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?

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!

Sam in pre-bark mode

Sam in pre-bark mode
Originally uploaded by Julep67

. Sam can go from zero to bat-shit crazy barking in the blink of the eye

. other times, he's on a slow boil and I can tell when he's going to get loose and bark

. he doesn't bark for the sake of barking

. Sam barks with purpose, usually to let folks walking on the sidewalk in front of our house know that they don't have his permission to be on his sidewalk

. Sam also barks at our asshole next door neighbours

. I think he knows that we don't like them any more than he does

. his fur is starting to grow back. he is looking a little bit less like a baby lamb every day

. our office barbecue yesterday was fun. the weather was gorgeous, I laughed a lot, it was a nice break from the usual Wednesday afternoon stuff

. I was saddened to hear about this this morning. Going through the process for an international adoption is difficult at the best of times. What's going to happen to the 500 families and potential adopted children, who are now in limbo?

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

knot my problem

knot my problem
Originally uploaded by Julep67

. I'm slightly over tired tonight

. it's not surprising

. we were shaken out of bed on Sunday night by a massive thunder storm

. last night, we both slept with one ear open, listening for Gracie

. poor Gracie hurt herself and had to go to the vet last night

. still not 100% sure what is wrong, seems like some soft tissue damage, the vet thought that nothing was broken

. she's on a daily dose of some pain medication and if the problem doesn't go away from the pain meds and her resting a bit (she's been very good about taking it easy), she'll have to get some blood work done and have x-rays

. she seems a bit better now, had a bad spell earlier this evening but I think the meds I gave her with her dinner have kicked in

. I hate it when the dogs are sick because I feel so helpless

. I hope we all get a good night's sleep tonight and feel better in the morning

Sammy's got a new doo

Sammy's got a new doo
Originally uploaded by Julep67

. I'll admit that it took me almost an entire day to adjust to Sam with his new, cool, summer hair cut. The only fluffy bits left on him are his tail and behind his ear. Gracie had to sniff his but a bunch of extra times when he got home to make sure it was Sam.

. Today is my last day in the office for a week. That's right kiddos, I'm off next week. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it's sunny and nice, I have outside painting I need to do next week.

. Of course, if it did rain, I could hang out in the gazebo with the dogs and a pile of trade paperbacks I have.

. I tweeted this last night but feel that it needs repeating, this is not a good week for pop culture icons from my 1970's childhood.

. In a way, I'm sure that the O'Neal / Fawcett must be a little relieved to be pushed to the edge of the spotlight right now. Given what they've been going through for the past 3+ years as they've supported Farrah in her battle against cancer, I'm sure they'll be grateful for some peace.

doggy day trip

doggy day trip
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today we had a great day.

For a whole bunch of reasons, both Mark and I booked off today and in amongst looking after the stuff we needed to look after, we took a road trip to Trenton. Gracie had never been to the Quinte West Dog Park and Sam had a blast when we took him so we thought we'd go again.

It was awesome (although the wind was pretty cold). They had a great time, running around, meeting some new dog buddies and hanging out in the van. They are good road trip dogs. We even took the Glenora Ferry to Adolphustown (and were at the front of the ferry) and they were really good. It's a much smaller ferry than the Wolfe Islander so they could see the water and didn't freak.

Good doggies huh? Of course now, all four of us are tired. Too much fun and fresh air I guess. It was a great way to end the weekend.

inaction balls

inaction balls
Originally uploaded by Julep67

The raccoons are here to stay, we think.

On Friday morning and again this morning, we saw them. Quite late in the morning, well after the sun came up.

Tonight, they were on top of our shed, taunting the dogs.

If this keeps up, it's going to be a long summer. I feel badly for the dogs because they are doing what's natural to them, barking at the raccoons and defending our home. Unfortunately, it's noisy and we live in the city and until we told a couple of neighbours what had happened on Thursday morning, they were cursing us, I'm sure.

On the other hand, if someone was trying to break into a neighbours' house, I think they'd bark at that too so...it's not always as bad as it might seem.

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!

i love this face

on the ferry, heading home
Originally uploaded by Julep67

If Sammy didn't like to play out on the deck when I was leaving for work every morning, I think I'd never leave the house.

Speaking of our deck, I'm really excited about the plans Mark and Andy have made for it. We're going to remove the old deck boards, reinforce the frame and put new floor boards in. The guys are also going to add a 10' x 10' extension to the deck. It'll be about a foot higher than the rest of the deck and we'll put our gazebo on it (we'll be reusing some of the wood we purchased to build our little gazebo platform last year).

Originally, we'd planned to put this off for a while but we decided that we would take advantage of the cash back deals that the home improvement stores are doing, as well as the tax credit thing that the feds introduced. We should be able to do this relatively inexpensively if we do it this summer. Sammy will have a lot nicer space to roll around on all summer once it's done.

Today I'm at work and am freezing. My hands cannot warm up. We tried to get by without having to turn the heat up in our office but about an hour ago we had to break down and do it. These old hot water rads take forever to kick in though so it's just starting to feel like heat as I type this.

I think that after the weekend, we were fooled into thinking that it was actually going to stay warm and things like furnaces and sweaters can be pushed out of our tiny pea brains for a while. How wrong were we!? Pretty wrong it would seem. I'm trying hard to not complain though. As long as the snow stays away, I'm a happy kid.

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.

activity ball

activity ball
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We had barbecued ingredients in our dinner tonight. It was so awesome! For the first time in a while (probably since November some time), Mark grilled us a bunch of veggies for our pasta. The weather was really mild today and yesterday's ice was almost gone so it was a great opportunity to fire up the bbq.

