The Royal Court

Gwen would like it known that, yes, she is learning to share, thank you very much. And what do you mean does she mind not being the princess of the house anymore? She already has the baby trained to insist on multiple walks a day, doesn't she?

How to Shorten Your Doggy Life Span

Its a good thing she's cute, because the little dog is doing nothing to help my efforts to get more sleep. Mostly its been small things, like waking me up to help her get back under her blanket, but the other night she took it to an entirely new level.

She sleeps on a large pillow with a fuzzy blanket to curl up in. I always put her pillow on the floor right below me (see above for tendency to wake me up to help with her blanket). Apparently, she woke up the other night and wandered around doing whatever it is she does in the middle of the night. I half registered the clicking of her little nails on the floor, but I was most definitely asleep. Until, that is, she tried to return to her pillow. All of a sudden she was snarling and squealing, the frightened snarl she gives when she is in danger or really upset with Lily. I woke up with a rush of adrenaline, and Alex immediately flipped on our bed light. Had an animal gotten in to the house? Was she hurt? No, she was running away from her pillow, and then she stopped and looked around, confused.

There was nothing and noone there. Nothing. She had scared herself. I'm guessing she touched her furry blanket (the one she sleeps under every. single. night.) and thought someone was in her bed. After a little reassurance from us, she settled down and went right to sleep. I, on the other hand, was awake for an hour as I waited for the adrenaline rush to subside. It was 12:45 in the morning.

It's a good thing she's cute.

Wet and Muddy

It was a dark and stormy night...

Some nights you can't get that infamous line out of your head. Just this morning, I was thinking it was worthy of a post to tell you there is not a storm out in the tropics trying to drown us. I apparently forgot just where it is we live. We do not need a tropical storm to get a thunderstorm big enough to turn our streets in to creeks.

All this rain has turned our parks in to mud, too. Sunday I decided that I just had to get out in to nature for a bit. Between the soggy weather and a cold-turned-sinus-infection it had been weeks since I'd done anything more than pull dead plants out of my garden. Gwen was my reluctant partner in the adventure.
As soon as we entered the park, she got suspicious. "Mom, that water looks alot closer to the footbridge than usual. Are you sure about this?"

And she was right. Our normally lazy little creek was more of a stream with a definitive current.

The path, naturally, was mud. She managed to ford it without too much fuss, though.

Eventually, she was simply resigned to her fate. After an hour of my insisting that we cross through mud patches, she gave up and accepted that she would be wet and muddy. Just look at her standing there in the mud! I might turn her in to a real dog one of these days after all.

I came home with mud splattered up to my knees, scratches on my hands and a grin on my face. I needed that adventure in the real world, and I'm so glad we went. It might just be enough to get me through another rainy week.

How Gwen Spent Her Summer Vacation

Sleeping While I Sew
Sleeping While I Knit
Sleeping On Her Aunt (She entertained her cousin while we were out dress shopping.)Sleeping While I Clean

Yup, she pretty much followed me around the house and found a comfy spot to sleep while I did whatever it was I was doing. She's still doing alot of that this week, actually. Apparently having me home for a week shifted her recent Daddy's Girl personality back in to a bit of a Momma's Girl.

Photo Monday

Beat the Heat

Stoned

Hi,

I had oral surgery today and I'm still really stoned. I would like the world to please slow down and be very quiet. Do not ask me to even look at you and certainly not to do anything crazy like walk.

Thanks,
Gwen

For the Dogs

I woke up early all through the long weekend, and with my extra hours on Sunday morning I made Gwen a big pillow for the living room. She expressed a preference for an extra large pillow when Lily brought hers to our house. The two dogs would share Lily's big pillow, leaving Gwen's pillow completely abandoned. I'd been saying for awhile that I wanted to make Gwen a pillow with a cover that could be washed, and Alex 'commissioned' me to make her a big one. My first prototype, while Lily was still here, came out too small and became her car pillow. But, this one is plenty big for cuddling. With Lily at home with her Mom and Dad, Gwen accepts me as a substitute and allows me to share her pillow. As long as I don't hog it.

Creature Comfort

On my way to bed, I turn on the bedside light and find this very comfortable creature. She was so blatantly ignoring my bed preparations that I decided to go downstairs and get the camera. When I got back she was still there, so I tried to take the picture. But after an abortive flash, my camera told me it was out of battery. I went downstairs, changed the battery and came back up. She was still there. (This from the creature that wouldn't let me take five steps without her an hour ago.) So, I took the photo. Then I told her to move - a command she knows perfectly well, incidentally.
Except tonight. Tonight, apparently, she thinks it means "look at me out of the corner of your eye."

Busy, Busy Saturday

**Brit - you might wanna skip this one until the snow melts. I'm just sayin'.

That's my sister lugging our morning haul back to the car. Most of it, I'm relieved to say, was Mom's. But, the three of us had a great time at the annual plant sale at Leu Gardens. It takes hours to walk through the booths and by the end of it we were sweaty and sunburned, but satisfied. We certainly had something to show for it, didn't we?

