Training Day 1

Connected with my triathlete friend, Scott, Monday morning, and he got to meet Ember for the first time.  He pronounced her a dog he can work with, and one that will be great for me.

What did he do with her?  Observing that she's both overweight and strong, he took her leash and took her for a run to wear her out.  Then he tested her sit, stay, and retrieve (with a dummy).  She did well for him, and other than wanting to bring the retrieved dummy to me, rather than to him, passed the initial test.

The plan is for him to work with us on Mondays and Wednesdays when the weather is good for it.  He can do this after his swim (and chiropractic appointments).  He's willing to just do this to help me out!  OMG.  I have seen what the locals charge for field dog training, so this is a big deal.

Here's Scott with Ember working at her identification of this new human.  Threatening to eat his beard, while she's at it.

Yep, she needs to be fed less.  One cup kibble morning, and one cup evening.  He recommends Salmon and Sweet Potato formula.  He was using it for her training treats today.  He says add green beans for volume.

Scott took a selfie of the two of us, as well.  Sunny day with breeze in our hair.
Scott is blessed in his life and willing to help out a friend.  When my brother died, he was one who reached out to me while I was still in New York state helping my niece with arrangements and things.

He is also the one I mentioned in an earlier blog, who lost his hunting dog, and then his buddy left a hunting dog behind and now the two are together, the man who lost his dog and his friend, and the dog who lost her favorite human.  Meant to be, one might say.

Scott promised a play date at some future point for Ember and his own overweight lab Miley.  Miley, though, is 12 years old, and Ember is still a young dog, so we simply must get her in shape.  The plan is to get Ember whistle trained, one tweet to send her out, two to call her back.  This will help in open field training, where my voice might not carry far enough for a recall.

I'm kind of hoping I will get a little more jogging fit in the process, too.  Lots of dummy fetching, too, says he.

Tuesday at the vet

Ember got all her shots today, in addition to the Bordetella squirt up the nose.  I had the vet look over a couple of spots on her coat that I was a little worried about, because this kind of coat issue can be many different things.  She confirmed it is NOT ringworm, so, whew!  

She weighed in at 93.5 pounds, which is 3 1/2 pounds up from when I had her at the vet in December.  The vet approved of Scott's recommended diet, and of my new plan of "five fetches to earn ONE training treat".  Bottom line, she has been pronounced fit to train.   

I left her there to play with her doggy friends and came home to clean and do things I usually do on Tuesdays.  Life is proceeding as life does, and it is good.  Spark on!

Training Season

Day 6 of branch sculpture.  The Prisoner (cat) for scale.

Friday morning, I was invited to run along with the foster grand kiddo on May 3rd.  It's the Mayor's run.  Only a mile, but I don't want to embarrass the FGC!  Another training motivation!

I fell off the blog writing cliff again.  Days full, plans changing, weather varying, and I've not been "at the keyboard".

The first session for field training for Ember has been penciled in for Monday the 31st.  I rescheduled her groom to April 8th.  She has the vet coming up on April Fool's day, for her Bordetella squirt up the nose.  I'll have them look at a couple places on her coat that I think might be harness rubs, and I plan to ask about nutrition as with Spring come allergies if her prior issues were related to the grass and things in it.

Ember will have her vet visit on Tuesday, Daycare on Wednesday and Thursday, while I do human things (financial dude and personal trainer).

Saturday's precipitation had enough gaps in it to allow for a leash walk.  The sidewalks were a bit on the wet side, but the temperature was mild so I took her out.  Unfortunately, toward the end of the walk, she spotted a work glove in the street, and I was not braced to expect her pulling for it, so I did get dragged to the street while she fetched the glove and refused to negotiate its release with me.  So, I let her proudly carry her prize across the street to our house, and negotiated once we were in our own kitchen.  

Then I posted the photo of the glove on NextDoor just in case someone really knows their glove is missing and wants it back.  It's a good leather work glove, I'm thinking probably belongs to a trash collector, so chances are not good that they would happen across my notice and respond to arrange to get it back, but at least I tried.

Later in the day we had a little accident in the basement.  I did not discover it until Sunday morning, so it probably happened during the extra time I let her be uncrated and she did not choose to go outside.  The weather cleared in the evening and Ember did spend some time out on the deck, just chilling.  She likes to do that, just watch the world go by.  I have yet to put the deck chairs out, as we keep having these chilly snaps.