The dogs were pretty impressed too. As I've mentioned before, they live in hope: hope of food being dropped on the floor. The odds of dropped food increase significantly when the food has to be transported from the deck to the kitchen. Add to that, an icy in spots deck and well, they were pretty excited. Of course, Mark didn't drop anything so they had to settle for kibble for dinner.

Tomorrow, Gracie goes back to the vet for the second half of her booster shot. She was really well behaved for the vet the first time we took her (in mid-December), I'm not too worried about tomorrow. The only thing that mildly concerns me right now is the weather. We're due to get another dump of snow over night and into tomorrow. Of course, it might never happen so I'm not getting too bent out of shape about it. I just don't like driving around in anymore than is absolutely necessary when the weather is bad.

Even though it's technically winter and this type of thing is to be expected at this time of year, I'm hoping that it stays mild. It would be really nice if we could keep barbecuing all winter!!

happy new year

gracie models
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Is everyone having an excellent 2009 so far?

We have been having a great day here. I finally took down the Christmas tree this morning while we watched the Tournament of Roses parade on the tv machine. Over the past few days, I'd taken down almost all of the decorations, except the tree. It feels good to have it down and packed away. I was able to clean the living room and rearrange the furniture again so that's kind of nice. I still have a bunch of ornaments in one of our spare bedrooms which need to be packed away but I think I'll do that tomorrow. I want to sort through stuff this year and maybe give some of my old ornaments to someone who is crafty and can do something with them.

Last night was a quiet evening for us. We had a nice dinner together and then just watched some tv. I know that we were up later than normal but we didn't make it to midnight. New Years isn't a massive deal for us so we don't usually make a big thing of being awake at midnight.

One thing I did do yesterday was go to the grocery store for the first time in over a week. It was kind of snowy and bitterly cold (and it was early in the morning) so it wasn't busy when I got there. As I was leaving it was filling up though so I'm glad I got it done when I did. I'd been advised by one of the ladies at our local pet store to go in after Christmas for discounted rawhide treats for the dogs. While I was there buying candy cane shaped rawhides at half price, I picked up a little sweat shirt for Gracie. She's really sensitive to the cold so I thought I'd find a sweater for her. I picked up a little pink "Roots" hoodie for her. I'm not much about labels so the Roots thing didn't matter to me as much as the price and the quality of it. It was on sale and it is really well made. She looks absolutely adorable in it. Fortunately, she doesn't mind wearing it which is great because it's been quite cold here for the past couple of days.

So yeah, the new year is off to a quiet, peaceful, productive-ish start in our house. I have a feeling that 2009 is going to be a good one for us, I hope it's good for all of you too!

waiting for the dough to drop

waiting for the dough to drop
Originally uploaded by Julep67

enjoying a sociable holiday season = not a lot of time in front of the computer

I'm not complaining though, I'd rather be seeing people and laughing and having conversations than sitting in front of the computer, if I'm honest.

Over the past week or so, we've had a few more people 'round the house than we normally would. Gracie has been taking it all in stride but Sam's been doing his typically Eskie thing and barking like mad at folks. With each new visitor, the outbursts are shorter but it's a little embarrassing.

In a way, he's a little bit like a goldfish. He'll meet a guest, bark and bark, and eventually chill out. When he comes around the corner again and sees them again, it starts all over again. Fortunately, the barking jag is not long but it's still sort of funny, in a loud barking kind of way.

Mark's been back to work the past couple of days but I'm still off. I go back on Monday. It's been a great break for me and he's been able to take a few days off here and there so he's a break as well. I think I'll start to pack up Christmas tomorrow. I put our gifts away on Sunday evening but the tree and the decorations are still up for the moment. They are pretty and I love them but it's almost time and goodness knows it'll be easier clean once everything is put away!

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.

waiting for Mark

waiting for Mark
Originally uploaded by Julep67

The three dogs continue to get along. Bella will be here until at least Monday I think, possibily Tuesday.

Whenever I see them tearing around the house or the yard, I muse about how silly it is to buy expensive, pet store toys for dogs.

I saw the three of them get more fun out of an empty paper towel tube than they ever did from the giant kong which is always under foot.

I guess it's like kids huh?? They'd rather play in a refrigerator box than a plastic playhouse any day. Thinking about it, I can't say that I blame them!

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.

cold snap

No matter how much hand lotion I put on these days, it's just not enough to keep them from getting dried out. I know that it's a time of the year thing, that they are just dry from the cold outside and the furnace running inside. I also know that it'll pass and we'll eventually get used to the weather like we do every year when it turns, I just felt like complaining a little I guess.

Yesterday, we had a little bit of snow which actually accumulated for a few minutes. When we got home last night and I let the dogs out, I went outside with them and neither of them seemed to know what to make of it. Sam decided that he'd like to eat all of the snow on the deck (we're talking about the thinnest skim of snow on the wood) but Gracie wasn't having anything to do with it. It's actually been difficult to get her to go outside over the past few days. I may need to buy her one of those doggie sweaters for the winter. I thought she had enough fur (she had a double coat, like Sam does) but I think she's minding it.

On Monday night, we took the dogs to the dog park. When Sam saw the leashes come out, he got really excited because he knows that leash = fun but Gracie became terrified. When Mark approached her with the leash, she peed on the kitchen floor. Eventually, I was able to pick her up and put the leash on but I had to carry her to the van and then hold her in my lap all the way to the park. She shook like a leaf. Once we got to the park, she had a ball. There was another Sheltie, a male, there and she had a good old run around with him. She let me put the leash back on her okay but when we got home she was afraid to get out of the van. I'm not sure what is causing this but I know that she'll get over it eventually and she'll figure out that leash = fun, it just may take a while.

