Puppy meltdown

Last night was no fun. It was a pure battle of wills. Canine 1. Human 0.

Winter's schedule was all messed up due to me being in and out of the house all day. Sometimes my work keeps me in the area, and I use home as well, "home base." The result?

A puppy who had no sleep, and no set mandatory time in the crate. The effects of that were a very grumpy dog that barked, and barked, and barked, and barked from 4 pm until 12 midnight.

Puppies are like babies. They need their rest. We have since discovered this. I guess since dogs also develop 7 times faster than people in human terms Winter is almost 2 years old. As I recall from common psychology this means she is currently going through the terrible two's.

It is a good thing we have a strictly enforced "no weapons" policy in this house. At about 2 am when she finally settled down I would have been ready to use one. I know that sounds awful, but you live with a dog that barks non stop for 8 hours, and tell me how you feel!!

So today we had 45 minutes of Puppy Kindergarten. Our teacher, Kaye Ames is a gift from God. As we walked into the the puppy school today, more than a few people standing in the entrance with their dogs were "oohing" and "aahing" over out beautiful puppy - (she is cute)

Some nice old lady remarked out loud "oh look as this lovely sheepdog." I just walked by, dragging Winter by the leash as I replied, "this dog is the spawn of Satan."

Anyway, Kaye pointed out everything we are doing wrong, and she told us that she once had a dog that barked so much she wanted to give it back. This left me felling encouraged as she has been training dogs for 45 years. She has this mythical way of just putting pets at ease, its really cool to watch.

So little Winter has redeemed herself. We love her again. She just really needs some structure in her life, even more than what we were giving. She is quietly hanging out with me after a nice long nap. She is much better today. Treats really work to make her behave, its like bribery. You relax, and you get a treat.

Kaye also enforces the use of earplugs for a barking dog. I just haven't figured out how I am going to put them in Winter's ears.

Sean.

A Breakthrough

Winter slept through the night last night! Wahoo! We put her in the crate at 10 pm and she made it to 6 am. I woke up at 5 am paranoid that she died because she hadn't woken us up in the middle of the night. Apparently, I wasn't too paranoid because I continued to lay in bed until 6 am when I thought I had better check on her.

Do I think this will continue? No! I'm pretty sure it was just a tease, but oh that blessed sleep was wonderful!

Sleeeeepy

We are a little sleepy these days. Winter gets us up every morning at 3 am for a pee. I have a quick change of clothes that I have at the edge of the bed. They get thrown on in a sleepy daze and then the little pup goes out to take care of business - with me at the end of the leash.
She is a good girl, and we love her very much. She knows how to sit, play catch, and she even knows to come when we call.
So, were tired. But its worth it!
Sean.

Homecoming

Winter is home! And life as we know it is over! Yesterday Sean and I drove the 3 1/2 hours to Athens, PA to pick up our puppy. Then we made the trek back home. After whining a bit and moving from one side of the car to the other, Winter fell asleep on my lap in the backseat and slept most of the way home. She spent the evening exploring her new pad and then proceeded to poo on the living room carpet. We're pretty sure she got into some adult dog food before leaving the breeder's house. The gaseous fumes emanating from her backside were a testament to that possibility and the poo further proved it. Our wonderful neighbors offered a re-sizable gate which we have gladly borrowed. Winter can only move about in the kitchen and dining room, where the crate is located, until she is house-trained. Cleaning poo off of a carpet ain't fun, I tell you! Sean's gagging reflex kicks into high gear. Our first night went well. We did a trial run in the crate before bedtime and there was all kinds of whining, howling and whimpering. However, she managed to calm down and fall asleep for a bit. We got her out to play a while. Then when she just couldn't stay awake any longer (nor could Sean and I), Winter walked herself right into that crate and laid right down on her blanket, closing her eyes! Woohoo! Sean and I took ourselves off to bed and managed to sleep, albeit not-so-soundly, for about 5 1/2 hours until we heard her moving around in her crate. Sean got up to take her for that potty break at 2:30 am (yes, AM!). We played with her for about 10 minutes, put her back into the crate, and listened to her whine and howl for a bit. She settled down for another hour and a half until she decided to wake us up again with her whimpers. My turn for potty duty. By then she was wide awake and I was indeed exhausted. I brought her to bed with me and we played with her rope a bit. She settled down and all three of us slept for another 2 hours. Except I didn't sleep well because Winter apparently dreams she is running and her little paws go round and round. She would start "running" and scrape her claws on the bedding and I would think she was waking up so I would wake up. I do not want pee or poo on my bed! So far so good. Today we played a lot. Winter met one set of grandparents (who think she is quite adorable). We tried to figure out potty time and eating. Not quite there, but we'll get it. The first full day down and we survived. We're tired, but know that this is just the beginning of a fabulous relationship with our doggie. Tomorrow we'll try some more crate time and a visit with the other grandparents. I'm sure there will be more stories to tell in the near future!

Link for photos - Winter Homecoming

Marketing

I got a nice surprise in the mailbox tonight. Apparently I qualify for an AARP membership.
I even have my own shiny new card with my name on it.
The brochure tells me that I can get big savings and discounts wherever I travel, and access to "AARP endorsed group health insurance." Sweet. I didn't think I was that old yet, but this is awesome!
Oh wait - it says something about being "over 50" to join. Ah dangit.
Maybe if I just pretend I belong, and then I flash the card surreptitiously and various retail locations when I purchase something. When I do this I'll accompany it with a nice grin and a wink and I might just get a discount or two. I'll say something like, "its fine, I'm with AARP." Wink.

