Monday Monday return to normal

Or "what is normal?"

Normal here is a one dog household.  An alert dog, watching what the cat is up to, around breakfast time.

Monday morning, I decided to take a time trial drive out to the new DMV building.  I had scheduled an appointment online for Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.  I wanted to scope out how much construction was between here and there.  

I was right to be suspicious.  There were a couple of streets that are a main part of the path from point A to point B that indeed had lane closures.  I navigated them easily enough.  

When I got to the lovely new facility, I decided to ask whether it was possible to go ahead and test today, so I would not have to drive across town again the next day.

They converted me from a Tuesday appointment, to a walk-in Monday appointment.  I had to wait until my number was called maybe half an hour.  

A good time to people-watch, being at the DMV.  You can see the young people who are coming in for their first test.  You can see the people who are moving in from other states having their test in this state.  For me, nothing had changed.  I was prepared to take the written test and even the driving test, if they asked, but they did not.  Just the eye test.  One less thing on my to-do list.  And I am glad I don't have to make the trip again.

I came home, changed laundry loads, and let Ember out of her crate at close to her usual "end of puppy nap #1" time.  She did not seem to be much interested in her harness, so we did not do a leash walk.  She did not seem to be much interested in chasing balls in the back yard, either.  Methinks we are still a bit worn out from all that playtime with Carl over the weekend.

I cooked us some cauliflower for lunch, and she shared a few florets.  Then as she was looking tired and it was about the normal time for puppy nap #2, I put her to bed.  Restarted the dryer, hunted down the headset, and started marking more items on my to-do list "complete."

I made my pre-surgical appointments at the doctor's office:  blood draw and exam.  I also scheduled the Thrasher guys to come look at Ember's excavation around that post that I've mentioned in a prior blog.  Now it's a waiting game.

Onward!  Life is good.  Spark on!

Two dog weekend

It has begun.  Carl arrived about 5:30 p.m. on Friday.  Ember was in her crate, but I let her out as soon as the human contingent cleared the house.  Off they went.

I never did get her back in the crate.  I ended up napping on the couch overnight.  I let the two dogs work things out.  I turned off the lights when it got dark outside, put on old Star Trek episodes on the TV, and stretched out.  

In the dark it was hard to tell which dog was checking up on me.  But their collars have different textures so all I had to do was touch a collar and I knew which dog was which.  At some points in the night I was sitting up on the couch with one dog on each side petting them both.  The final puppy pile was me on the couch with my legs in an L, Carl behind my legs, and Ember on the floor beside the couch.

At 4:15 a.m. I extracted myself from the pile to go upstairs and shower and do my morning meds.  Ember was fine with this.  Carl positioned himself at the gate and proceeded to voice his dismay.

They were out playing in the yard before the sun rose.

They ate each other's food.  Breakfast was served about 5 a.m.

Whatever toy Carl would choose became the one that Ember wanted.

Puppy nap.

Big boy nap.

That's me, the lap under the puppy pile.  You can really see Ember's status as a Charcoal Lab next to half-Doberman Carl.

This tuckered out state lasted until I fed them supper about 4 p.m.  Then their energy was back.  I predict another rocky night. 

Sunday morning 

Pre-sunrise tug game in the family room.

I even got to sleep about 3 hours in my own bed Saturday night.  When I emerged, there were two dogs awaiting my descent.

Dawn fetch in the back yard.

They once again traded their meals, like a couple of junior high kids.  There are side effects to dietary changes in dogs.  Those of you who have dogs know what I'm talking about.  Those of you who don't, well let's just say that poo patrol becomes a soupier job.

More tug with the toys.

Carl reports for squirrel patrol.

Ember guards the entrance to the house.

Life is good.  Spark on!

I did say I have a digger on my hands

 

Ember's latest efforts, from Thursday morning.  She had started on this hole Tuesday or Wednesday, maybe even before that.  But as of Thursday morning, she had it deep enough that I'm thinking of calling the foundation people that put in those posts (that hold the balcony and playhouse above level).  They could come out and check it, perhaps tamp it down somewhat?

I filled some of the loose dirt Ember had dug up back into the hole, but I'm sure she'll just take it right back out again, and it's certainly not a strong support for anything, being "loose dirt and sand".

The cooler weather has gifted me a very alert puppy.  Her eyes were shining as we played ball chase in the back yard.  She now gets all excited over my saying "hike", "hike" when I'm about to toss the football for her.