And in the name of puppy cuteness, I may not support this company's beer but I do like their use of Eskies in an ad. Enjoy!

warmed

beaming gracie
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I almost typed "warned" just now but my toes are not warned, they are warmed.

In my office (where I am right now) I have laminate flooring. I keep my office door closed when I'm not home (to keep the puppies out, they do love to chew on cables and my office is full of them) and it's a small room so it warms up quite nicely on days when the furnace is running. It must have been running just before we came home because the floor under my desk is toasty right now. It feels good.

I haven't been spending any huge chunks of time in my office just recently and as you can tell, I haven't been posting here either. Between still feeling a little under the weather and playing with the dogs, my evenings and weekends just fly by.

It's hard to imagine but I'm still feeling less than normal right now. After my second course of antibiotics, I had some horrible side effects and they really left me feeling washed out. Over the weekend I turned a corner and feel like I'm on the other side of that nonsense now. 'Bout time too, I've been "sick" since the end of September.

Friends keep telling me I sound congested, I still cough every once in a while and my lung capacity is still no where near where it should be but I am feeling better. Mark's feeling better too. His health has definitely improved and he's much happier after having changed jobs last week.

He's still driving cab but is working for a different company. The company he was working for was okay, he'd been there for 7.5 years. The problem he experienced (and he wasn't alone) was the day shift dispatcher. This guy can barely function as a human being, much less as someone who needs to have a knowledge of the city and decent short-term memory to do the most basic part of his job. This guy feeds calls to the drivers he likes and he jerks around the guys he doesn't. It's affecting business and was causing Mark to come home frustrated every day.

The new company Mark is working for has a dispatcher but the calls are sent out to cabs via a computer system. The calls are assigned based on where the gps says that your car is (at the other place, guys will bid on calls which they are know are going out of town, to the airport, whatever - when they are on the other side of town). The only time he talks to someone at the switch is if he's having a problem or needs direction. So far, Mark's really enjoying it. Learning the new system is challenging and fun for him (he's figuring out tricks and short cuts every day) and because the system is fair, he's making more money.

So, in a rather rambling nutshell, that's where we've been the past week and a bit. Working, playing with the puppies and sleeping. I don't think it's a bad way to be spending our time.

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!

yawn

Saturday Sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I wish I could say that this week has been a yawn but it's been gosh darned busy!

It's "that time of year" again at work and it'll be sort of crazy for the next couple of weeks but after that, it should settle down a bit.

Unfortunately, when it's that busy at work, I don't have a lot of time to write stuff so the posts become less and less frequent.

In lieu of a proper post, I leave you with a short list of random observations/complaints I've had in my head recently:

1. How come it takes forever for my office to air out whenever someone walks past my window with a lit cigarette in their hand?

2. I had no idea that the smile cookies were THAT big.

3. Our gravel stealing neighbours are still total, complete, douches.

4. Sam is the cutest dog ever especially since he stopped eating the furniture.

stacked up

stacked up
Originally uploaded by Julep67

The office packing continues today. I did a little bit yesterday for a colleague who is moving and is not able to be here this week. Another colleague is packing up her office and keeps finding stuff for me. I'm glad to have the stuff (primarily promotional type material that I keep on hand) but it's pretty amazing to both of us, how quickly stuff can pile up. I don't think that they've been in this particular space for 3 years yet and there's a tonne of stuff to move!

Other than just getting caught up again after my vacation, there's not much news to report. Yesterday, Sam did not chew up any more of my sofa so that's always a good thing. Last night, while I was doing some shopping, Mark took Sam to a soccer field to run around on. He let him off the leash and Sam ran the length of the field, back and forth, 2 or 3 times until some other dogs came along. He had a great time apparently - which doesn't surprise me. I've noticed that he's much better about new dogs and people lately and I also know that part of this is just maturity and being socialized more and more. I can't help but feel ridiculously proud of him though, he's made a tonne of progress in the almost 4 months since we've had him. I know he's "just" a dog but he's one of the coolest folks I know!!

pre-lesson walk

pre-lesson walk
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We had our 3rd lesson for our obedience course tonight. I say "we" because we're all learning. Sam is doing really well considering that we lost a week last week due to his "illness" and that meant that we weren't able to practice as much as we normally would.

Mark is amazing with Sam. He's really patient and Sam's learning so much. I've noticed a huge change in his behavior since we started the lessons.

Having said that, we did arrive home tonight (to pick up Sam) to find that he had partially disemboweled another sofa cushion. Eventually, I know that I'll need to get a new sofa and most likely, when that happens, Sam will either have grown out of the puppy eating furniture phase, or he'll be spending his days in the kitchen. Either way, I'm not even thinking about new living room furniture until we're well past his 2nd birthday. I can live with things wrapped in sheets generally looking misshapen until then if I have to!!

open 12 am

open 12 am
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Happy Canada Day weekend folks.

I know that Canada Day is still two whole days away, and I know that a lot of folks have to work tomorrow but still, it's the weekend and it's almost Canada Day so, yeah.

We've had a really quiet weekend around our house. When we got home from work on Friday evening, Sam had had a couple of accidents. This is not ordinary for him so we knew that he must be sick. I could tell (I know that this is gross) that he'd been chewing on the deck carpet (last year, we put in some indoor/outdoor carpet on our deck) and I figured that was what upset his stomach. We cleaned up the house, cleaned him up and tried to get him to drink some water.

