status update on the peanut

icy gracie
Originally uploaded by Julep67

. I have many names for our Miss Gracie: Gracie, Princess Grace of my Heart, Peanut, Peanut Butter, Princess Peanut

. happily, I can report that she's much better today, almost too much better

. too much because she's wrestling like crazy with Sam and I'd like to see taking it easy but you can't always tell her what to do

. she's still on her meds (every night with dinner) on the advice of the vet but I may take her off it on the weekend

. things are awesome at the moment, the weather is lovely, work is going well, life is good

. I really can't complain about anything because when I put it into perspective (and I do try hard to do this) and compare our lives with those of folks who live in war-torn places bitching about money or having a dirty house or whatever thing I'm moaning about seems pretty petty

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!!

movie star

We had a great weekend, really nice. We had time to chill out, time to play and time to do chores and errands. I came back to work this morning feeling really good. The house is in good shape as far as it's cleanliness level goes, which is something considering how bad I let it get while I was a sick a couple of weeks ago. The yard could use some TLC but it was either rainy or really cold over the weekend. For now, the front lawn is really too long and the back lawn needs some seed or sod but while the deck construction continues, there is no sense in doing that. We'll get it all neat and tidy looking soon, it's still early, right?

Yesterday, I was changing the batteries in my camera while sitting at the kitchen table. The dogs were wandering around and I took the following little video of Gracie. She was interested in the camera but was also watching Sam out of the corner of her eye.

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!!

monday funk

I would have loved to have stayed home with the dogs today. I'm at work and my day is going well but I would have loved a long weekend. Next weekend is a long weekend, I know, and wanting 2 in a row is just greedy but still, some days I'd just rather hang out with the puppies than face the world.

The weekend was good. We stayed close to home and got some chores done, which was nice. It was really mild around here over the weekend and a lot of our snow melted. yesterday, Mark was able to get a lot of the ice on the deck chopped away so it's almost bare/clean right now. I think that Sam and Gracie actually liked the icy snow but they also like to chew on rocks so they don't always have the best judgment / taste when it comes to stuff like this.

Yesterday we watched a couple of movies "Zach and Miri Make a Porno" and "Milk." Zach and Miri was a little disappointing. We're both big time Kevin Smith fans and usually see his stuff in the theatre but, for whatever reason, we didn't see this one there. It was funny enough, typically Smith. Given that the cast spends the bulk of the movie trying to make a porno, we were given totally classic Smith and company coined film names (the parody names of the Star Wars movies were my favourites) we both laughed a lot but something was missing for me. I will say this, if you're not a fan of his movies or you have a "delicate ear" and cannot laugh at really filthy, stupid jokes, this is not a movie for you.

Milk, on the other end, I enjoyed. I thought that Sean Penn was brilliant in it. The story was compelling and the film looked like the 1970's. I particularly liked the use of new footage from the era (I love when movies do this, one of the best examples of this I can remember recently would be the media coverage of the death of Princess Diana in "the Queen"). I think it tells an important story that not everyone is familiar with, it documents a struggle for gay rights that continues to this day.

On that note, I'll share this little video with you and encourage you to go sign the online petition at the Courage Campaign website.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

bed voyage

on his new bed
Originally uploaded by Julep67

In this picture, you can see Sam sleeping on his bed. Sam's a big fluffy dog and he has a big fluffy bed. It's pretty large actually, probably 4 feet by 4 feet. He sleeps on it, in our room every night. Every morning I put it into the kitchen. Sam and Gracie spend their days either in the kitchen or outside (they now have access because of the cool doggie door Andy made us). They both like sleeping on it during the day. It's big enough for both of them to stretch out with room to spare - like I said, it's BIG. Now, I would never have imagined that it could fit through the doggie door - I think that the doggie door is about 18" across.

Yesterday, before I left for work, I closed the kitchen door because it was too cold for the dogs to be out. When Mark got home in the afternoon for a break, the sun was out so he left them with access to the doggie door.

Recently, when we get home at night, I've been finding one or two of my rag rugs from the kitchen, outside on the deck (or in the yard) along with doggie toys. Last night when we got home, 2 rugs and a couple of toys were outside and so was Sam's huge ass doggie bed. I have no idea how they got it outside, there is no way that it went through the doggie door. We think that the latch may not have been on the door so they were able to push it open and drag the bed outside.

It was quite a feat however they did it. They were both pretty pooped last night so it had to have taken a lot of effort for them to get it done. I guess they're really wonder dogs!!

don't make me tap the sign

don't make me tap the sign
Originally uploaded by Julep67

As you all know (if you're regular readers), we love the off-leash dog parks here in Kingston. Actually, we love one particular park which is very close to our house. The property it is on is being redeveloped and we're not sure how big the dog park will be.

