on the deck on Sunday. We were waiting for Mark and Andy to get back from the lumber store and this a rather low-key version of what they usually do. Enjoy!!

bathing beauties

sun bathing
Originally uploaded by Julep67

the dogs and I spent a fair chunk of time hanging out on the deck, in the sunshine, over the weekend. I took their bed outside Sunday and Monday so they could get comfortable.

Mark and Andy spent a big chunk of their time working on the deck. Sam and Gracie and I did our best to stay out of their way and not interrupt the terrific railing installation which was happening.

The deck looks amazing now. There is only one more section to finish (it's the end piece of the deck, installing a privacy panel) and it'll be done. Mark even got some of the landscaping done so things are coming together.

Our next step will be getting some sod and planting grass in the corner where the gazebo was last year. The dogs are really enjoying how the yard has opened up to them. Mark could hardly get Sam to come in last night. I think Sam would have been completely happy to have slept outside last night (although given that there are skunks in our neighbourhood at night I don't think it would have been a good idea).

Although it's not even the end of May, I seriously think we've spent almost as much time on the deck this year as we did the whole of last summer. It's going to be a great summer / deck season this year I think!

It's Mark!

it's Mark!
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I love having my teeth cleaned but hate how your head feels like someone kicked it in afterwards.

Having said that, I saw a new hygienist this morning and she's awesome. She also has 2 dogs so, when I didn't have a bunch of stuff in my mouth, we could talk about dogs. yay!

Mark was at the dentist on Monday, I was there today, the dogs were at the vet on Monday, hopefully we're done with appointments for a little while.

This morning I thought Gracie had disappeared from the yard. Sam was in the house with me and I went to find Gracie before I started getting ready for work (I just like to know where they both are). She wasn't in the house, and I couldn't see her in the yard (our yard is not huge) or on the deck. I started to panic a little bit and called her and called her.

Eventually, I heard her whimper, she was behind a piece of lattice that Mark had put next to the shed. I wasn't sure how she got in behind the shed but at least I knew where she was. I called out and said, "I'll be back to rescue you, just need my shoes" and went back into the house. I had no more than walked into the bedroom than Gracie was at my feet. She wasn't trapped at all, just playing a game I guess. To me, puppy games are more fun when there is less panic and more laughing. I suppose as long as she had fun, that's the main thing, right?

hanging on the new deck

hanging on the new deck
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Last night the dogs visited the vet. It was the first time we had booked them both in at the same time and we had a discount applied to our bill, I guess, because we brought them both in together. It was tough though because it was about a million degrees in the exam room and Gracie had blood work done and got micro chipped so Sam had to wait with us in the tiny little hot room for what seemed like forever.

They were both pretty good sports about getting their shots. Both were told that they are in good shape physically and that's always good to hear. Talking to other folks in the waiting room about the various ailments some pets were in for, I felt really lucky that our dogs are fit and healthy.

I'm having another busy week at work. This is our really busy time of the year but it should only be like this for another couple of weeks and then things will get back to normal. I don't mind the pace actually but the time just flies by like crazy which is never a good thing.

We've been busy at home as well. Mark continues to work on the deck and it's looking good. He started assembling the railings on Sunday. For the moment, they are just tacked in, in spots. Either next weekend or the one after, he'll put the posts in and affix them properly. I'll feel better about the whole project once the step railing is in but it takes time. By the end of the month, I think it'll be done and by that time, it'll have warmed up enough for me to finally paint our shed. We want to plant some grass seed out back too but that will have to wait until the construction is over.

In the meantime, we're enjoying the yard, just as it is right now.

our hero

Saturday Sammy
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Don't ever let it be said that Sam is not protector of his domain!

This morning, we awoke to the sound of what we at first thought were geese. Because it was 4:40 a.m. though, when Mark said, "oh no, I bet the dogs will start barking at the geese when they go out" I couldn't help but think it seemed early for geese. It was still dark out, by some folks standards, the middle of the night even.