This is a Holee Roller kind of football, easy for her to grip, and of the balls to toss it's among her top 2 favorites.  The one it competes with is the round one that I braided the shoelace "handle" into.

My human brain got taxed Friday afternoon as I got a call from Tech Support about the issue I had reported with the driver updater extension I had accepted from Norton.  My old laptop essentially stopped working when I tried to let this thing run.

Between language barriers and the state of the machine, the issue was not resolved, and I was left with instructions I have been unable to complete.  I told them not to call back until Monday.

The appointment with the eye surgeon resulted in a "Catch-22" diagnosis.  I can have the surgery or not... my choice.  In other words, I can still read through the left eye's cataract.  But knowing how rapidly the right side deteriorated once it got to this point, I went ahead and scheduled the surgery for late October.  Meanwhile, I need to get my driver's license renewed, so I made the appointment to do that before the surgery, in fact, next Tuesday.

The part for the dishwasher arrived, and the technician from the appliance repair place is due to arrive between noon and 2 p.m. today (Friday).

I'm expecting Carl after suppertime this evening.  Pray for me and my two-dog weekend!

Life is good!  Keep on Sparking!

Wednesday after a high confinement Tuesday

 

Home repair #2 from Tuesday.  This was Nate's solution.  He cut out the concrete to access and find the leak.  Turned out to be a plugged drain.  

He went and got the parts, came back, and finished it all off with a river rock, instead of concrete top layer.  Why?  Because if anything under there ever needs to be repaired again, they won't have to cut their way to it!  Less cost, easier maintenance.

Risk?  Ember digs and chews on rocks.  Wednesday in the pre-dawn, she did just that.

The remainder of the week is going to be interesting, too.  Wednesday supper will be a family thing at a China Buffet.  Seems the foster kiddo likes ALL food, and he was given a choice of three places for this "family special dinner".  He chose the Chinese one, over pizza place or steakhouse.

He has expressed interest in eating crab and shrimp!  And ice cream.  It will be "the pandemic five" plus the kiddo.  I'm looking forward to it, but it depends on Ember having a fairly good day and "bedding down" at the usual time.

Wednesday report 

The pre-dawn hours constitute Ember and my worst challenge.  Pick which human things will be sacrificed to the adolescent puppy.

A swim flipper I never used?

A snorkel tube she began gnawing over the weekend?

Perhaps she will chew on a chew stick she rejected a few days ago? She did.

During puppy nap #1 I went grocery shopping, and I reorganized the entrance to what used to be my son's basement bedroom.  This because she "broke in" to it before her puppy nap, which is how she got hold of the swim flipper.

We had a nice leash walk between the puppy naps.  After puppy nap #2, we did a little sunning on the deck.

During puppy nap #2, I dozed a little bit myself.  I also called the irrigation folks, as the sprinklers didn't go on this morning at 4 a.m. even though I had re-activated the automation.  Turns out the outside controls were half on, half off, after Nate's repairs.  I wanted to call to be sure the repair was complete, and it was OK to turn it back on.

When I got up from my nap and Ember and I went outside, I found it had been turned on.  He must have stopped over while I napped.

Alicia had begged off our sister visit, so I fed Ember early.  She seemed hungry to me, and sure enough, she licked the bowl clean, kibble and toppers all.

Ember seemed kind of sleepy after her early supper, and I tucked her in before Jeopardy started.  I came upstairs and took a shower before heading out for the family dinner thing.

The dinner was lovely, the food was great, the respite care child is a sweetheart, very quiet, yet responsive to questions, like what grade he's in (Kindergarten) and what his favorite parts of school are (the special classes like art, music, science).  He had learned names of some of Carl's dog-park friends.  When DIL talked about one of her friends at work, the youngster commented that he had a friend in his last school with the same name.  

When I got home I quickly changed tops and shoes to something not as likely to trigger Ember, and took her out for "last call".  No fooling a dog's nose, though... she was VERY interested in all the smells on me!  Still, she's tucked back in now.  

Onward to the Thursday adventures at the eye doctor.  I filled out the paperwork today, and noted that they recommended bringing a driver, due to dilation potential of the visit.  So my older sis will drive me.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Onward

 

Tree in Silhouette 

There is something about being out after sunset or before sunrise... this photo was taken in the early hours of Saturday morning.  Note the lights in the house across the street.  There is a peace, unplugged and disconnected to anything but the environment around you.  Ember is checking it out, but so am I.