The dog parks in Kingston were part of a pilot project so last fall, the city asked for feedback from folks who use the parks. I participated in the survey and last night was invited to a focus group meeting later this month. I'm really happy to have been asked because, having two dogs, we've got a lot to say about the parks and have a vested interest in keeping them.

My hope is that the city will allocate more resource toward them and they will become like the park in Trenton. We took Sam there last summer and it was awesome. The Quinte West park was divided into two areas so that smaller dogs could have a safe area to play in without the big dogs. Sam loves dogs his size and smaller but the really big dogs seem to intimidate him.

Since the weather turned really cold, we've not been going to the dog park but (despite the minus 20 something windchill this morning) I can feel that spring is just around the corner and I've been thinking a lot about road trips and dog parks. It'll be a little different this year with Gracie. Sam is the king of the road. He loves to go in the van because he knows that the van = something really fun. Gracie is still pretty nervous in the van. Even when we're going to the park, she shakes like a leaf and I have to cuddle her in my arms the whole way.

I'm confident though that by the time the beginning of April rolls around, she'll be fine. Gracie is probably one of the smartest dogs I've ever met. She understands most commands on the first try, Sammy definitely takes longer than that... although, there is a possibility that Sam understands and ignores it to see if he can avoid doing it. Gracie is a high energy dog but we've learned that with time and patience, she is capable of doing amazing things.

coldish

snowy sammy
Originally uploaded by Julep67

The wind was a lot colder this morning than I expected it to be. You watch the weather channel and see that it's a minus 20 windchill but until it actually takes a bite out of your face, the number doesn't mean a lot.

On cold days, such as today, every smell is stinkier. Our over-the-fence-kitty-corner neighbours have the most smelliest fireplace ever. I think that they heat their home with it and we're convinced that they either burn garbage in it or that they have never cleaned their chimney.

Either way, I'm constantly surprised that they haven't burned down the neighbourhood. One evening last fall when they were getting it going for the first fire of the season, the entire neighbourhood was full of smoke. It was really gross. This morning, the stinky smelly stench was drifting into our house. I felt bad for the doggies because the back yard was polluted. I don't think that they minded the smell but they had the smoke smell on them when they came in from their morning wrestling on the deck session.

Campus is a bit of a sad place today. Over the weekend, a second year student died. Apparently, his housemates found him on Saturday. I met a student earlier today who was a friend of his and he seemed pretty numb. Whenever a young person dies suddenly like this, it's a shock and a tragedy. I'm not sure though why it takes something like this happening for us to say "hey, make the most of every day" to each other. We should probably remind ourselves of it every day.

a little off

late january storm
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I am happy-ish to report that our pathway has finally been shoveled. When I arrived at work this morning, it was still a mess, a frozen mess this time. The fluffy snow of last week got wet over the weekend and froze overnight last night. I did see the guy out there with his shovel this morning though so at least it's passable again. I was really worried that one of the many little old folks who visit us wouldn't be able to get to the door in the state it was.

The weekend was nice. On Friday night, we did some errands and on Saturday, while Mark worked, I did some puttering 'round the house. Yesterday was a bit of a veg-out day. We had a grooming session for the doggies. It was the first time I'd cut their nails (usually we get it done by the groomer or the vet) and it went really well. I was terrified that I would cut them (you read all the horror stories) and I had some of that styptic powder at the ready but didn't need to use it. I also was able to use the electric clippers on Sam (not on his nails, on his fur) and he was really good about it. Maybe I'll have a second career as a dog groomer one day.

As is our habit at this time of the year, we watched a couple of movies this weekend: Doubt and Frost/Nixon.

I really enjoyed Doubt. I thought that the cast was terrific and the performances we all great. Amy Adams particularly shone in this one I thought. Meryl Streep's character reminded me of the stories I heard about a nun who taught my mum & dad. Her Sister Aloysius character behaved in much the same away I imagined "Hawkeye" the chalk-eating Sister would.

Frost/Nixon was a bit of a let-down. I felt that the terrific cast was under-used for most of the film. I actually remember exactly where I was when we watched President Nixon resign (I was 7 and it was my mum's birthday) and "All The President's Men" has long been a favourite film of mine. I wasn't sure what to expect of a movie about the compilation of a television interview. Overall, I found the thing to be boring. Perhaps having just barely survived 8 years of being Bush-whacked has left me with little patience for yet another rehashing of the poor judgment and arrogance of R.M. Nixon.

Today I'm feeling a little bit off. I can't tell if I'm getting a cold or just have some February blahs. Over the weekend, I'd occasionally have a giant sneezing fit. It would pass but leave me feeling a bit out of sorts. Last night, I dreamed that I wasn't feel good and now I don't feel great. Hopefully it'll pass and I'll have shaken this foggy feeling by tomorrow. Right now, I am thinking about how nice a lovely big bowl of pho would be right now and the banana I left (accidentally) at home.

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!