Friday night, I don't think that any of us slept well. Mark and I kept waking up to check on the dog. Sam kept roaming around the kitchen. When I got up to let him out on Saturday morning, I realized that he'd had a couple of little accidents in the kitchen overnight. Eventually though, I was able to get him to eat some ice and after that, drink some water. We gave him some boiled potatoes for breakfast and he gobbled that down. By dinner time, his appetite had returned and he seemed to be back to normal. He had some more potato, this time with some boiled chicken in it and was drinking a lot of water (which made me really happy, I was afraid that he'd become dehydrated).

This morning, he's been scootching around the house on his butt. I think he's got some sort of blockage so we're just trying to keep him comfortable today and tomorrow we'll get over to the vet. Neither Mark nor I have a clue about "expressing canine anal glands" so we figure we can leave that to the professionals. Once he finds a comfy spot to sit in, he seems okay. If he were to become listless, I'd rush him to the hospital but I don't think it's that bad at this point.

In other news, that big new tv we got last weekend was crappy. Technically, it was a 50" monitor. The unit did not have a tuner in it. This wasn't an issue for us because we don't use the tuner in our tv, we use a cable box. What we didn't realize though, is that for us and the channels we watch, the signal quality isn't what it should be (yet) so the larger screen doesn't necessarily look better.

Yesterday, we went back to Costco and picked out another 42" Plasma tv and right now, Mark and Andy are taking back the 50" and getting the new 42". The model we're getting is by LG and they just happened to have a 50" next to it while we were trying to choose. We both thought that the smaller tv had a better picture so that's what we're getting. After what happened last weekend, we're a little gun shy about another samsung tv but this LG one seems to be okay.

So that's been our weekend so far, dog poop and plasma tvs. I can hardly wait to see what the rest of it holds in store for us.

water

water
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I fear that my garden may whither if we don't get some rain. Now, I have been watering it, when I need to (absolutely need to). Everyday, for at least the past week, we've been told by the lovely folks at Environment Canada that it's going to rain. When I hear that, I hold off on the watering because, yanno, free water from the rain. Then I get home, it's not rained and everything is wilty. Not fun.

What is fun, however, is walking with Sam. Tonight we took him for a little walk before dinner. We ran into a friend of ours, Gary. Gary was in his car and Sam went ballistic while we were talking to him. A few weeks ago, the weekend after Sam's surgery, Gary came over and the same thing happened. Maybe in a previous life, Gary was a dog hunter or something. Gary is the sweetest guy, a total animal lover and yet, something sparks Sam when he sees him.

Now, on the other hand, we also stopped at our neighbour's house, across the street. This is our awesome snow blowing, lawn mower fixing, generally amazing neighbour, Tommy's home. Sam literally rolled over and let Tommy rub his tummy as soon as he met him. It was bizarre because usually, Sam barks at men he doesn't know. Maybe Tommy was a dog in another life! Either way, it was fun to explore the neighbourhood a little bit with Sam. I have discovered that you learn quickly, which houses have dogs in them when you walk by with your dog. There are far more dogs in our neighbourhood than either of us realized.

Tomorrow is lesson one of obedience school. Should be fun too!

inspector sam

inspector sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Mark and Sam and I will start obedience training classes next week. The program runs once a week for 8 weeks and I cannot wait to get started.

I dearly love Sam far more than I thought it was possible to love a dog but this morning, I didn't like him very much. Once again, he started chewing the sofa. I was right there, in the next room, and he was going to town on it. When I caught him, he just smiled at me. I know that part of this is just puppy behaviour but I'm seriously considering crating him if this doesn't stop. He's wrecked three cushions in the living room and has managed to shred the edge of our living room area rug.

Here at work, an enclosure is being constructed in the basement of our little cottge. Tomorrow, asbestos will be removed from the pipes which surround our furnace. We've been assured that it is safe to be here but our Executive Director has suggested that we not be here so we'll be offsite, having meetings and the like, tomorrow. I'm not at all heartbroken about this as I wasn't 100% comfortable being here while it was going on. I mean, if they are in an enclosure, with hazmat suits and a shower, I don't really think that we should be here too.

parked in an intersection

parked in an intersection
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Some folks are surprised when they realize I carry a camera with me everywhere that I go. This photo is probably the best explanation of why I do. On Friday, we were out doing some errands. When I came out of the bank, Mark pointed out this lady to me. She had parked her car in the middle of the parking lot intersection. It's a classic in Kingston - the worst drivers around live here. Too funny. Everywhere else we went that day, we kept saying, "hey, there's a parking spot", when we would walk through an intersection.

Parking laughs aside, we had a great weekend. I got some things done around the house that were long overdue and we took Sam out to the park for the first time. We went really early in the day yesterday, before it got too hot or too busy. He was not too sure what to make of the lake but he seemed to enjoy sniffing everything and he met a few dogs while we were there.

Sam's definitely mellowing out. Both Mark and I have noticed a huge difference in his behaviour over the past few weeks. Having said that, I must confess that I caught him ripping up some carpet on the deck this morning so he's still got that chewing instinct going on. Overall though, he's less destructive than he was before his surgery.

sew sorry

got sewing machine?
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We've had a very busy few days. We've been working outside a lot so I've not been in the house and hanging around the computer much.

I do miss it a little but we're having a great time getting our back yard ready for the summer so I don't feel too badly about it.

Sam is good. sleeping in the door way to my office right now. I think we wore him out pretty good in the back yard earlier tonight. He'll sleep well I think, I hope so anyway. He has his surgery on Thursday and I want to keep him healthy!