Of course, as soon as the door was open, the dogs flew off the deck, barking loudly. They wouldn't come when I called them so I too went out onto the deck (in bare feet) to try to get them back. They were both down at the bottom of our yard, barking up toward the top of our 6 foot fence. A top the fence sat Daddy Raccoon. He was a big Daddy and I was terrified that he was going to lunge at the dogs. Those boys have razor sharp claws and can kill a dog if they're cornered.

It seemed like Daddy Raccoon was dancing along the fence. At one point, he dropped off the fence into our neighbours' yard, Seconds later, he popped his head up and seemed to be taunting Sam and Gracie. All the while, I'm still calling the dogs, my feet are frozen and I'm on the verge of tears. Mark came out (smartly wearing shoes) and was able to grab Sam and get them back in the house.

We sort of thought that the drama was over. Once we got back into the bedroom though, we could hear the geese sound again. Almost at the same time, we both wondered aloud if there wasn't a raccoon nest next to our house because we were now thinking that there baby raccoons somewhere. The sound was coming from the west side of our house which is a completely fenced area containing our air conditioner and some bark chips. The sounds we kept hearing were like something crying and scratching.

Mark went to the window and noticed that there were raccoons now up on our neighbours roof. What we think happened was the mommy and two babies got up there and the babies couldn't get back down. Daddy was trying to figure out how to get them down and then Sam and Gracie came along. He was taunting them earlier, kind of like "hey, look at me, don't look at the house next door where my family are trapped." We stood in the window, listening to the distress calls and seeing poor Daddy pacing across our fence, snorting like a piggy. Honestly, I've never heard raccoons before so this was educational but upsetting.

We started to get concerned about the dogs. We knew that we couldn't let them go back outside until the raccoons were gone and we started to worry that if the raccoons were trapped, Daddy could attack our dogs or one of the many dogs who would be coming out for their morning walks.

I decided to call the police communications office and find out if they had a 24 hour animal control line (because I couldn't find anything on our city website). They were nice and friendly but not really helpful. I ended up calling the Humane Society and put out a page to their emergency people. A lovely woman called me and when I told her what was going on, she assured me that as the light came up (this was around 5:30 a.m.), if mom and dad were around, they would move heaven and earth to get those babies down. She did say though, that if the sun was up and the raccoons were still up there, we could call back and they could coordinate some folks to help get them down. Fortunately, at a little after 6, just as the sun was coming up, I saw the mommy and the last baby on our neighbour's fence, heading for wherever home is.

I was really relieved that they were going to be okay. I waited another 30 minutes or so before letting the dogs out again. They didn't bark when they went out but they did go to the fence and sniff and explore everything, just to make sure it was safe. They're very good doggies.

Hopefully, our neighbours won't be too pissed about the barking so early in the day but sometimes, it just can't be helped!

sprung

sammy
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I think that the spring-ish weather might stick around for a few days.

We had a great weekend 'round here, busy, but good. It was so nice to get the dogs out to the dog park again. Gracie particularly seemed to enjoy it. Sammy always love to run in the wide open space but Gracie had only been to the park a couple of times last fall so she was a little nervous about it. Once she saw Sam take off from the van, she wasn't too far behind him.

We've really noticed a huge change in her personality over the past 6 weeks or so. She's completely come out of her shell and is very sweet and friendly. Whenever someone comes to the door, she very politely approaches them with a big smile on her face. Everyone who meets her just falls in love with her.

I almost can't believe how nice the weather is right now. Seriously, I keep wanting to pinch myself. The other day, I looked at some photos I took at the end of March and we still had a tonne of snow on the ground until well into April. Right now, except for one little spot in the back yard which doesn't get much sun, we've got no ice or snow on our property. It's pretty sweet. It'll be so nice to see green grass again. It's just around the corner, I know it!

chew it

chew it
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I'm getting a little tired of arriving at work in the dark each morning. The street lights were still on this morning when I got into work. I don't think it should be that dark at 7:30 a.m. but that's just me.