I'll be spending part of tomorrow planting. (Just making it through the sale was enough for today.) I'm particularly excited about this plant, though. The name escapes me at the moment, but its a fruiting bush. It gets little berries on the trunk that taste like grapes. Two came home with me - one for myself and one for my father-in-law - and one with Mom.

Of course, we left the three dogs at home while we were there. Half way through the morning, Alex called to tell me our friend had found the two young dogs out in the street. They had torn through the screen we'd secured to the gate to keep Gwen from walking through it. He replaced the screen with low gauge chicken wire and moved the big trash can in front of it, before leaving for his own errands. By the time we got home, I found this. And they had somehow pulled the bamboo plant that sits outside the gate down and had chewed at it. Ferociously.And they were dancing at that gate, so proud of their handiwork, when we got home. Not Gwen, though. The experienced old lady that she is wanted it very clear that she had no part in either the original escape or the final destruction. In fact, she was pretty darn glad to see those young 'uns go home.

Doggone Cute

After our boycott on traveling, or sleeping in any bed but our own, over the holidays, we finally made the long trek down to Alex's family for a visit. What? Three hours doesn't qualify as a long trek? Well, its my blog and I say that is a trip of epic proportions.*

Anywho - the timing could have been better. I was a full week in to a lingering head cold that wouldn't go away. Not nearly sick enough to shirk responsibilities (though I appreciated the pampering from Alex in the evenings) but dragging enough not to want to do anything. But, we'd put off this trip for so long and I really wanted to see the family, so off we went with Sud@fed packed.

I'm glad we did. It was the perfect medicine. I lounged on the lanai couch, watched the fire we didn't need, and received some TLC from this handsome guy.

(Junior)

And the wrinkle on this guy's forehead makes everything he does seem adorable and funny. Laughter is the best medicine you know.

(Bucky)

All species have learned to co-exist, and I just dare you to look at this scene and not have your heart melt. The boys compete for Dad's attention. (Just ignore that gleam in Bucky's eye. I swear he was really up there making sure his place was secure. He just got...distracted for a second.)

Gwen, on the other hand, was lurking on the other side of the couch with a forbidden treat. She loves visiting the grandparents', where we don't have the heart to deny her the rib bone when the other dogs have had two each. She was much less interested in co-existing than getting all the good stuff off it before somebody stole it from her.

*Just how does he succeed in getting my lazy butt to Bulgaria again?

The Princess

That is my shawl - handknit with yarn Alex bought me the Christmas before we were married. Knit as a shawl for my wedding day, until I realized it contained mohair which would shed on my white dress and set it aside. It was finished on our honeymoon, and as a result filled with memories.

So, when the dog lays on it, I tuck it around her more snugly. She is the princess.

Flurries

I seem to work in flurries of productivity these days. This weekend I finally finished the top of my dread enemy - the T-shirt quilt. Even the final borders were painful, and one row absolutely refused to line up. But, the piecing is done. I plan to find the little patches I saved that were too small to be squares and applique them on the crooked corners... and you'll never be able to tell. (I am assuming I will eventually find the darn things.)

S - if there was ever any question of my love for you, the fact that I persevered and will be presenting you with a completed quilt is proof enough. However, I have decided that I get a break before piecing the backing. (Truth be known, it's the ironing of it that I am putting off.)

Tonight, I sat down on the couch only to realize that I wanted to sew. I haven't felt a strong urge to sew in weeks, so I hopped up to indulge it. One I Pod (Nano) pouch coming up.

And, with that done, I still felt like sewing. My not-so-scary quilt has taken form, and I am really pleased with it. (The colors blend better in real life than shows up in this poorly lit photo.)

I've decided to add a fourth row to the bottom. (Or maybe to the top. We'll see which balances better.) The squares are 11" by 11", so right now the quilt is 33" square. I figure a 3" border will work well, but that's still 39" square. I want to be able to use my quilts on my couch, and I figure a little extra length will make that more comfortable. Especially since Gwen always makes me share.

And when I put the quilts and blankets away, she climbs in the basket with them.

(And then flees when I try to take a picture under terrible lighting conditions that causes the camera to flash and sputter. We'll catch her at it again and get a better shot - it's her new favorite place to sleep.)

Swimming Lesson

Since Lily's family goes canoeing several weekends a month and she always goes along, we were very surprised to learn on a recent trip to the dog park that she is a very poor swimmer. The lady beside us put it best when she remarked "Now that's a doggy paddle." Lily tries to swim vertically - her feet hanging down to the bottom and limp while her upper legs flounder around on the top of the water. Words to fully describe it fail me, but it is a pitiful sight.