Expect to see more photos from the dump this week. We went to the dump on Saturday and this time I remembered to bring my camera.

surviving wednesday

lovely surprise
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I'm having a much busier day today than I thought I would when it started. funny how that happens huh?

Sam's visit to the vet last night was good. The first time we went, we met with a young female vet. Last night we got to see the vet who owns the place. Apparently, he owns three clinics here in town. He is an amazing guy, really patient and just terrific with Sam. When Sam got his first shots a few weeks ago, we had to distract him with treats while he was getting stuck. Last night, he became extremely calm and docile with Dr Ross and didn't even flinch during his shots. He even went off with him (eagerly) when they left to get some blood. I was impressed with both Sam and Dr Ross.

Sam did a little barking when we first arrived and were waiting to go in but overall, he was good. I'm glad that he doesn't hate going there because he's got to go in again next week for his surgery. He seems to really like all of the folks who work there which makes me feel good. We may sign him up for some doggie day care sessions over the summer. Apparently they have an agility course and he'll be able to play with some other dogs (which is not something he's done since he moved in with us).

So yeah, other than being busy and Sam having a good appointment, there's not much news to report.

I can't believe I ate my bed

I can't believe I ate my bed
Originally uploaded by Julep67

This was what our living room looked like on Friday when we got home.

Have I mentioned that Sam's being "snipped" in a little over a week? We're hoping that some of his more destructive tendencies will be curbed after that. If it doesn't help though, we may be forced to either confine him to the kitchen, or to crate him during the day. We really don't want to do either because he loves to look out the window when we're away but if he's going to continue to wreck stuff, we'll have no choice.

The weekend was pretty good. Got many little things done around the house and realized how many more little things there are exactly which need doing.

All in good time I suppose. Had a fair amount of time for vegging out and sleeping a little more than I normally do and that felt good.

frozening

As if Monday's aren't hard enough to face, it's really dark, cold and rainy here today. At the moment, it appears as if the showers have let up slightly but it's absolutely pouring all morning. I think it was an hour or so ago, I looked outside and noticed that the street lights across the road had come on. It's bananas I tell ya! I actually had to turn the heat on in the office this morning too. I work in a little cottage and it's sort of close to the lake so can get pretty chilly down here. The dampness had crept in and my hands were frozen so I had to break down and turn it on. Last week at this time, the fellows from our physical plant department were here installing our air conditioners. Spring time is so unpredictable - what a difference a week makes!

My weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday night, Mark and I got our errands done and then on Saturday morning/early afternoon, I was able to get all of my chores out of the way. Mark worked for a while on Saturday so I didn't mind getting some stuff done around the house. Yesterday I had a pretty lazy day. The only time I really left the house was to go to the store for an oil filter for our lawnmower I didn't actually go into the store though. We brought Sam with us so I hung out in the van while Mark went into the parts place.

Sam is really behaving himself in the van. He's actually really behaving well overall I have to say. When I picked up his harness and leash yesterday, he actually stood up so I could slip the harness over his front legs and then he sat still, without coaxing, while I hooked the leash up. He still gets a little excited in the van but he's now figured out how to stand up, with his front paws on the back of our seats, and watch out over our heads. He gets the biggest smile on his face when the breeze hits him. Everyday, we just have more and more fun with him. He's so awesome, I cannot imagine what life would be like without him in the house. Just thinking about him makes me smile and now, the sun appears to be trying to push through the clouds - how cool is that!? Thanks Sam!!

catching a breeze

catching a breeze
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I booked Sam's surgery yesterday. He'll be getting some of his bits snipped on May 15. Now, to any men reading this, I'm sure you just squirmed in your seat right now. Mark is squirmy whenever I bring it up. I know he knows that it's the best thing for Sam but as a male, I know that he has sympathy for Sam and Sam's testicles.

Even though our yard is pretty much escape-proof right now, I'll feel better about him being out there unsupervised when he doesn't have the urge to get out and chase some lady puppy. From what I've been reading about it too, there are a lot of health risks associated with keeping him in tact so, he'll be "altered" as they politely call it.

Last night we had some strawberries for dessert. Just plain strawberries, sliced up. We let Sam have some because I'd read that this was a safe treat for him. He totally loved them and was really disappointed when they were gone. A few minutes later, he started growling at the sofa and attempted to take a huge chomp on a cushion.

I guess Sam was on a sugar rush. We took him outside and ran him around the yard for about 45 minutes until he stopped growling and snapping at things. We definitely gave him too many pieces of berry.

Puppy Lesson #131: a little sugar can make a puppy go crazy

attempting take off

Andy and Sam
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I love this photo of Sam, it looks like he's going to fly away from Andy!

We've been experiencing a little bit of summer weather over the past few days and it's been lovely.

Over the weekend, we were really busy, Mark got the extension done on the deck with help from Andy. It looks great and it feels massive now. He also got some of the holes in the fence filled in so now Sam cannot get out of the yard (unless he does figure out how to fly!).

My machine at home's been offline for the past few days. Mark has it up and running as of today. I've not missed it much though, not like I thought I would.

Anyway, it's way too nice outside to be spending much time inside these days!

back at it

Mark and I both went back to work today. It's funny how quickly you can get your routine turned around with an extra day off.

Work was really busy for me today, Mark's day was not so much. As crazy as a busy day can be, I'd rather be busy and have the day fly by than to be waiting around or looking for work. It makes for a really long day.

In today's Sam news, I may not have mentioned this before (or I may have) but Sam loves to chew on serviettes and tissues. He particularly likes snotty tissues which is sort of gross. Anyway, he used to take them out of the garbage can but he doesn't do that anymore. We've pretty much eliminated any easy access for him to these things.

