Laugh Out Loud Moment

I had the dogs outside last night on my coffee break, for their last day-light potty break.

Imp was charging around like a mad dog and manage to actually roll himself.  He went to jump over Hobgoblin's butt, but he didn't quite make the height he needed and ended up flying over Hobs then spinning and rolling through the grass ... after which he stopped for a nano-second, looked at me as though to say "What happened!" ... then continued charging around at full speed.

Silly little critters.  While they certainly do fill up my house and my time, they also fill my life with laughter!

Poor Decisions

Kitties made a couple of poor decisions lately!

Yesterday, DJ decided that she wanted to pop over the large box we have to use as a dog gate (since Imp and Elf know how to get over the kiddie gates we have), as she wanted to go into the bedroom to snuggle with her Daddy and Hobgoblin.

Well, she wouldn't have been able to get into the room as the door was closed, and she realized just as she reached the top of the box that on the other side were three wee doggies who were startled by her sudden appearance and started yapping uncontrollably (Angel usually wouldn't care, but Imp and Elf are just SOO vocal at the cats still).  She managed to twist and touch down briefly on top of the box to dash back off in the other direction.

Today at lunch, while I was out in the livingroom with the dogs, watching tv, as Maxx was asleep in the master bedroom, Trouble decided she was going to join me in the livingroom and popped over the box ... again, to find three wee doggies waiting for her (once more, Hobgoblin was in with Maxx).  SHE made the decision to keep on going and zip up onto one of the kitchen chairs, where she is still perched at this time.  From time to time Imp and Elf would go into the kitchen and lose their minds, at which point I had to remind them that the kitty wasn't doing anything to them but I would if they didn't shut up.

Oh, how I have fond memories of a harmonious zoo in the home!

Almost Half-Way

So, on my lunch and have another four hours left this evening for work .... after which time I will be half-way through my week with four days left.

I'm never fond of those schedule switch-overs which end up giving you an extended work week.  The best change-over is if you are going from a Friday/Saturday off to Sunday/Monday off, as with the change happening at the end of the week, you end up with a four-day weekend.

Too bad that Maxx and I don't have days off at all the same for the next little while.  Looks like he has Sunday/Monday/Tuesday ... but since he's on graveyards right now, we don't really see each other much if we both have a day off together, anyhow.

I noticed today when I logged in to work that my vacation bid for the first week weeks of June seems to have disappeared, so I am eagerly waiting word back from the scheduling department, to see if it's been refused for some reason ... as while I show the 80 hours of vacation time available again for booking.  I hope it's just a glitch while the system is updating our June schedule!  I really hope that if it was refused, that my second choice of the second and third week of June goes through, and that Maxx gets the same vacation time off.  If we don't get the same time, we'll have to cancel and try to rebook another two weeks off together.

Guess I'll let you know!

Doggy Play Date

Elf had a doggy play date yesterday, he left early in the morning, and spent the entire day over playing with Bugsy, and also got to have a sleep over.  He apparently had a lovely time, but he was also ecstatic to be back home again this morning ... and Angel, Hobs and Imp were pretty excited, too.

We had a while of four dogs zooming around the house in high gear, luckily they did calm back down again, so I could get to work!

Weekend Visit

We had my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and neice visit this weekend.  Although it was a short day-trip, it was nice to get together.  Just wish we had more time to get out and do more with them.  We did make it out to Coombs for ice-cream, though!

Yesterday we were both off together and got the dogs out for a walk down at the waterfront, then took them to the off-leash at Beban Park.  When we first arrived we were the only people and dogs there in the small dog section, but then some folks brought their small dogs back from the large dog section and other people showed up, so there ended up being quite a large number of dogs there.  Imp did some barking at the other dogs, but he was improved over usual, and is better at stopping and coming back to us ... so hopefully he'll eventually learn to meet other dogs without yapping at them.

Angel was more open about meeting other dogs .. and when I was walking around and around the gravel path to have her follow me and get a bit of a workout, she was CHEATING!   I got a bit ahead of her, and she was hustling to catch up, but then she figured out if she cut corners across the grass, she could hustle away and catch up to me without actually breaking into a trot.  How smart can our dogs be!?

Forgot the "Before"!

Angel and Imp had their grooming appointment today, but I forgot to take "before" pictures.  Imp actually didn't struggle and squirm for them, so they were able to do the brush and get out the mats without shaving his flanks, so he really doesn't look much different.  Angel always look SOO different with her poodle-face cut, though.  You see she has a wee little schnoz that sticks out, instead of a squashy face.  I would say it's amazing how much like a poodle she looks ... although it IS a poodle-face cut, and she IS part miniature poodle!

Important Lesson

We learned a very important lesson the other day when giving Imp his medicine ... which tastes like banana, by the way!

If you get the dog ready first, so that he is being held in Maxx's arms, then get the dropper full of medicine and give it to him, he complains and struggles (less every day), but he's fairly resigned.