It's super insanely windy here today and I know it was weirding the dogs out this morning. Sammy was following me around like he was my shadow all morning and Gracie was really agitated about something. It wasn't until I went outside that I realized how blustery it was.

My week seems to be flying along at lightning speed. I sometimes stop and think about how quickly the time goes by and it frightens me a little. Not as much as ice does but all the same, it's a little weird to me.

And because everything always finds it's way back to talking about dogs, I wanted to bring your a very cool bunch of people to your attention. We've been watching a show on the National Geographic channel recently called "Dog Town" and it's a program about an animal sanctuary in Utah. The show focuses on dogs who are at the Best Friends Animal Society and the stories are amazing. I will admit though, that Mark and I rarely get through an episode without crying at some point. We cry because we are big sucky doggie-loving babies. I'm not ashamed to admit that either. So there!

what's in a name?

new friends
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Last night, Bella went home. Again, about an hour before Annette came by to pick her up, she sat in the living room, patiently staring out the window. It was pretty cute.

When Annette did finally get there, we were having a bit of a visit and Bella, who is normally very quiet, was making all kinds of "hey, I'd like to go home now" noises. I think Sam and Gracie were kind of missing her last night at bed time.

Speaking of Sam and Gracie, I saw this today and had to share it. It's a "what does my dog's name mean" thing and for our two, it's very accurate, spooky.

SAM – Sam is a carefree name given to dogs with a good outlook on life. They seem to know what is important and that have a special place in your heart. They are loyal and kind. Origin: Hebrew. The meaning is: Heard by God.

GRACIE – Dogs named Gracie are often graceful, agile and sweet. They can be described as sincere and devoted companions. They are often energetic and like to play. They often have an inner "wild" steak that occasionally comes out. Origin: Latin. The meaning is: Faithful.

reflections from the heating pad

sammy
Originally uploaded by Julep67

So earlier this week, I was at home in bed, on the heating pad, nursing a seriously messed up back.

Occasionally, not recently though, when I get a cold, it can go into my back and knock me flat out. I think that's what happened on Sunday afternoon. Last week, I'd been fighting a cold which was floating around the office. Over the weekend I felt a bit better than I had all week so I figured it was all behind me. You may recall that it was freeeeeezing cold 'round here over the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, I stepped out onto our deck with Gracie for a few minutes. I think it was just long enough to be outside without a coat on (and leaning against the deck railing) to expose my back and mess me up.

While I was home, the dogs were great company. We hung out on the bed and slept and watched movies on cable. This photo of Sam was snapped from bed on Monday. I couldn't sit up at the computer so I had to amuse myself with the camera and tetris game on my phone. He looks very intent because we were watching "Best in Show" and I think he was trying to figure out where all of the American Eskimo Dogs were.

One of the most bizarre things I saw during my two day stint in bed was Van Morrison on "Live with Regis and Kelly." He's out promoting his new live recording of the brilliant 1968 release, Astral Weeks. I texted Mark to inform him that the rapture must be getting close if Van was kibitzing with Regis. I admire Mr Morrison's restraint in not punching Regis in the face when he introduced "black eyed girl." Sheesh Reeg.

I'm happy to report that today, I'm feeling much better. Yesterday at work was a bit rough but today I feel more normal than I have in several days. Hopefully, by the weekend I'll be even better than I am now. That would be very nice!

Sam's TV

Sam's TV
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Sometimes, in the evenings, at home, when I'm playing with the dogs I think that it would be really cool if they had their own reality show. In reality, no one but us would find it very interesting I'm sure.