Just a moment ago though, I caught him at a new thing. He had gone into our smaller bathroom (which is near the front of the house) and had been pulling the toilet paper off of the roll to chew on. Fortunately, the roll was almost empty but I have to give him some credit. Sam knows what he likes and he'll find a way to get it no matter what.

On that note, in honour of flea and tick season, here's a little video about bugs. It's an oldish cover of an old favourite tune. enjoy!

two weeks

earth hour 2008
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Sam has now been with us for two weeks. In that time, he's learned a lot of stuff. Some tricks, some commands. He's a smart cookie and it feels like he's always been here. I cannot imagine life without him now.

We are experiencing some growing pains. Sexual frustration is more the issue I think. This week so far, he's shredded newspaper each day (that's okay though, I left it for him to do - he preferred the Rona Flyer over the Futureshop one) and chewed one of my nice pillows on the sofa. He's also started removing the jute from the area rug we have in the living room. Once removed, it shreds really nicely.

Tonight while we were hanging out and playing, he was really try to hump something: my leg, my arm, the sofa. He's not picky, just horny. The sooner we can get to the vet and figure out next steps in terms of him being altered, the better. It's going to be a long week until our appointment.

Once we get to the vet and get his shots updated, we can also sign up for obedience shool. Between that and getting "fixed" training should get much easier. The humping should stop too. I hope so, it's not fun for him or me.

flying

earth hour 2008
Originally uploaded by Julep67

My weekend flew by. I had a really great, fun weekend. Despite the fact that he was feeling like hammered crap, Mark had fun too.

On Friday morning, well really in the night sometime Thursday, he woke up in excruciating pain from his kidney stone. While this is a horrible situation to be in, it's like a light at the end of a long tunnel. With the pain comes the knowledge that the stone will pass soon. Well, soonish I guess. He's still not passed it but he is feeling better. He also drank about a half a case of San Pellegrino water over the weekend.

Earth hour was interesting. We turned our computers off, televisions, lights. Now, we did not unplug the fish tanks filtration systems or the refrigerator but I think we did pretty good. Much better it would seem than some of our neighbours. We looked around the neighbourhood and saw many tvs on, fully lit up homes. It was a bit disappointing. We did our thing though, lit some candles and played with the puppy.

Oh yeah, the puppy. He continues to bring us much joy and lots of laughs. We're learning a lot from him too. On Saturday, we discovered that not only does he like to chase mice, he likes to catch them and then chew the little rubber thingy off of the wheel. Fortunately, the mouse still works but it was touch and go for a while! Things are moving up to higher shelves, he gets a kong full of peanut butter and a newspaper to shred when we go out in the mornings now. We're still figuring each other out but it's going really well so far, I think it's going well so far at least.

Teddy

Teddy
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today has been a very good day.

Right now, as I type this, I've got Abbey Road on the stereo and a sleeping puppy at my feet. LIfe is good.

I think it's pretty much a given that my posts will be a little puppy-centric for a while.

We had a pretty full day and it was full of firsts for Sam. Since we got him home, he's not met any new folks (although he did bark at a lady who came to the door yesterday trying to sell us a little bit of religion - it was hard to discourage him but we did).

This afternoon, my parents came over for Easter lunch. My mum always does the holiday meals but we thought that it would be a nice change for her to not have to cook or to clean up. When they arrived, Sam was really a good boy. He didn't bark too much, although he wanted to. We have been using some of the Cesar Millan tips we picked up from his show and they are working rather well. I was able to calm him down after Mark got him to sit. He was pretty nervous when they came into the house but eventually he settled down.

For whatever reason, he never really warmed up to my dad. He would go to my mum, very cautiously but even when my dad was offering him a cookie, he wouldn't go near him. I'm sure that the next time we see them, it'll be easier. Sam has had a lot of changes to experience this weekend.

He was pretty well behaved all through dinner. I gave him his kong bone with some peanut butter in it when we sat down and when he was tired of that, he had a nap on the floor in the kitchen (where we were eating).

After mum and dad left, Mark cleaned up the kitchen. We had decided that we should go out for an hour again today, like we did yesterday. I put the crate in the hallway, in, I thought, the same spot Mark and done yesterday. Sam whimpered a bit when we left but he stopped it by the time we were in the driveway. When we pulled into the driveway an hour later, guess who was smiling at us from the living room window? Yeah, Sam. He was pretty happy to see us and we realized that he had been able to get himself between the crate and the wall and therefore out of the kitchen and into the living room.

We didn't have any accidents so, no harm done this time, right? When I walked into the kitchen, Mark was holding a plate in his hand. "How many eggs were on this plate?" I looked and realized that two halves of a hard-boiled egg were missing. Mark had left them on the table. Sam also ate about a cup of cooked potato which was on the table as well. So yeah, no holistic puppy food for him tonight.

This photo is of another puppy. His name was Teddy and he was my aunt's puppy. He was a spitz pekinese and looks a lot like Sam. My mum kindly scanned her Teddy photos and I posted them with our pet photos on flickr.

snack time

snack time
Originally uploaded by Julep67

You know, the previous Bella photo I posted is probably my favourite of the many many many photos I have taken of that dog.

This photo though, is probably better for a "good bye doggie" photo.

If I'd been thinking yesterday, and not all sick, I'd have snapped one of her sitting nicely in the back seat of the car as it backed out of the driveway.

oh well, next time she visits I will!

so long friend

what's that?
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Bella went home last night. She stayed with us for almost 6 weeks and we were sad to see her go. It was pretty cute though, how excited she got when her owner arrived to pick her up. She's an awesome dog and we will miss her a tonne. Hopefully soon, we'll have our own puppy.