If you get the medicine ready in the dropper FIRST and then chase down the dog, who sees what you have in your hand, by the time your husband picks him up, he's scared enough that as he gets picked up he pees all over the place!  Good thing I was wearing my crocs, easily washable.

Poor little fellow.  He's really doing much better each time we give it to him.  I guess I do need to contact the vet and see about having the next week's prescription done up so we can pick it up.

Hair Cut Day

Angel and Imp go to the groomers this Friday morning.

Angel will get her usual poodle-face / tunnel cut, with sanitary area clip, nails clipped, teeth brushed, and ears cleaned.  I'll also see if they can clip her feet (is there a poodle-foot clip?).

Imp will be a bit different.  He's got some knots behind his ears, and his flanks are all matted, and I haven't been able to make much -- if any -- improvement as he's so nervous he won't let me groom him.  So, he's likely going to be at least a little shaved.  We'll have to wait and see.  I should post before and after pictures ... although if he looks too horrible afterwards I don't know that I want to show the "after"!

Effective Medicine

I don't know if it's effective medicine or just one of those Murphy's Laws sort of things, but since we've had Imp in to the vet on Sunday I've only caught him hacking and wheezing away once.  I'll have to give it another day or two and then follow up with the vet to see about getting the second week of antibiotics ... or see if she even thinks we should get them since it cleared up pretty much after the visit.

Sick Doggy

So, we did have Imp in to the vet yesterday afternoon, and it is official.  While he doesn't have kennel cough (thank goodness, particularly as he DID get vaccinated for it along with all our other dogs, but it's a particularly virulent canine ailment), he does have a fever and may have a touch of tonsilitis or perhaps just a cold.  He's got some antibiotics to take in liquid form, and if he seems to stop coughing and hacking and wheezing -- or at the very least improve -- I'm to go back in a week for more.

It's funny, the veterinarian said that this liquid medicine is one that dogs actually like and they will usually just drink it.  While I was getting it ready last night, all the dogs were begging and pleading that THEY were the ones which needed that 1 ml from the dropper ... but as soon as I got Imp alone and he had a lick of the droplet waiting at the end of the dropper, he made such a cute little "UGH!" face and changed his mind.  We ended up having to have Maxx do his best to contain him and open up his little mouth, while I then squirted the antibiotics in.  For a tiny little dog who feels like he weights nothing (although he actually is 9 pounds), he sure can struggle quite effectively!

Catching?

Well, Imp is still wheezing and snorking away from time to time ... and this morning I am totally phlegmy as well and having difficulty getting the old vocal cords working when I need to talk ... hope it wasn't something I caught from the dog!

At least it's my Friday today, so another 4 hours (barring getting stuck on a chat past 9 pm) and I'll be on my weekend.  Looking forward to it.  Need to get the house in shape ... slipping on the spring cleaning!

Wheezy

Poor little Imp has been wheezing away today since one of his outside trips this morning, and I've been wondering if he's got a piece of grass caught in his throat or his windpipe.  He's been at times in what does seem like respiratory distress, although over the past 30 minutes it seems to have really calmed down.  If it picks up again, I think I may need to call the vet and see if I need to get him in.  I would feel devastated if something happened and it turned out it was something as simply as a piece of grass that just needed to be removed.

Wee fella was even having difficulty when eating, you could see him making quite the effort when swallowing, and the gagging and wheezing away again.

Looking Forward

Realized today I'm really looking forward to my two weeks of vacation in June.  As far as we know it should be from June 3rd-16th, and we'll be spending some time in Penticton, helping Dad get ready for and have a yard sale.  We also want to spend a week at home, getting some of our own stuff done.  We have fence repairs that still need to be done, hopefully they will be managed this weekend ... and of course there's carpet to be ripped up and floors to be refinished ... the list would really be endless if I got started on it.  It's all a matter of what do we have the time and skill to tackle ourselves ... and what we can afford.

Hoping that by the end of the vacation, we'll actually feel rested!

Take That, Weather!

It's rainy today.  Not one of those torrential downpours, but a gentle spring rain.

So happy that both the front and back lawns have already been mown, so they are already short and when the weekend comes Maxx should be able to go over them again as it's supposed to be nice Friday through Sunday, so it will be fairly dry and already short enough that it will be a quick job to go over both lawns and keep them trimmed up.

Hopefully we'll be able to do so all summer long and keep the lawn under control this year!

I'm feeling a wee bit guilty that with the gentle rain today I have no plans to go outside on my lunch and work further on the blackberries ... but looking at what I got done on the weekend, I can't feel too badly!

Now we need to get the back of the fence and the side of the fence fixed up at least enough so that the dogs can't get out.  Angel and Hobgoblin have no desire to leave the yard, but Imp and Elf are more into chasing the cats when they are present when the dogs go out, and of course the cats don't simply go up, they go away ... and the other day Imp discovered the gap in the back fence through the tangle of blackberry canes, and wandered off for a while, although he did come back eventually to my calling.  Have to keep a sharp eye on them until we have that addressed!