The foster grand has soccer games every Sunday afternoon through May.  I got a message from DIL that the Y has cancelled the afternoon's soccer game due to weather conditions.  But the nap schedule is such that I don't think I'll be able to make it to the Purim Spiel that my niece is participating in this afternoon.  Like her father before her, she's playing the part of a villain.  They are more fun, according to him.

Sunday morning, I took the time to review the candidates and issue on the ballot and fill out my mail-in ballot.  

It being a chilly and drizzly day, I coaxed Ember into the car after she got up from puppy nap #1, and we drove over to the election commission to drop the ballot off.  Primary voted!

Since she was such a good little girl, I took her through the coffee drive thru and got her a doggy treat.  Without the whipped cream, just a milk bone, really, but it's special because this particular treat she only gets at the coffee drive-thru.  She got her full cup pup on Friday.

When we got home, I let her go explore the back yard, we tossed a few balls to retrieve, etc., but when it started to come down as a steady drizzle, came inside and curled up on the couch to old episodes of Murder, She Wrote.

By the way, puppy communications to mom?  When I came upstairs while she was crated for puppy nap #1, she barked.  Did she need to go out?  Nope!  She wanted me to change the TV channel to the Dog TV music, which is her nap-time program!  LOL!  After I did that, she settled down to properly nap.

Couch napping here.

Life is good, even with all the uncertainty in the world.  Trying to focus on just what's in front of me, one day at a time, and live that life, best can do.  Spark on, my friends!

Fallen branches

 

The gifts of nature return.  Tried to take a leash walk on Sunday and got distracted by a pile of fallen branches at the neighbor's house.  Neighbor said Ember was welcome to take one, and of course she planted herself mid-pile and chewed until mommy (that would be me) got impatient and "helped" her drag one all the way into our own backyard, behind the fence.

I then unclipped the leash and took myself inside, leaving Ember to do her own thing, and she managed to drag that branch through the yard across the patio and up the steps to the deck.  We went through a little education about how the branch is an outside toy, and the puppy may come inside but like the garden hose, the branch has to stay outside.

She's still working on it, Monday morning.

We learned that the soccer venue does not allow pets inside the park. We drove down to at least wave and say "hi" to the foster grandkid on his way to his game.  They were running late, so it was very brief hello / goodbye, have a great game.

Monday we got in two leash walks and a car ride.

Tuesday was Ember's Daycare day, and she was still working on that "branch sculpture".

Wednesday it is still there, but the branch is slowly shrinking as she chews it up.

Wednesday the new collar and ID arrived.  We're changing colors... in honor of the foster grand-kiddo, whose favorite color is yellow.  The bigger collar just pops against her dark fur.

We took a trip to the dog park Wednesday morning, and got a leash walk in the afternoon.

On the human front, an online article spooked me into attempting unsuccessfully to contact the Social Security administration, but I finally found the update on their website (could NOT get through on the phone, either local or national, they disconnected me without even offering the option to leave your name and number for a call back). 

I clearly was not the only spooked client!  I did eventually find the information I was seeking on the website!  To wit:  If you are already receiving Social Security via direct deposit, you do NOT need to go to the office and verify your identity UNTIL you need to make a change.  That would be a change to your name, address, or bank deposit information.  If you need to make such a change, or if you are applying now, and not yet a current recipient, you will need to go to an office and verify your identity.  And to go into the office and be seen, you need to make an appointment, and the best way to make such an appointment is on the phone to the "local" office.  The rest of us should probably get off the line so that those who really do need to make an appointment can do so.

I swear some of the news outlets leave out the information that would help keep you calm and steady (and the phone lines working for those who really need them).  My father, who started his career as a newspaper man, would be spinning in his grave looking at how reporting is done these days.  News reports that are misleading, like the one that stirred me up, only make matters worse.  Written in the wrong order, the important stuff gets buried... and that is often the goal of online sources, to get you to click deeper in search of something so that they earn more ad revenue.  Sigh!

*** Vent done *** we now return you to Emberville!  

Life is good.  Spark on!

Recalculating... recalculating... reconfiguring?

New entry to the family room.  I put it up during Thursday's puppy day care time.  Ember has whimpered at the "new" gate, but has yet to breach it.