I can't believe that it is Thursday already. I took an extra long weekend (I was off on Tuesday as well) so my working week is really short and is flying by. Makes me think that it would be so very nice to be able to afford to work just 60% time. Or not at all, not at all would be really nice. I keep meaning to buy lotto tickets but always forget. It's not that I don't like my job, because I do. I just think it would be more fun to be at home with the puppies and Mark.

Speaking of television, Nardwuar is probably a lot more entertaining to most folks than my dogs would be. I was happy to see that he interviewed my gal Kathy Griffin and the wonderful Lily Tomlin recently. Yay Nardwuar!!

doggie week

sam and a dog park friend
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We've been having a great, dog-filled week this week.

On Monday afternoon, when Marked picked me up at work, both Sammy and Gracie were with him in the van. This might not seem like a big deal but it was huge for us. This was the first time that Gracie rode in the back, in the doggie hammock, with Sammy. Ever. Every other time that she's been in the van, I've had to hold her because she was so nervous.

It was the cutest thing, she loved looking out of the window and when she got tired, she just curled up on the seat and watched Sam be his silly self. We had a couple of errands to do so they were in the van for probably 40 minutes (I'd run in places and Mark would stay with them - I will not leave dogs unattended in a car for any length of time).

Last night was Westminster night in our house. We had DVR'd the Monday night coverage and we watched it last night (don't tell me who won - we're watching last night's coverage tonight). It was so much fun. The Eskie who won best of breed is from Caledon, Ontario. Very cool.

Tomorrow night, I'm off to the focus group for our off leash dog park pilot project. It should be interesting to see how the discussion goes. Part of me isn't looking forward to it but I really want to make sure that the best interests of our dogs are being considered. I feel it's really important to have an area for smaller dogs (our dogs are easily intimidated by some of the really big dogs at one of the parks).

So yeah, this week has just about completely gone to the dogs but I don't mind it one little bit. Honestly, I can't imagine it any other way!!

puppy smack

chewy skor toffee bits cookies
Originally uploaded by Julep67

In our house, we refer to "beggin strips" and "snausages" as puppy crack. We don't buy them very often and when we do, we give them out very sparingly because the dogs just go insane for them.

If these treats are puppy crack, I think cookie dough is like puppy smack. Yesterday afternoon, Mark went out to do some errands. While he was gone, I started tidying up in the kitchen. While I was doing this, I decided to bake up a batch of chewy skor toffee bit cookies because I had some skor bits in the cupboard from Christmas. I was almost done baking (the second to last sheet was in the oven, the last one was on the table, ready to go into the oven) when I went outside with the dogs.

The whole time I'd been baking, Sam was going in and out but Gracie wouldn't go. I guess it was the cold and she kept whining so I thought that if I went out too, she'd go, do what she needed to do and the whining would stop. So I'm on the deck with the dogs, Sam jumps up on me and gives me an "eskie hug" and was being very sweet and cute. Next thing I know, he's back in the house and it's just Gracie and I on the deck. I pop my head in the door and see that Sam's managed to scarf down 5 cookies worth of dough. He was lightening fast, I couldn't believe it.

So now Gracie's back in the house and Sam's got a taste for the dough. He kept trying to get more, or get some fresh cookies, he was almost instantly jumpy. You could almost see the sugar going through him, if I wasn't so pissed about it, it would have been funny. Fortunately, he wasn't sick after eating all of that dough. The only side effect we noticed that was that he full of more "piss and vinegar" last night than he normally is. Weiner.

Movie Review: So, on Saturday, we watched "In Bruges." I loved it! We laughed and laughed. I can see why the screenplay is nominated for an Academy Award. The dialogue was fast and witty and the story has some nice twists. I figure it's a good movie if I never stop to see how much time has elapsed/is left. This film just whizzed by. Very enjoyable. On Colin Farrell, I can't say that I'm a massive fan of his. The only other film of his that I can recall seeing is "A Home at the End of the World" and I thought he was very good in it. He's also great in "In Bruges" but the best performance (IMHO) belonged to Brendan Gleeson. Definitely worth a watch if you like black comedy.

sofa king sam

sofa king sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I think that Bella is totally tuned in to Jamie and Annette in a semi-spooky way. When we got home last night, I called them to find out if they were back in town and if they wanted to pick up Bella last night or tonight. I got their machine and left a message. We went about our business, fed the dogs, got our dinner ready, just regular after work stuff.

