52 posts tagged “critters”
WORK: I am learning lessons in scheduling with our new travel-all-the-time thing going on at work. Generally speaking, I am gone two nights and three days...what I am learning is that if I want to survive, I can't schedule those back to back. i.e. The week before last I was gone Wednesday through Friday and then this past week Monday through Wednesday. Not having at least one workday in-between trips made for an icky weekend full of work related stuff so that I could wrap up the first week and prepare for the second. Live and learn. Luckily, I got home late Tuesday night instead of sometime on Wednesday and have had time to get caught back up on everything and take some time for myself as well.
HOME: My mom and sister are coming to visit at the end of February for my birthday (and for my mom's birthday too!). I can't wait! It will be my sister's first visit to North Carolina and my mom's second. Of course, it takes visitors to spur me into completing the unfinished projects around here...and now time is running short so I am getting a bit frenzied. (There will be a "to-do" list to follow so I can try to keep track of what needs doing!) Mostly the place needs a good scrub-down and decluttering.
ANIMALS: Marly is growing up. She is still very much puppy and gets into trouble often (my fault mostly for not paying attention to where she is and what she is chewing on). However, she is starting to show that she knows she is going to get in trouble for things like getting up on the counter to eat the kitty food, chewing on mommy's shoe laces or tags her clothes, and being in the kitchen. This gives me hope that someday she won't just acknowledge that these are naughty things, but that she will also stop doing them. A friend and I were going to take the dogs to the park today, however, I think all the rain that we missed over the past year is falling in the past/next 24 hours. My yard is flooded...even Marly the water dog doesn't want to spend much time outside when going potty. I think it is because now instead of just fun puddles, the whole yard is squishy and slippery. And the rain is falling hard...she isn't used to that.
PHOTOGRAPHY: So, as you can all see, I have not started any of the photography projects that I was planning on. Being that today is Feb 1, maybe today is a good day to get going with it. Neil took a seminar in Atlanta this past weekend and had a good time, got some great photos, and was inspired to buy lights. Ha! That is so far out of my league it makes me laugh. However, it is surely nice to have someone who knows what they are doing with the basics around to help li'l old me. He also asked me a great question...one I have been pondering since I bought my camera...what do I want to shoot? I mean of course there is the everyday stuff that I do - pets, life, etc. But for real shooting what do I want to focus on and learn? My answer: structure/industry and some macro stuff. I love architecture, urban and rural decay, trains and planes, etc...but I am no good at capturing any of that in a still photo. So I guess at least now I have a bit of direction? A goal? My real problem right now is that though I 'get' the terms, the ideas behind aperture and shutter speed, I struggle greatly with applying any of that knowledge. I know practice makes perfect, but I struggle with where to even start. I think this Spring, once I have gotten into some sort of routine with work travel, I am going to enroll in a photography class so that I can get some hands-on classroom learning.
Not much else happening here...I guess I ought to get started on some of the decluttering since there is no way I can get any real cleaning done until the "stuff" is put away.
Bah. I got back yesterday from Florida and now have a nice cold taking hold of my head. It has been in the upper 70's low 80's (beth here and in Florida) all week and now tomorrow they are calling for a high of 45!?!? This weather has got to stop!
Northeast Florida was alright...I was right by the beach so that was nice. It has been awhile since I have been to the ocean (either one). I get to go again for a day next week down in Myrtle Beach.
Marly survived her first kennel stay with flying colors. After well over a year now, I still can't get over how inexpensive things are here compared to back in Seattle. I boarded both dogs for two nights, three days for $80. Which included the daycare romping and such during the days as well as several walks and getting fed their own food. It would have cost me close to twice that much back in the NW. The best part is that my pet-sitter also does pet-taxi service so on days like yesterday when I wasn't scheduled to get in until 5pm and the kennel closes at 5:30, someone can still pick them up! (Neil had other obligations this week as well.)