I ended up staying home from work yesterday. I felt totally crappy all day and was pretty sick again last night. This morning I went to work (and am still here now) but may leave a little early. I've had a fever and a headache all morning but didn't want to take anything for it, for fear of upsetting my stomach again.

Stomach seems settled now though so I took a pill and hopefully my head will clear. So yeah, that's all that is new with me. Over the past 24 hours I've slept a lot and watched several episodes of "In Treatment" on demand and literally, nothing else.

a lesson

a lesson
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today was a deliciously lazy day. sooo good actually that I feel a little bit bad about how little I did. Of course, that soon passes and I sip some more diet root beer. oh yeah, it's good.

I spent the morning playing with my camera and watching a bunch of Coronation Street episodes which were in the DVR and the repeat of the Westminster Kennel show on the TSN HD Channel. I've had some fun with black and white and farting around with different ISO settings.

Maybe it wasn't so lazy after all, I did learn something I suppose. We also found out that we have Bella for at least another week (yay). Also, we discovered that a lady up in Lyndhurst rescues Australian Cattle dogs. We may get in touch with her once our dog sitting gig is up. We really really want to get a dog now and are really excited about it.

So yeah, that's it: lazy day, coro, black and white photography and dogs. What more can you ask for on a stormy Saturday?

destroyed

destroyed
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Further evidence that one should not purchase doggy toys at a dollar store. Not even in that dollar store is in the middle of a no frills. Even a fancy no frills, the kind with a pharmacy.

How was your day? Mine was pretty good. Had a pretty useless meeting first thing this morning. At least it was a nice walk out and back to it. The walk was chilly though, very cold. Icy too. Almost wished I was wearing skates a couple of times. At least it was sunny, right?

Mark is feeling mucho bettero tonight. He went back to work today. Whatever bug he was hit with, fortunately, was a quick acting one. Splatted him out flat fast and left just as quickly.

I'm happy to report that while she did destroy a toy, Bella did not present us with any maimed or gross mice. I'm relieved about this. It wasn't something I wanted to have to face at 4:45 a.m.

Actually, it's not something I really ever want to face but if I do have to, someday, I hope I've at least had a coffee first.

bugged out

Mark seems to have picked up something again.

Last night he felt a little achey and when he woke up this morning, he felt like hammered shit. I made him stay home and go back to bed. He slept for about 8 hours today. We went out for noodle soup at "our" little Vietnamese place around the corner. It seems to have cleared his head which is good.

As I type this, Bella seems to think that she has a mouse trapped behind the stove. If it is there (or was there), it's totally going to go back from whence it came (if it hasn't already). In the meantime, she's totally torturing herself trying to get at it. If she doesn't abandon it soon, she'll miss da Idol. Sheesh. Silly pup. Seriously though, if it is there, I really hope she doesn't catch it. I don't want to see a maimed mouse tonight.

critter craziness

Today was a very very long day. I went back to work this morning after a particularly lazy long weekend and didn't feel well. I've had a bug for about a week now. Over the weekend, it decided to attack my digestive system and it's still bothering me right now.

At work today, I was not able to get comfortable or to concentrate much. I kept having to stop what I was doing and step outside for some air. I think I've had a bit of a fever today too. Hopefully a good night's rest will kick the bug's ass. I've been trying to drink as much water as I can handle (which isn't as much as I normally drink) to flush it out. No fun.

I think that the critters in our house are either buggy too or they are feeling the impending lunar eclipse's power. Bella (the lovely hound we are dog sitting) sort went silly tonight. I won't say crazy because it wasn't that. After dinner, I went to the washroom. I was in the washroom and could hear what sounded like Bella and Mark, wrestling. This didn't seem normal to me because Mark wouldn't wrestle with the dog and, if by some chance he was wrestling with her, it wouldn't be in the kitchen (which is where I thought the sound was coming from). Turns out, she'd followed me into our bedroom (the washroom is off our bedroom) and was "fighting" with the other dog in our room. She's been here almost 3 weeks and for the first time (tonight) she got weirded out by her reflection in our closet doors (which are those mirrored doors). I just noticed that she's back in there now, having a stare-off with the "other dog."

The fish are a little wigged out too but that may just be the changes in the atmospheric pressure we've been experiencing over the past couple of days. It isn't easy to tell with fish.

Anyway, thought I'd share some dog antics with you, courtesy of Mr Louis CK:

bella helps with dinner

bella helps with dinner
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Primarily, Bella's role in dinner preparation is that of floor inspector. She likes to spend as much time between Mark and the stove as possible. If something splatters or drops onto the floor, she's there to make sure it doesn't make a mess.

She's been such a good houseguest. I can't believe that she'll have been here 2 weeks on Wednesday. On the weekend, in the middle of some snow flurries, we took her out with us to do some errands. She's a country dog and I don't think she spends a lot of time in town so driving around the city, stopping at different spots while one or the other of us ran in and out seemed to amuse her.

On our way out of the house, I threw a couple of doggie treats into a ziplock bag and placed it in my purse. I figured if she got away from us somehow, she'd come back for the cookie (cuz she's a whore like that). It didn't happen that she ran away but boy, she sure picked up the cookie scent after a few minutes in the van. Ever since then, she looks at my bag with a hungry stare whenever I pick it up.