Overhead, the moon shines on the clouds, showing their own powerful images.  If I remember rightly, we had just a slight amount of rain that day.  We were predicted to get more, but it did not materialize.

Here's your Tuesday morning giggle. Ember and the soap.  She got it off the sink.  Perhaps this explains why the bitter spray doesn't work for her as a deterrent to chewing?

Tuesday morning, Pierre, the Ace Handyman appeared at the appointed time.  He looked at the door, then headed out to purchase a replacement for it.  This is going to cost me, granted $$$, but not as much as I spent earlier in the year.

Pierre was gone finding that door for about an hour and a half.  Meanwhile, I needed to let Ember out of the crate.  I have screwed up twice and she got into the laundry room to steal The Prisoner's food.  I had to drag her out of that room. Twice.

Pierre got back to install the door, and Ember was chilling in the X-pen.  I got the dishes hand washed while he was door shopping.

Ember spent a good deal of the install time on leash, watching Pierre work.  In the midst of all this Nate (the irrigation guy from the landscaper's) showed up to tear up my patio to assess where the leak was.  Ember and I spent some time on leash outside, too.

The installed door.  Unfortunately, either the magnets on the new closure are weaker, or the dog is more persistent.  She was through it before Pierre had been gone half an hour.  So, the extra baby gate will have to be installed (by me) when I get to it.  Right now, I'm just too exhausted.  Ember is in her crate for puppy nap #2, and I'm going to nap as well.

Still waiting to hear about the dishwasher part "on order" being shipped from another city, but the guy from the appliance repair service had said "late next week" last Friday, and it is only Tuesday.

Life in Emberville is good.  Spark on!

A tale of the dog-swap

Carl stayed in his vest the whole time at my house.  Mainly a sign of laziness on my own part, not due to need.

The kids let Ember out of her harness, and the kids figured out how to put it back on her.  The Easy Walk harness confuses some folks, but they got it right.

Carl was a good boy the whole time.  He barked at the squirrels, he played with Ember's toys, he got petted and cossetted by his Grandma, who tried out several of Ember's training games on him.  He was an outstanding student.  Good boy, Carl!

While Carl was here, I boiled eggs, just as I would have done if I had Ember with me.  Carl likes a nibble of eggshell when I peel them, too, just as she does.  I don't give either of them very much, just enough to be a little treat for them.

DIL brought me kolache from her grandmother's birthday celebration the day before.  This became my mid-morning snack.

Carl sacked out on my bed.  He's such a lover!  If I put Ember in my bedroom, this would not happen!  She would be going after all the human things that to Carl are just "white noise", nothing to do with him.

Ember, home after a tiring, but exciting day.

Carl and I arrived at the kids' place right about 3 p.m.  The two dogs proceeded to wear one another out in their back yard.  The respite foster boy arrived about 3:30 p.m.  He was ecstatic to find there were TWO dogs to play with and he proceeded to the back yard to play chase with them both.

Ember and I didn't stay long after that, because I wanted to make sure we left while everybody was still in polite/good moods.

This was confirmed by the report from DIL that the boy asked if Ember would come back to play during his week-long stay.

When we got home, Ember ate all her dinner, and crated up without complaint.

Life is good.  Spark on!

It came early!

The new X-pen arrived on Saturday morning!  Ember has been released from leash in the back yard!

I put it together before I let her out of the crate after puppy nap #1.  She seems a little bummed to be prevented from her destructive ways, but I feel better, knowing she can't electrocute herself with her gnawing on those conduits behind the unit!

When it started to sprinkle raindrops, we came back inside, and we didn't even last through "lunch".  There is no keeping her out of the basement now.  Now it is the puppy who is determining what to eliminate from my junk.  She found my old triathlon training gear, including a bike helmet that has LED lights in it and a rechargeable battery.

Safety concerns had me prioritizing getting that particular item away from her, and several other things got sacrificed in the process.

As of now, the casualties include a yoga mat, my Suisse exercise ball, a couple of CD cases, some 3.5-inch floppies, a cord that used to connect a Zip drive to the old computer via a printer port... you know, the general "I haven't used this in ten years" collection of stuff.

It took considerable patience to wait out some of her energy and entice her into the crate for puppy nap #2.  I proceeded to shift almost everything from the big open room into what used to be my son's basement bedroom.

Here's what's left... the tube from the ancient computer but not the tower, keyboard or peripherals.  

In the bedroom:  Mt. St. Omigawd South.  At least there is a closeable door to that room.