Both pups came home and slept hard yesterday evening, but Marly was still up at midnight and again at 5:30 (which is her new morning wakeup time). Ugh. Andrew or Amanda, maybe you can answer this since I can't find anything regarding it online...I know most places when I read about potty training and "holding it" overnight they say don't expect more than a puppy's age in months plus maybe one in hours for how long they can go before needing to be let out (i.e. 4 month old puppy can hold it on average between 4-5 hours). When does this rule of thumb stop holding as true? six months? or is it closer to a year? My concern is that she is simply getting into a routine of habit and doesn't necessarily have to go out...but then again, I also tend to forget howyoung she still is due to her enormous size (she will be 5 months old next weekend and is easily around 50 pounds - and is not fat)! When I do take her sometimes she will make a big pee, sometimes not, sometimes she has to do #2, sometimes not. I am sure I am just over worrying and over thinking all this, but more than anything, I would LOVE to sleep through the night once again someday soon.
I hate iTunes. Or maybe it just hates me. It always locks up, doesn't want to run or load right and in general is just a pain in the rear on my computer. This is my justification for wanting an iMac. It would run just fine there. I am sure of it.
Marly is currently being the Best Puppy Ever and is curled up sleeping on the couch on her blanket...no destruction of shoes or the Christmas tree...just being a good dog! Wow!
Alright, enough rambling here. I have work I need to go get done so I can enjoy my afternoon.
Woooweee. I woke up today with a doozy of a sore throat. My left lymph node seems particularly angry this morning and my ears are doing that scratchy pre-cold thing. I am going to be really miffed if I end up getting sick!
Marly is being a pain in the butt these days. She can no longer be left unsupervised if there is a bowl of water within her reach. This is particularly frustrating because the other animals would really appreciate access to water at times when she isn't drinking it. For now the cats are lucky in that I can leave a bowl up on the "cat table", but that isn't going to last much longer...I figure in about another week Marly will be able to reach the food dishes up there. Once that happens I will have an even bigger issue on my hands...where will I put the cat food where they can get at it but she cannot? I know someday I will eventually get her trained to stay off the tables/counters/desks, but that is a long way down the road yet, I think.
I bought a Christmas tree last night, but then got home to discover that I can't find my handsaw...so today I will have to run to the hardware store and buy a new one so I can trim the trunk before putting it into the stand. I may also trim out some branches throughout the tree. Back in Seattle I always bought Noble Firs which have lovely, open branches that are excellent for hanging ornaments from. This tree is beautiful, but has very dense branches that will make decorating difficult. (Yes, I am that picky.) I also need to clean the house today. I haven't vacuumed in almost two weeks and it is showing. I also need to dust...with the heat coming on every night now, this place is a veritable dust-bowl. And of course there is the never ending laundry that needs doing...between the pile of towels used to sop up the spilled puppy water to just daily clothes and bed linens, that is going to take me most of the day. At least if I can get this place clean and the tree up today, then tomorrow I can have fun and decorate! Saturday I am going to enlist Neil's help in getting lights up on the exterior of the house. Let the season begin!
Well, Bandit (formerly known as the little black and white kitty) has joined the ranks of Those Who are Allowed Inside the House. After talking with my mom yesterday and having her tell me that if she were in the situation with a darling kitten who had adopted her and who was cold and wet and desperately wanted to come into her house that she would probably let him, I did. So far so good...as long as he doesn't pee anywhere in here but the litter box he will get to be an indoor/outdoor kitty.
He adores Sadie and follows her around the house trying to snuggle up to her and sleep with her. Sadie really isn't sure what to make of it, so I don't think she got much sleep last night. He is very sweet and loves to be pet, but he doesn't really seek out the human companionship. Today he made himself at home in Marly's crate.