While we were sitting down to dinner, Sam and Gracie were hanging out in the kitchen. See, they live in hope that something is going to fall from the table and into their mouths. They aren't greedy, they don't beg, they just watch us very closely, and they hope. Normally, Bella is with them but last night, she was sitting by the front door. Bella never sits by the front door, that is Sammy's spot. She's usually behind the chair, near the furnace register, snuggly and warm.

I tried calling her into the kitchen but she started to sort of cry, sort of softly howl. I think she knew that Jamie and Annette were back in town and she wanted to go home. It was the saddest thing that I'd heard in a while and I'd never heard her do it before. All evening, she was a little off, sort of clingy and sad. Eventually, we started getting ready for bed and the phone rang, it was Annette. She asked if we wanted her to pick up Bella at that time or wait until tonight. Given how sad Bella had been, I asked her to come right over. I think Bella was pretty happy to see Annette, after all, she'd been with us for 2 weeks and the accommodations had definitely changed since her last visit. What had previously been a very relaxing, pampered time had turned into non-stop puppy playfest and I think she'll be happy for the peace and quiet of her country home.

As much as the dogs have been wrestling and carrying on with each other, I think Gracie was missing Bella this morning. She seemed a little out of sorts and I think she was looking for her. Of course, she'll have forgotten all about Bella by the time we get home tonight but was interesting to observe all the same.

the pack

I think that the dogs have finally bonded. Now that they are officially a pack, I think that Mark and I should probably be very nervous. They do out-number us now, after all.

After a couple of days of pooping and peeing and fighting (in the kitchen - yuck), things have settled down. The dogs are grooving together and playing well. It's pretty funny actually. Over the past couple of days we've had a tiny amount of snow. Of course, as I typed that, I glanced out the window and noticed that it's almost gone now. Okay, this morning, there was actually snow in the yard. I let the dogs out after Mark left for work (around 5:30 a.m.). I thought that they wanted to come in at one point but they just ran around the kitchen, realized that there was no snow on the floor, and ran out again. Even Gracie ran out (and she normally needs to be tossed out - she has fun when she gets there but needs convincing).

The pack stayed outside playing together in the snow until I left for work (around 7 a.m.). It seems that they run so hard and have so much fun out there that they don't mind being inside all day. I mean, Mark gets home a couple of times in the course of the day to let them out but I'm pretty impressed with how good-natured they are. Oh and cool. We have three cool dogs at our house right now. It's pretty awesome actually.

a parade of puppies

Three dogs just marched past my office door, largest dog leading, smallest taking up the rear. As it should be, right?

Bella has come to stay for a couple of weeks while Jamie & Annette are away. She's played with Sam before but had never met Gracie. It was a bit of a growl-fest earlier while they all figured each other out and sniffed each other's butts.

Right now, the butt sniffing is over and the serious play has begun. My earlier worries of a two-week long growl-fest are gone. All three doggies have big doggie smiles on their cute doggie faces.

The cuteness is almost overwhelming.

weekend update

gracie and sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I sure hope you like doggie photos because you can expect to see even more of them here. We have double the number of puppies at home so, it makes sense that I'll be taking double the number of photos of said puppies.

The weekend went very well. We all slept well on Friday night (Gracie in her crate, Sam on his bed) and spent Saturday all together, hanging out in the yard or in the house "bonding." Sam and Grace are doing lots of playful puppy wrestling. After they bore of that, they'll either attack rawhide chews or just lie in a sunbeam. It's really cute how well they are getting along. I love that small as Gracie is, she's scrappy.