Too bad it's a bit late for the destroyed couch.  Sigh.

Meanwhile, up three steps and around the corner, the couch where we cuddle together, I'm allowing a bit more access to with this new X-Pen configuration.

On the toys front, I think I can safely declare that the "Indestructible Bear" from Allard & Beaufort lives up to its hype.  We have had this bear since Valentine's day, and while some threads have been frayed, the body and arms and legs are still intact.

Today another such toy arrived in the mail, a duck.  I'm hoping it will have a similar story.  It's from the same company.  Should I blush when I admit it's Chinese made?  

Saturday morning featured another sunny leash walk.  It also featured a bold Prisoner wandering into the house while Ember was loose... twice!  The first time, my attention was somewhere else, and I heard more than saw, but turned and saw the streaks of fur heading back out of the house.

The second time, Ember caught up to the cat halfway down the basement stairs.  Fortunately, she still had her harness on from a car ride to fill Dexter's tank, and I was able to open the laundry room door a bit, grab Ember's harness, work with the cues to "let the kitty get away" and "we're done, thank you" to get the pup to let loose of poor kitty.  

Prisoner escaped into his laundry room luxury suite, I closed the door, and Ember and I went back upstairs.  I praised her for letting the kitty go.  Bit by bit we ARE getting better.  She took a little nap to process her cat interactions.

In the planning phase of "field training"... I looked up prices of those "train your hunting dog" places and about fainted.  My friend hasn't even mentioned money, but I would expect to pay for services, friend or no friend.  "A workman is worthy of his hire."  He says we should meet next week.  I'm still second guessing myself over this whole thing, not just if she's "too old to start training" but if she's too unfit (fluffy), and if I'm too out of shape for the endurance required.  Scott hasn't seen me since I dropped out of the triathlete circles.  And I'm not getting any younger.  Still, if I didn't take this at least to the initial phase I would second guess in the OTHER direction.

You see, back in the day when I had Diamond, that was my one regret, that while she had great pointer instincts, we never had her field trained, despite her field championship breeding.

Diamond, in her later years, still a handsome animal.

Despite the uncertainty circling around these things... Life is Good, and I am taking my own advice to LIVE it.  Spark on.

Carrots and sticking to toys

 

Carrot number 1.  This one is a chew toy that came in the Easter version of the Bark Box.  Will it stick?  

Those teeth marks were made in the first 12 hours this carrot "lived" at our house.  The greens at the top are fabric, and I am impressed that she hasn't managed to detach them from the hard rubber of the carrot itself.

Bark Box, by the way, is a subscription thing.  I started a 6-month (once a month delivery) deal in January.  That's when the dinosaur egg came as a promotion.  So this would be our third such box.  We got one with a Valentine's theme in between.

The boxes have some treats, and usually two toys.  They survey you for what your dog likes and doesn't like, so that they can customize your order to your specific animal's taste.  So far with this small sample, I would say they are doing a good job.  Fabric covers, intended to be chewed off, hard rubber toys inside?  Ember likes some of the fabrics, but others she turns up her nose.  She still has not "hatched" the raptor egg that came in January, nor has she completely opened the heart-shaped "tart" that came in February, although she has at least chewed on it enough to make a small hole in one seam.

Thursday morning, we did get out early, as I had a breakfast presentation that I really did want to attend.  Ember went to play with her doggy friends at day care while I went to it.  

In the aftermath of Wednesday's Spring Blizzard, there were "interesting" features on the roads.  On my side of town, the surfaces were pretty good, dry or wet, with a few small icy patches that I could easily see and avoid.  The tricky bit was that mixed with drift from dust storms a couple of states to our South, the snow had obscured the North-facing traffic signals.  My son reported that he accidentally ran a red light that was so obscured.  Luckily, no accident ensued from his "wake-up call", but not everyone who encountered there situation was as fortunate.

I discovered one traffic signal that was completely not functioning at a three-way intersection.  Two lanes on each of the roads, but one side of the north-south road ended in a parking lot with a couple of businesses attached.  I was impressed with the drivers who were out in this pre-8 a.m. time frame.  Stopped, and treated it in a rational "4-way-stop-sign" fashion, just like they teach you in driver's ed.  Must have been because these were regular commuters?  I don't know, but I encountered this non-functional signal both going to and coming home from the meeting, and the situation was well handled both times!