Oh, and for you other pet owners out there reading this...those fleece throw blankets are the best (you can see them on the chair and in the crate here)! I picked them up at Target - on sale they were around $7, I think they are around $10 regularly priced. I found them on an end-cap display in the bedding department. Machine washable and dry-able and they are standing up well to the puppy's chewing. They came in brown, red, and a sort of sage green color and are the perfect size.
This afternoon Marly goes in for her last round of puppy shots. I am hoping they knock her out some so tonight and tomorrow are a little more mellow. This morning she has found some new source of puppy energy that has had her going nonstop and getting into all sorts of trouble (dumping the water fountain, eating my hair bandanna thingy, chewing on throw pillows, chewing on slippers - my fault for leaving them too low, chewing on kitties...anyone else see a trend here?). My guess is that she is starting to teethe - I have no idea when puppies usually start that, but just in the last day or two she has really kicked up the chewing.
I got a bunch of Christmas shopping done yesterday (online). Most of it should arrive this week or next so I can get it wrapped up and shipped out before the last minute. YAY! Tonight Neil and I are going to go get a tree so I can work on getting that decorated this week. This weekend I hope to get lights up on the house. Unfortunately, my house has vinyl siding so I am not sure I am going to be able to put lights up along the roof peaks where there is no gutter to clip them to. We'll see. Maybe I can improvise something that will work.
Right now I ought to be vacuuming. Maybe later.
After a very balmy Turkey Day, tonight is supposed to have a low of 27. *shiver*
I worry (probably too much) about the outdoor kitties. Though, I think one of them has made friends with the neighbor kitty and sleeps in their garage - they always leave the garage door up a few inches for their kitty. So this evening I went out and draped old bath towels over the kitty house which is directly outside the back door. I figure two layers of towels over the wood should create a pretty good layer of warmer air. I also made sure one hung part way over the doorway of the house to help keep warmer air in and cold air out. I know for a fact Mr. M uses that house regularly, I just hope the partially obstructed doorway doesn't scare him off. The water bowl is also just inside the door there so hopefully it won't freeze.
Tomorrow my big project is to dismantle the house and line it with heavy plastic sheeting and then towels (on the inside) to keep it dry and warm...in case we ever finally get any real rain.
Well, okay...I am a week late. So sue me.
Marly hit the three month old mark last Saturday. Today we hauled her into the vet for her monthly check-up and shots along with Bonnie & Clyde for their last Feline Leukemia shots. Marly weighed in at just under 27 pounds. This means that she weighs more than double what she was four weeks ago and is now over half as heavy as Sadie is. Yikes!
Overall vet says she is healthy. We have been having soft stool issues - not to the point of having accidents in the house, so really I am chalking it up to the fact that our kid eats paste (any and everything goes in her mouth and is usually digested unless we can catch it right away). The doc, though, wanted to rule out some tummy bugs that puppies can get so she is on some medicine for a week or so.
And because I have been neglectful of shooting photos of my other critters...here is Clyde 'helping' me while I worked on Friday. He makes a very snuggly paperweight!
I finally got all the bird photos onto my computer so one of these evenings I might actually get through some of them and pick some for you all to see. But, for now, I am headed off to bed...hope everyone's having a good weekend!
I got some sleep which helped a little. Marly was restless and bark-y all night...I am sure from a lack of attention and exercise while I was away. She has settled down a bit today.
It is fun to watch her personality develop as Marly gets older. She is so different from Sadie and I am sure a lot has to do with the differences in how I have started out with them. Marly is not at all a picky eater - Sadie was and I let her be which made it worse! Marly loves the rain...well ok, some of what we have had today was a bit much even for her, but she doesn't mind being out in it. Sadie? She hates the rain or even getting her feet wet and dirty. She is a princess. They are both very pushy and stubborn, though, and that can be fun (and frustrating) too.
I got my work projects as far as they needed to be today...so that is good. Con calls for both of them next week. Now all really have left is our team con call and then I can work on getting caught up on laundry and maybe even get some vacuuming in.