Meanwhile, the cat will have to have an escort all the way to the laundry room door (but I was mostly doing that anyway, due to needs to feed, water, and clean the litter box).

I warned "the kids" of all Ember's misadventures of the past few days, and they are still up for the dog-swap on Sunday.  OK, then!

Sunday morning

The great dog swap began about 10 a.m.  Before that, Ember had a session of carpet tearing on the basement stairs, but pretty soon bored of time apart from her Mommy, who just plain didn't want to watch that stuff.

Ember came back up to have her normal routine time leading up to Mom fixing her own breakfast, then tucking Ember into her crate for Puppy Nap #1.

While puppy was napping, Mom washed dishes by hand (waiting on a part for the dishwasher).

Ember got released from the crate about 9:40 a.m., and was dressed in her harness before "the kids" arrived with Carl.

I'm hoping that Ember is napping for them at appropriate intervals.  Just now I have Carl napping on my big bed, because he's a big boy and doesn't chew on everything in sight.

Instead, he never misses an opportunity to bark at the pesky squirrels who tease him mercilessly.  Ember doesn't bark at squirrels, she just silently watches them, and if they get too bold, silently charges at them.

Carl was quite happy to play with Ember's toys, but didn't quite get the concept of some of them being "inside toys", so he migrated about three of her plush ones outside, for Grandma to retrieve and let him know this toy is for inside only.

Ember had to learn about the hose not being allowed inside, Carl is learning about iguana, hippo, and foxy not being allowed outside.

I played ItsYerChoice with Carl, and the initial phase with him wasn't as hard on my hands and arms as Ember's first attempts at it.  He licked, and he pawed, but he didn't bite.  He did surge toward the cheese, but when I folded my hand over it, he respected that.  He caught on to the concept in the first round.  Good Boy!

Meanwhile, the kids took Ember to Carl's closest dog park, the one they call "Friend Park" to wear her out a bit before taking her into their home.  

It took some doing to get Ember into the truck, apparently, but there she is, looking content to go for a ride with these people.

At Carl's "Friend Park", adoring the mythical son.

DIL reports that she recalled to her name, and gave no trouble leashing up at the end of the park visit.

The kids had brought me an extra baby gate so I can keep Ember out of the basement until such time as I can get the door replaced.  It's a real nice one, that has a human opening gate in the middle.  My son installed it while his wife and I supervised the two dogs in the back yard.

The plan is now for me to ferry Carl back over to their house around 3 p.m.  Foster kid for respite is due to arrive around 3:30 - 4 p.m., so the two dogs will have a second opportunity to play together if I hang around to meet the boy.

Since there is the possibility of this turning into a fairly long-term arrangement, I for sure want to meet him.  He should know there are extra grown-ups available.  He already met my DIL's parents, at the last respite weekend.

Life is good, in Emberville/Carltown.  Spark on!

So much for the flirt pole

 

Ember managed to wriggle her way into the pantry bathroom Friday morning.  That's where I store her toys that are out of rotation, among other things.  She was intent on destroying an 8 pack of paper towels, though.  I sacrificed the flirt pole.  I didn't intend to do this; I only intended to distract her and get her away from the paper towels.

Sigh.  She grabbed it by the pole, not the flirty lure, and ran off with it.  The photo is her gnawing on the human grip, which she made short work of in the first five minutes.  I did rescue the paper towels and the TP, which were both still in their plastic wrap.

Friday turned into a challenge day with my highly energetic too smart for her own good pup!  She has continued her assault of the A/C insulation and the leftover cable wires.

See the shiny silver parts of the coax cable she has been stripping?  Yeah.  Those sharp things in her mouth are wire cutters.

I don't know if you can see the insulation fragments on the ground in the photo.

A new X-Pen is supposed to arrive next week.  Meanwhile, I don't want to call out the HVAC folks to replace the insulation until it gets here.  Or if something she does breaks it down!

I have been taking her out on leash but dropping my end of the leash at times to do things like pick up her poo.  Ember seems to take advantage of every chance to chew on something that she should not.

During puppy nap #1, I went out to the hardware store to purchase the longer staples, then stopped on the way back to get my hair cut.  It was driving me nuts! 

Saturday morning it's looking as though we have a similarly challenging day ahead.  The hours before sunrise are the most challenging by far.

Well!  Saturday morning, I got her outside to pee and poo, and then we were inside trying to keep her occupied until it would get light enough to toss the balls to chase in the back yard.  I fed her breakfast, then started trying a few training exercises, which is what I usually do during this waiting for the sun to rise time frame.  