Weekend Over

Well, last day of my long weekend, and I didn't manage to get out and do any more work in the yard today.  My legs, back, and right arm just ached too badly, and I figured since I have to go IN to work tomorrow, I had better not beat myself up any more and be extra-sore when sitting in those work chairs!

So looking forward to two weeks off in June.  We'll be spending some time up in Penticton, sounds like possibly helping Dad hold a yard sale.  We'll have to take the tent and the air mattress to bunk down out in the yard (Maxx just can't sleep on the pull-out), so I hope that we manage to keep the dogs quiet at night when the neighborhood is trying to sleep.

We're hoping to also have a full week at home, to get some much needed work done around the house.  I guess we'll have to wait and see on that, with obligations to visit John and Steve, and Noni, Holly, Noa, John and Todd, along with the visit to Penticton.  I hate to have short visits, but we HAVE to get some stuff done around the house and for the past couple of years all of our vacation time has been spent travelling.

I Fought the Yard!

... And so far neither one of us has "won".  I did manage to get about 1/3 of the garden area cleared of blackberry canes, so that works out to about 120 square feet ... hopefully I'll be able to get more done tomorrow.

One of the problems with ripping weeds, morning glory, and blackberry out is that you end up with a giant pile of yard garbage, so I'm thinking we may need to rent or borrow a truck to get rid of some of it, otherwise it just clutters up the yard and could actually be a fire hazard, if it gets dry enough.  I'll have to talk to Maxx about getting rid of whatever we have ready next Saturday when he's off ... I can help on my lunch break to get it loaded up.  It would be so nice to have a neat and tidy yard, and then to be able to work towards getting some vegetable gardening really going.

I also need to price out sand, and figure out how much we'd need to put a sand base under the pool, with a couple of feet clearance around it, to see if we'll be able to do so this year, or if it will have to wait until next.  It would be nice to have the sand base to have a clearly defined "home" for the pool, and also to help keep weeds from growing up into the bottom of the pool, and providing softer footing!

We shall see.

Yard Work

We had lovely sunshine yesterday, and the grass was dry enough that we managed to get both the front and back yards mowed.

Well, truthfully, Maxx mowed the yards.  I was working on cutting down blackberry.  Endlessly will be cutting down blackberry.

NEVER WILL PLANT BLACKBERRY!

I got all the canes on the side of the yard between the garden area and the shed cut down, so today I'm going to head out and do some work on the blackberry in the garden area itself.  It's only 12 feet by 40 feet and choked with blackberry, so I'm sure while I can make a bit more of a dent in the canes out there today, it will not be done!

Once I am done working outside, though, I think I will come in, have a hot bubble bath, and then relax with a rum and coke.

Maybe if we have enough money later this year when summer is really going we can invest in some lounging-type furniture for the yard, so I can relax outside with the dogs frolicking around enjoying the sunshine.  That would be lovely!

Hmmm....

So, I did look online yesterday and there was an earthquake in Northern California on Thursday, as well as a series of earthquakes in the Alaska Peninsula ... so I wonder if my critters had been feeling one of those when they went nuts on Thursday?

I guess I'll never know.

Lovely sunny day today, but I had the memorial service at lunch so the poor dogs couldn't get out ... hopefully it will be nice again tomorrow but it's spring, so who knows?

Howlers

Yesterday all four dogs suddenly went frantic and immediately switched from barks to howling (even Angel, who has such a weird "blaat" ending to her howls).  I couldn't hear anything outside or any distant sirens, so I am wondering if there was an earthquake and will have to check it out.

Happy Birthday Bruce!

Just saw online that today is Bruce's seventh anniversary of being adopted by John and Steve ... pretty nice birthday present they gave him with the new house and yard!

Happy Birthday, Bruce!

Work Avoidance

Last day of a three day weekend, and I have to admit I don't really want to get to work on filling in the gouges in the laundry room floor, then sealing it, in preparation for laying the sticky-back linoleum tiles we decided to go with ($0.59/square foot and nice shiny black to offset the white walls, white hot water tank and washer/dryer, and the chrome of the shelving unit we bought).  But it's not nice enough out to want to be out on an excursion with the dogs, either (I know Angel, she won't go outside at all right now, or at least not down the steps into the yard).

Any ideas how to avoid working on the weekend and yet not feel guilty about it?

Doggy Play Date

We got the pack out this morning to the off-leash at Beban Park, meeting a friend from work and her husband, and their chihuahua Bugsy.  Good fun was had by all, Imp was less yappy at the other dogs who showed up later than usual.  Angel was wandering around and going up to other dogs, too, which was really nice to see. At one point, she was on the far side of the park with me, and when Maxx called for Imp and Elf to have them run across to him, she was first off the mark ... although Imp caught up to her half-way and simply jumped right over her.  Not from side to side, either, but jumping over her from behind, landing in front of her and continuing on to his Dad.  Pretty funny .. and impressive, too!