This evening we are headed to the Apple store so Neil can pick up the new OS that is being released today. I will go drool over the iMac and maybe we will end up with the Apple TV for the house here. In fact, maybe it will help move me in the direction of doing away with my cable. Mostly, though, I want that iMac.
Tomorrow morning we are loading up Bonnie & Clyde and Marly and taking them all to the vet for shots and check-ups. It is Marly's monthly puppy visit and the B & C need their second Feline Leukemia shots. Exciting stuff!
After waiting and hoping, the rain is finally here. It has been raining pretty regularly for the past day or so and today it has been almost nonstop here at the house. Now, I just hope there isn't too much flooding because the ground is too dry to soak it up fast enough. It is absolutely pouring right now...and I love it!
Marly was three months old yesterday. I am going to try to get a good photo of her today. Right now we are working on the 'sit' command along with 'stay'. We are also working on staying out of the kitchen. She does pretty well with all of them when I can get her attention. Yesterday I learned yet another valuable lesson in not paying enough attention to what she is doing when she is loose in the house. She got a hold of a loose corner of carpet in the entry way and pulled it up. Luckily there wasn't too much actual damage, but she frayed it enough that the carpet no longer reaches the tack strip to hold it down there. So, it looks like the carpet will be replaced in the next year or so (once she is through this "puppy" stage) and until then I am going to have to be really careful when I vacuum that area. The good news is that I was seriously contemplating tiling the entry, dining room, living room, and kitchen anyway, along with both bathrooms and the laundry room. A huge job? Yes! Worth it in the long run for durability and ease of cleaning with two dogs and two cats running around? Absolutely!
And speaking of house projects...I bought eight Leyland Cypress today that will go in two groups (I think) along the back part of my lot. They grow extremely fast and will make nice screens so that in a couple years the backyard will have much more privacy from the neighbors that are up the hill from us and look directly into our yard. Eventually the cypress will get to somewhere around 50' tall...but that is a ways off even with how fast they grow. I couldn't find the red maples I wanted. I will check the big nursery in town next weekend. Otherwise, they may have to wait until spring time.
Yesterday Neil and I participated in the fall session for PhotoWILD! 2008. Apparently they are doing the regular spring session as well toward the end of April...we may do that one too. All entrants can submit photos for the contest next May. In my free time (what's that?) I will be sorting through the photos I took and posting them to Flickr. I am sure some will make it here as well, but if you are interested in seeing the bulk of them, head over there.
Clyde's little adventure doesn't seem to have deterred him much from his desire to go outside...though, he isn't quite as pushy about it all as he was previously, but he is still right there at the door every time I take the pups out. Naughty kitty!
Not much else happening. I will be in Knoxville a couple days next week. Other than that, just trying to get back on track with getting some projects completed around here.
Clyde got out (again) this morning. Unfortunately, this time he decided to go all the way and head down the hill into the brush out back. I will go back out again in a bit when it is lighter and I can see better and see if I can call him back. At this point I guess there isn't much I can do. If he doesn't come back today I will put up fliers and call the local vets to let them know he is missing and is micro-chipped.
Thank goodness I did get him micro-chipped - of course, that won't help him if an animal or car gets him.
So, I have learned that it doesn't matter how late we are all up the night before...when 6am rolls around, it is time to get up. *sigh* Marly is definitely on a schedule now - I just wish it was one that let me sleep in a little later. Maybe when she is older, but it looks like for now, I will be catching weekend naps whenever I can.
We were up until midnight last night (watching some dumb movie on TV)...she did her normal 5 hour mark potty break which is normal any night no matter when we go to bed. The problem last night is that the 5 hour mark was at 5am. 6am comes pretty fast after that.
So, now, I am working on making a lot of coffee. Today I will trying to tackle the office here - there are papers to be sorted through and shredded, books to be boxed up and taken to a used book store, and general cleaning that needs to be done. Maybe I will get a load of laundry or two done today as well.
