Floating shelves

Quick word of advice to those of you who want to hang those nice "floating" shelves you see on HGTV. You know, the ones that look like they are magically not attached to anything on the wall....

Don't do it.

They don't float, they sag and then sink. And then when you try to re-attach them they rip huge holes in your drywall.

You will end up trying to convince yourself they look nice because you put 4.3 hours worth of your time trying to hang them. Then one day you will realize that you really hate them, because they look pitiful, and now you are going to have to spackle, sand, paint, repaint and paint again.

Sean.

Here He Goes Again

Sean has this need to keep perfecting the study. First, we purchased the desk that created quite a stir in our house over the deliver of said desk. Then Sean hung the shelves and re-hung the shelves. After that, he decided he didn't like the shelves and we needed to find a piece of art to hang on the wall. Yesterday we found the something that we both agreed on and now Sean has removed the shelves, spackled, and is in the process of repainting. Oh boy! Finished product pictures will be shown in the near future. Let's hope this is the true finished product.

Getting bigger

Winter baby is getting bigger. By the minute. It seems that we put her in the crate at night, and she wakes up, bigger. Soon she will no longer be winter "baby" but winter "middle school."

After that I'm sure she is going to want the keys to my car.

I'm being told by everyone to "enjoy the puppy years." Those people have obviously never had to get up at 2 am in 12 deg f to let her out.

She is still a love bug. All you have to do is sit on the kitchen floor and she'll come over and flop into your lap. The barking in the crate at night has (mercifully) come to an end. She simply walks in after a bit of persuading and goes to sleep. I guess a puppy's life can keep a pup busy most of the time, what with all the smells in the yard that need investigation, all the sitting for treats that need to be done.....

I have come to the realization that my beautiful grass is going to be destroyed this summer.

Oh well, look at these pictures and tell me she's not worth it.

Sean.

Click Here

Puppy Kindergarten

Puppy Kindergarten just may save our lives! We thought we were getting a cute, fuzzy little angel of a dog, but no, we got a dominant and slightly aggressive little you-know-what. Our hero, Kaye Ames, has graciously invited us to an extra class a week to work on Winter's dominance. We shouldn't be too surprised considering she is an Old English Sheepdog, a breed known for their bossy-ness and take charge attitude. For the most part, Winter is a love and just wants to be near us and play with us. But when we take charge or expect her to do something she doesn't want to do she makes the switch from Jekyll to Hyde. Good thing she's cute! Here are some photos of her now at 12 weeks. Cuteness!

Photos

At 8 Weeks

At 12 Weeks

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.)