Yesterday, I rearranged the furniture so that they'd have more open space to roar around in. They way they were tussling on Saturday, I was afraid that someone would be body checked into the furniture and get injured. It was a good excuse to clean too. I'm such a bad house keeper that unless I'm rearranging the furniture, I rarely worry about behind the sofa.

On Friday night, we had 86 kids at our door. We were down almost 50% from last year. Not sure what happened there, the weather was great but maybe because it was a Friday, more folks went to parties. Mark kept the dogs in the basement while I shelled out. Gracie was really good and sat under his desk, on his feet. Sam, on the other hand, stayed at the top of the stairs and barked every time someone came to the door.

Some of the costumes I saw were pretty cute although I was a little disturbed by the number of "pimps" I saw. I guess they are this year's "Harry Potter" because I didn't have one HP at the door all night.

This week, I'm going to see if I can work full days each day. I'm almost finished with my second course of antibiotics and am feeling a bit better. I still don't have a lot energy later in the day but I'm not too bad early in the day. It will get better, day by day, I know.

Sam, meet Gracie

Sam, meet Gracie
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Gracie came home last night.

It was a bit of a nerve racking experience. Not wanting to make the same mistake we made when we brought Sam home, we made sure that the sun was shining when Gracie came home. She was reluctant to get into the van so I had to hold her in my arms all the way home. She was pretty nervous the whole way and shook a little bit until we were almost home.

We decided to introduce her to Sam in the backyard. This would give them both an opportunity to run around each other and also provided a safe environment should either them have any "nervous" accidents. They soon started chasing each other all over the yard, the deck, the house and we realized that they would eventually become very very good friends.

Gracie's previous owners gave us her crate which she sleeps in. It's a huge crate and Sam actually fits into it. Sam's crate, which is way too small for him now, fits Gracie perfectly. They slept in the crates, well not last night exactly, let's say "this morning." Not knowing what Gracie's normal bedtime routine is, we just went to bed at our normal time. A couple of hours later, she needed outside. Eventually, we got settled back into sleep until around 3 a.m. when both dogs decided to wrestle on our bed (while we were in it). This time, they both were put into the crates and aside from a small amount of whining for a moment, they slept there until we got up at 5:30 a.m.

Tonight should be much better. We know a lot more about dogs now than we did when we got Sam and the transition is going smoothly. She's a great dog and we love her already!

bella winks

bella winks
Originally uploaded by Julep67

How is your Simcoe Day weekend going folks?

Ours is going very well. Actually, we are now on vacation. I'm off for 2 weeks and Mark is off with me for the first week.

Yesterday, I think due to the strange weather we've been having, Mark had a killer migraine yesterday and I had a headache almost all day. At one point, we had enough pain medication in our systems that we could go out and get some errands done. Fortunately, we didn't have to be out for much longer than an hour or so.

I'm feeling groggy but better today. I don't remember when I slept as much as I did yesterday, it was strange. I was up early yesterday with the dog but then went back to bed until 7:30 or so. By 10 a.m., we were back in bed sleeping again. Got up around 12:30 to do errands and stuff. I had another nap in the late afternoon and still slept like the dead again last night.

Today is much better though. I'm getting stuff together for us to go to a friend's house for the day. It's the home of Bella's parents. They live north of the city on a gorgeous lake in a log cabin home. We're taking Sam so it'll be his first experience of actually going into the lake for a swim (or just to explore the lake shore). I'm sure he'll be a matted, muddy mess by the end of the day but that's okay. We've been looking forward to this for a while.

running sam

running sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Since the weekend, we've been taking Sam to a park every day. On Monday night, we went back to the Off-Leash Park at Lake Ontario Park but were driven away by a couple of things.