We had a really quiet weekend which was nice. Mark was working on the computers yesterday while I did laundry. On Saturday, besides errands, we ripped the living room apart. We wanted to reconfigure our entertainment unit thing. When we bought our new TV in December, we just threw it on the shelf. We didn't want to tear everything apart until some cables came in for it (I'd ordered some from eBay). Anyway, this weekend we finally got it sorted out. It was a huge job but it was well worth it. I was able to do a proper clean in the corner where the unit is (the kind you can only do when the furniture is moved) and we're really happy about the height of the tv now.

So yeah, that's the news. Exciting stuff huh??

appropriate

Butthead is really living up to his name tonight. When I got home from work, he was sitting on the bottom of the tank, under the heater. I put some food in his tank (cuz it was fishie dinner time) and normally, he is all in that food like, well like a goldfish on the food. Tonight, Butthead didn't even look in the direction of the food. I left the room and fed the rest of the fish and changed my clothes. When I came back, he was still sitting under the heater and the food was on the gravel in the tank. If he was all clenched up, I'd have been really nervous but I think he's playing possum (if fish can play possum). I sat down at my desk and moved over toward his tank and watched him. Eventually, in a sort of f-you move, he dramatically turned around, disturbing some gravel and creating a wave which recirculated the food.

For a few minutes, I actually thought that maybe he was sick. I see now that he was just being sulky and weird. Sulky and weird is normal Butthead behaviour. We keep discussing getting him a little tank buddy but seriously, I don't want to put a little fish in there and find it dead the next day because Butthead has anger management issues.

Such a wiener is butthead.

roger, the gold fish

roger, the gold fish
Originally uploaded by Julep67

When we moved into our house, the folks who we bought it from left behind a tank and five goldfish. The "leader of the pack" of these fish was a cool guy we named Roger.

The first summer we had the fish, two of the five died. Roger thrived though, him and Skid and Mojo (the other two) seemed to be doing really well.

As you may know, goldfish love to dig around in the gravel in the tank. They are looking for stray bits of food and they pick the rocks up with their mouth and spit them out again, with a fair bit of force at times. Roger loved to do this, he did it so much and with such vigor that he injured his mouth last year. Eventually it healed but he did it again earlier this summer. This time though, it never really healed properly.

While nursing the injured mouth, he developed a fungal infection. We isolated him from the other fish about 10 days ago. Mark started treating his fungal infection and while he still had his appetite, Roger was a really sick guy.

This morning when I went to feed him, I discovered that Roger had died through the night. We're both a little sad about this. I said to Mark that we could have taken him out of the big tank last summer and let him live in a gravel free zone. Now, that may have allowed him to live longer but would he have been happier? Without friends to play with and rocks to throw around, he might be healthy but he might also be miserable and lonely.

Anyway, I just felt like I should tell you all a little bit about Roger because he was a really cool fish and I know that we're gonna miss him.

salad bar

salad bar
Originally uploaded by Julep67

the white fish in this photo is named Chocolate. she (we think she's a she) is a chocolate oranda. when we brought her home she was brown. later on, she turned gold, then orange and most recently white.

she's a pretty funny fish, she spends a lot of time eating bubbles. recently, she scared us because she started swimming upside down and spending a lot of time at the top of the tank. I looked into it and she seemed to be exhibing symptoms of swim bladder disorder. it's suggested that you soak food and force fish to eat at the bottom of the tank to prevent them from sucking in air. we already do that a lot and after she's dug around in the rocks for food, she's right back at it, eating bubbles again.

it was also suggested that the weird floating/swimming could be the result of constipation. Mark found these lettuce clips at the pet store and we now have them in both tanks. they are the coolest things. you just put a piece of lettuce in the clip, put it in the tank and watch the fish go nuts. it's like a shoving match at a salad bar. hilarious.

it also seemed to have helped the constipation issue (not to mention create really green poop) with chocolate and the rest of the fish are loving it too. lettuce? who knew! it's definitely cheap and easy. one article I read suggested surgery, on a fish. I'm glad that the lettuce worked because surgery on a fish is not an option for me.

I like trains

via train entering the kingston station
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

one of things that I like about where I live, and it's something that many folks are irritated by, is the number of level train crossings we have. there is something kind of cool about being first in the lineup, watching a train lumber by.

So Mark's birthday is today. Happy Birthday Mark!! I think he's having a happy birthday so far. We did get down to the casino this morning and he won $140. Not bad huh?? Birthday boy luck I'm guessing. We took the winnings and did boring things like buy lunch, groceries and pet medicine.

We finally figured out that Syd was suffering with a fungal infection. As I type this, Mark is treating him with some fizzy tablets that are supposed to help clear this up. If it works, we should notice an improvement pretty quickly. It's hard to watch him mope around when he clearly is not a normally mopey fish.

The weather has been generally lackluster here today. We got spit on by rain and it's kind of damp and gross out so I think we're going to probably stay home for the rest of the day, maybe watch a movie. Nothing too taxing, just relaxing. Ooh, I'm such a poet huh?

what up syd?

meet syd
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

betta fish have minds of their own. I don't think that they are stupid like some folks would have you believe. our betta, syd, definitely has a personality and a stubborn streak.

he's been sulking for a few days. at first we thought that his tank needed cleaning. mark cleaned it. then we thought that water wasn't warm enough, we turned up the heater. then we figured that maybe his food was stale, we bought new stuff last night.

I still can't tell if he's eating. everything I read and the fish people I talk to say that he's okay, he looks good. he's just in a pissy mood.

still, it bothers me. after dr. zoidberg died suddenly last fall, I am really cautious around syd. our goldfish, I don't worry so much about but him, I do.