The need to wear out two excited dogs drove us to spend several hours at the dog park both Saturday and Sunday. The 90 degree humid heat drove us to spend those hours in the water. Lily wasn't so sure about this plan, but we finally got her out in the water with us. And the swim lessons began. Alex found that lifting her hips just a little encouraged her to swim, well, horizontally. And to do that she had to use her back legs at least a little. It was small progress, but it was progress.

Of course, we almost caused Gwen to regress in the process. Gwen has long been an excellent, if reluctant, swimmer. This summer's heat has even inspired her to do laps around us in the lake, rather than just swimming to us and demanding to be held. However, the sight of her Dad spending so much time swimming with Lily and the frequent refrain of "good girl" apparently caused her some consternation. I turned around and there she was swimming to him in the same ridiculous doggy paddle Lily uses! Yikes. So not the plan. We immediately discouraged that and praised her for swimming properly, but she still tried it out from time to time... We may be better off with an 'only pup' since our parenting skills apparently don't extend to sibling rivalry.

Lilliput

We are babysitting this little Lilliput this weekend while my sister is on a whirlwind trip to New York. She is one of my favorite creatures, but don't let this ladylike pose fool you. This munchkin has more energy than ten big dogs. I only got this picture by using a steady stream of "stay" followed by a greenie bribe.

I have had two shadows since I arrived home, and they were not pleased with my original choice of activities. 'No, Aunt Cara, you will not knit.' 'No, Mama, you will not read Harry Potter.' We must wrestle in your immediate presence. If you are seated, only your lap itself counts as immediate presence. The husband, of course, has a not-so-voluntary work social event tonight. I am on my own with these two little monsters. And I love every minute of it.

Since they were having none of my indoor activities, we all went out in the yard. I noticed earlier that my Florida Hibiscus was looking sad, and I bought a bigger pot believing it was root bound. In just the two days it took me to do that, the hibiscus looks almost dead. There were mushrooms growing in the pot and white ashy powder all over the soil and the base of the plant. Oh, this is not good. So, re-potting involved pulling the roots free of all the soil I could manage, completely fresh soil and a brand new pot, a thorough watering and then a good squirt of fungicide. There's still lots of green wood, so there's a chance. But, there's not much in the way of leaves so I don't know if it can pull off that whole photosynthesis trick. I guess we'll see.

Little Punky Woofster

Neither Gwen nor her Mama are particularly punk, but our punk friend from Punky Woofster loves us anyway. So, she made Gwen a stylish new collar from her collection. Gwen said she'd be the mini model for the collection, but she was feeling tempermental today. We'll try again later, and with a collar that doesn't match her coloring quite so closely. But, it's such a pretty collar and I love it on her, so I couldn't resist showing you the first attempts at modeling photos.

Presenting, for your viewing pleasure, Little Punky Woofster!

The Secret We've Learned

Need to convince your dog to take a pill without a fight? We know how to do it now. Stick it in the middle of some liverwurst. No need to mold it, to hide it from her, to hold her jaws shut while you force her to swallow without eating off all the good stuff and spitting out the pill. It's so easy!

Thank goodness we had left over bratwurst in the deli drawer when I went looking for some cheese the day after Gwen's surgery. Not that the cheese has ever made much difference, but at least we didn't feel quite as guilty about holding her mouth shut and massaging her throat while she struggled. The liverwurst has worked like a dream, no struggle, no fuss.

The Littlest Patient

How is that for a sad face? Poor Gwen can not get comfortable in her body today. Yesterday she had a mastectomy (yes, that's what they called it) and was spayed. She looked pretty chipper and comfortable when we picked her up this morning, but I think now that either (a) they had given her better pain meds that have worn off or (b) she was just happy to be outside of the clinic. We walked out the front door and she immediately took several deep breaths, filling her nose with smells. Now that we've been home a couple of hours, the exhiliration has worn off and she can't figure out what to do. She wants me to hold her, but then she gets up off my lap and just lies next to me. She starts to shiver and gets in her blanket, but that's not right either. It hurts to get up on the couch, but it isn't much better when I lift her up. Nothing is right today.

She's been beside me on the couch, on top of one blanket and under another, shivering. There's finally one little patch of sun in our backyard, so I put her pillow out there for her to sunbathe. As you can see, she's still not a happy camper. She isn't shivering anymore at least. I think at this point she's just not comfortable, and that I can't change. My next move, if she continues to act chilled, is to bring her pillow up to the office and turn the heater on in here. I don't get hot as quickly as Alex, so I can make the office fairly warm without being uncomfortable. And I can sew while she rests.

Yes, it's Thursday and I'm at home. Yes, it's because my dog is recovering from surgery. Yes, I'm checking on her every few minutes and searching for ways to make her more comfortable. Are you surprised? I didn't think so.

P.S. - The tumor has gone to pathology for testing, so we won't know for 3 to 5 days whether it's cancer or not. Even if it is, we caught it early. The vet will take a chest x-ray to make sure there's no cause for concern there, but they anticipate having removed the tumor and mammory gland will take care of it.