Perhaps carrying this card will make me feel more cool. Just like those nice medication commercials you see on TV (you know, like the one about *cough* "genital herpes") All you see on those ad's are people canoeing, biking, roller bladeing, holding hands, smiling, and having a great time. By the end of the commercial you are convinced that having this disease could make your life way cooler, fantastic even!
(Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrea, headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, depression, anger, anxiety, dry mouth, temorary hearing loss and possible blindness.)


Sean.

Snow Day

A bit of a surprise this morning . . .


We were not expecting snow. Here's how much we got at our house . . .

Some folks at other ends of the county didn't see a flake. One friend got 12 inches. Very strange weather. After we shoveled the drive and sidewalk, Sean had some fun.

It is a beautiful, snowy day in our neighborhood.


(It is trash day. I hope they come and get it. We do have a recycling bin under the snow somewhere.)

Africa

I saw a documentary on a blog tonight that tore my heart to shreds, and then gently put it back together.
It was of a small village in a dark corner of Uganda, with two little children whose bodies had been ravaged by starvation and polio. They were left hopeless, and abandoned cared for only by their older sister who walked a few miles just to get water to bathe them. With no food or hope in sight, she knew the least she could do was pick them up out of the dirt and dust and cleanse their broken bodies. I sat here as the tears welled up.

Fortunately, the children were rescued in the nick of time by a charitable organization that took them from the shackles of their deadly circumstances and put them in a home where they received medical attention, and rehabilitation.

I am trying to process the deep confusion I have as to why this is a scene all to familiar from Africa. Why does the continent with the most natural wealth and resources on the planet have so many parts that suffer like this. Why? Civil war, famine, AIDS, dictatorships, polio, rebel fighting, government coups, corruption...the list goes on and on.

I spoke for hours with an old friend of mine last night. They emigrated from South Africa to Canada 2 years ago. His story is amazing. They left their home, (like me) to find a better life elsewhere. He told me that his whole outlook on life has changed. No longer is he living in a constant state of stress, wondering when his house is going to get broken into again, or if he is going to be carjacked on the way to work. His wife can play with their daughter in the park, and he knows they will come home that night.

While I love the USA, there are times when my heart yearns for Africa. The smell of the sweet air after a rainstorm. The feel of the warm, dry Drakensberg winds. The sound of the Indian ocean crashing onto a rocky beach. Looking up at night and feeling the Southern Cross looming safely over me. We left our home for a better life, and we found it but all in all, why did it have to be that way? Why couldn't we have had a better life on the continent of my birth, of 5 generations of my family.

Africa's problems run deep into the earth. I don't know the answer. Perhaps it is the hapless victim of the human nature to take, take, take. Almost as if God gave all humanity this wonderful gift brimming with life, color and variety - and all we've done collectively is to pull it to shreds.

If there is any doubt that man is born with a sinful nature, I present Africa as compelling evidence.

Sean.

Winter Baby

Sean and I are getting an Old English Sheepdog. Right now she's small. Fairly soon, she'll be big. We have to wait for another 2 weeks to bring her home. Ugh! That's so long. Let the photos speak for themselves. Our Winter is adorable! Link

We are geeks

Here are the top 5 best geek toys I bought in 2008.

1. Iphone. If you don't have this device yet, you need it. It will change your life. You will become hopelessly addicted to the ability to be in touch all the time. You will lie in bed at night quietly tapping the screen and surfing the web while desperately trying not to wake up your wife.
You will roll over as you wake up in the morning, and make a half-eyed reach in the dark for your phone. Yes, its that bad.

2. Apple TV. Simply put, brilliant. Stream your entire music library to your living room. No more CD's or CD cases laying around. Download HD movies, view your all your photos (from your flickr account) directly on your big screen TV. We love this thing, and use it all the time. It looks nice too.

3. 42" Toshiba HDTV. Need I say more? Sweeeeet.

4. Tamron 17-35 F2.8 wide angle lens. Take my word for it, this lens takes pictures so sharp its ridiculous. I love it - the F2.8 part is pretty nice too.

5. Flickr Pro account. Ok, so this was $24.95 per year. But, you get unlimited uploads, and anyone can view our photos online any where at anytime and download them to their hearts content. The interface is fun, and easy to use. If you are looking for a service like this, I highly recommend it.

Special mention goes to: Facebook.
While being completely free, I am amazed at how this little application has taken off. Its so much better that Myspace because, well, Myspace sucked.
For those of you who have it, you know you are addicted. Come on, admit it.

I am such a geek.

Sean.

Avalanche

I spent the past weekend at a camp with 150 middle schooler's from LCBC. To say I had a great time would be an understatement. It felt really refreshing to just get out of town for a few days, and hang around with some good friends. Getting to play some bangin' rock and roll worship didn't hurt either. I am amazed at the energy of middle schooler's. Its either full speed go, or a full stop - with nothing in between.

I took the trusty Canon 30D with me and snapped some candid shots of us spending some time backstage. I love that camera, almost as much as my guitar, Susan. After using it for a while now, it just feels like an extension of my eye - I just look, focus and push the button. Snap, there you have it.

Oh well, there's not much else going on these days. I can't believe its almost February.

You can check out the photos from the camp here