Because it was so humid and rainy on Monday the mosquitoes were terrible. After the rain, the breeze disappeared. We were trying to keep Sam in the shady part of the fenced off area and the bugs were thick under the trees. Mark and I endured being chewed alive for a while but when this big bitch named Mia started going nuts on Sam and on us, we decided to leave. It was odd actually, around the time when Mia arrived with her humans, I asked Mark, "Can you smell alcohol?" There was a very very strong smell of it, like it smells when it's coming from a person's pores (I know that's sort of gross but that's what it was). There was an older gentleman (probably in his 70's and a young woman (looked like late 20's to me) with this dog and I got a sense that the smell was coming from him.

They let their dog off the leash and she was chasing some other dogs who were closer to her in size. At first I thought, "how cool, they are really running hard." It didn't take me long to realize though, that she was chasing them in an "assertive" fashion. Sam had been off playing with some smaller dogs and had made his way over to me. For whatever reason, Mia got tired of chasing these other dogs and come toward Mark and I. Now, while this was going on, a very cool dog named Cassie was sharing Sam's water with him. Mia made a move toward us and Sam barked at her, just a little "hey back away from my human" sort of thing. Mia really didn't like this because she got very vicious and wouldn't move away, kept barking at Sam. She was actually so loud (of course by this time Sam starts barking) that a guy in the condo across street hollared at them to shut up.

Mia's owner was all "hey it's alright" to us and "you be good or we're going home" to Mia. Really, he should have put the leash on her and left. He didn't though so we did. After that episode, I think we'll wait until at least the ground dries up before we return the park. It was quite the doggie drama.

Last night, we went back to the dog park near our house. It's pretty open and doesn't have any shade but last night, it didn't have any other dogs either. Part of what is good about Lake Ontario Park is that Sam can hang out with other dogs. He doesn't really run as much when they are there though, he plays but doesn't run like he does at the M Centre. Last night, he ran his little guts out.

It's very interesting, all of this dog park stuff. I just hope that they give the go-ahead to the pilot project so that things can get settled and be permanent. It's a little embarassing that a city the size of Kingston doesn't actually have a permanent leash-off area yet.

yikes

sam and a dog park friend
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I've not officially been avoiding posting or anything, it just happened that over the past week, I've not been in front of the machine much.

Over the weekend, I was offline for about 36 hours while my computer had it's operating system rebuilt. It's up and running really well now thanks to Mark.

Mostly, it's been hot here. Humid too. It's not the kind of weather that inspires me to do much but laze around in a shady or cool spot and drink water or eat freezies.

We have been keeping busy though and having lots of fun with Sam. He's now at the point with his obedience training where he can go out in the front yard without his leash on. This is huge. We can open the car door and know that he's not going to run away. Most likely, he'll be on the porch, waiting patiently for us to open the front door if he does get out of our line of vision.

Over the weekend, we visited (or tried to visit) 3 of the off-leash dog parks that the city has opened as part of a pilot project. One of the parks is near our house so we went over there on Saturday morning. We'd been out doing errands and Sam was along for the ride. He was super well behaved so we thought it would be a nice treat for him to have a big run at the park. The park near our house is not snow fenced like some of the parks (the park has chain-link fencing around the perimeter because it's used for the town fair in the fall but the dog zone is not fenced off). It's also not shady and there is no water available. Now we did have our own water but it didn't take long for all three of us to have had too much of the hot sun. Sam had a ball, running back and forth between us as we walked around the park.

Yesterday, we went to one of the better organized parks. It's got a snow fenced/gates zone for the dogs, lots of parking for vehicles and a water supply (not to mention washroom facilities for people). We met some cool people and Sam met a lot of dogs. He didn't run around as much as he did on Saturday because he was getting to know the dogs. He stayed pretty close to where we were but seemed to really enjoyed being with the other dogs. Some of them were puppies from what I could tell. There were some really small dogs and some huge ones and they all got along okay.

Tonight, we're planning to go back on our way home from work. It's nice for Sam to be out with the other dogs and it's nice for us to be outside near the lake shore to catch a breeze!