In this process, I opened up the gate to the family room.  I was thinking that we could continue to train developing hot zones in that room.

She went all excited puppy on me, and when she even calmed a little it was to work on stripping the fixes off the leather couch.  I put her leash on and got her back out of the room.  Then as I was trying to put the gate back up, she broke the sliding door to the basement!  Yikes!  That's where the laundry room, i.e. the cat's area is.  

Pandemonium ensued.  I managed to rescue at least part of the cat's food and to close the laundry room door.  Then Ember was loose in this big open room full of "stuff".  She found my triathlon gear, CD's and cases for CD's, the photo box, well, imagine your own "junk room".  And I am at the top of the stairs staring at the broken door.  I enticed Ember into her X-Pen while I taped the door back together, but you know she's eventually going to strip that tape off.

We have made it (somehow) past the pandemonium and fed me some breakfast.  Ember is in her crate for Puppy nap #1 of Saturday.  I am heading out to the grocery store for blueberries.  Pray for us here in Emberville.  It was named after Hurricane Ember, after all.

Oh, but the good news in all this?  It's been a week since the last time I had to put on a bandage for a new tooth induced wound.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Manipulating the environment

Did I mention that trying to "manipulate the environment" so that Ember doesn't rehearse undesirable behaviors has caused me to try to be better at cleaning up around the kitchen?

In the time of the diarrhea nights, I discovered the ants having a party over by the toaster, where I had left a knife that I had used to spread peanut butter on Ember's bedtime treat.

Yikes!  Out came the RAID.  And then of course the Clorox wipes.  Poisons, I know... maybe that will keep Ember from being attracted, too, but my concern for her not going after those counters knowing that I've dosed them with ant-killer also rises.

Between that, and her ability to reach farther, her persistent in going after environmental reinforcement and... the ants... yep, putting more stuff away, tossing more stuff out, and wiping down with disinfectant wipes more frequently.

The ants stayed away for a day or so, then showed up on the counter the other side of the stove, and it got a similar treatment.  The spice jars, salt and pepper shakers, etc. all got moved into cupboards.  The mini step-on can replaced a plastic cup that had been used as my "coffee bar" disposal for sweetener packet wrappers, etc.

A couple of unused tubs of coffee got straight out pitched (been five years since I used the coffee in those tubs).  The three bags I still sometimes use went into a cupboard.  Even the replacement TV remote now lives alternatively in a drawer or a cupboard, depending on where I'm putzing in the house.

I have never been a good housekeeper.  But for the safety of a puppy... I'm trying harder!

And I have put a third X-Pen on order to protect the A/C and its pipes and wires!

The appliance repair guy called and asked if he could come early.  He had a cancellation.  I said "sure" and scrambled to contain Ember.  He diagnosed the issue as a crack/break in the bottom spray arm.  Part still available but they have to ship it from a non-local warehouse.

As soon as they get the part in, he can fit me in for the fix which should not take long.  Total cost is estimated at about a quarter of what a new machine would be.  I approved the fix, he went on his way, and Ember got her leash walk.  

I shall be washing dishes by hand until the repair is made. It is a significant leak.

Speaking of leaks, Nate, the irrigation guy from Woody's, made it over to check the puddle from yesterday's post.  Sure enough, it's the main line.  Ember likely broke a seal with her adventures on Wednesday.  It could be it had been leaking the entire time, and her attentions merely surfaced the problem.  If true, that would help to explain my last gargantuan water bill.

He will put me on the schedule for early next week to carve up enough of the patio to find the leak.

Never rains but it pours, eh, fellow homeowners?

When Ember went down for puppy nap #2, I went out to do the grocery shopping and got my flu shot while I was at it.  Two weeks down the road, I'll try to get Prevnar 20 on board, and two weeks beyond that, the most recent Covid version.

She's still obsessed with both of the no-no's outside the house.  Must warn the kids before they take her on Sunday.  Carl got in trouble at a similar puppy stage for chewing up the internet cable at his house.

After her supper and I got Ember tucked in, I went out and again addressed the long cable.

Yesterday:  

Today, I removed the loopy long cable TV cable.  Or rather, I moved it.  It was too attractive a nuisance for the dog.  

It no longer stretches essentially the length of the house but is temporarily tucked into the window of the "playhouse".  I need to get some longer staples for the staple gun to secure it on its pathway.

Life is good.  Keep Sparking!