The fire department got out to power wash the signals that were obscured, so between that and the nature's melting cycle, things were back to normal by Friday morning.

Friday morning Ember was not ready for her crate nap at the appropriate clock time.  We are still adjusting.  I think the "going to day care" schedule is modifying her "at home nap" schedule, as well as the daylight savings shift.  I decided to take her on a practice car ride to where the foster grandchild will be playing soccer this upcoming Spring season.  The first game is this Sunday, and it's at the newest high school in town's fields.  I had not been there before, so off we went.  Ember was very good in the car, and we stopped for a coffee and pup cup on the way home.

Carrot number 2... in the toy bin in the pantry.  She hasn't been introduced to this one yet.  It's plush, so I'm holding off for a while before introducing it.

On Thursday while she was in day care I sifted through all her toys and discarded several that are "finished".  Stuffing removed, or partially so, frayed, replacements already in hand, etc.  I left several from the bottom of the toy bin out in her X-Pen so she had "new toys" when she came home from day care.

Also removed dog hair by vacuum, shaking out, etc.  I always feel better when I bring her home to a "cleaner" house.  I am not going to say "clean" because it's certainly not up to my grandmother's standards!  LOL!

I also did some online dog-shopping.  A new "shitty kit" will be coming, along with a fresh collar and ID tag, and a new seat protector with hard bottoms and folding feature for the back seat.  It should be here well before the May time frame when I'll be playing Grandma the Uber driver as a role in foster kiddo's life.  Meanwhile, I'm thinking it looks a lot more comfy for Ember than the sling version she slips down in.

Life continues to be good, especially if I begin with the attitude of finding the good, every day.  The news may be a bit on the scary side (OK, more than a bit scary in some areas), but there is still good going on.  Keep your Spark lit, and choose to live your own life!

She likes big toys

 

It's a month yet to Easter, but I had them add a giant Easter egg to the heavy chewers box from Barks this month.  Between the horse jolly ball, the dinosaur egg, and the giant Easter egg, Ember is well supplied with "big toys".  

We got a leash walk in on a nice Monday, in between storm fronts.  We are supposed to get gusty rain Tuesday overnight changing to snow between 7 and 9 Wednesday morning.  Snow to continue, accumulation prediction 3 to 5 inches, which would make it our biggest snow of the season.  

I weather wimped Ember's groomer booking Wednesday afternoon, when it could be at its worst.  I'll do a "mommy and me" day with her instead.  The grooming has been moved off to Monday the 31st and will be combined with a day care day for her.  She has the vet on Tuesday April 1st for her Bordetella booster, and it's important for me to be there with her on a vet day.  

Thursday is supposed to be a day care day for Ember, while I go to a breakfast meeting (get the little fur-child up early).  I will see how the storm develops overnight Tuesday and all day on Wednesday before I decided whether to go to that breakfast or weather wimp out on it as well.

Wednesday morning... the wind is howling out there

The precipitation hasn't started yet, it's due in about 40 minutes as rain, and the temperatures are still dropping, so eventually it will turn to snow.  But with that wind, it truly is a blizzard.  Going to scoot and try to get the pup outside before the rain.  Updates later.

Here we go - 9 a.m.

Early in the day, this was just sleet, that started about 6 - 7 a.m. hour.

11:45 a.m. -

It was falling as snow by then.

If you expand the second shot, the neighbor across the street, you can see the wind has blown down their basketball hoop already.

2:45 p.m. - But note, the streets look OK in my neighborhood.

My front sidewalk and driveway were only wet come 5 p.m. after it stopped falling.  I'm not even that scared of the snow blowing arounds.  Too wet and heavy to drift once it's down.

Ember went out for her "last call" about 8 p.m., and we are now tucking in for the night.  Tomorrow is a new day, and believe it or not, the temperature is supposed to rise to over 50.  Whew!  Weather roller coaster.

Fingers crossed for the morning street conditions after a chilly (think refreeze) overnight.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Carl's Birthday party

 

That's my co-mum-in-law, Carl's "other" grandma, along with Carl and Ember, at the dog park, celebrating Carl's sixth (can you believe it) birthday!

Donna and I just tried to avoid getting bowled over by flying canines who were having the time of their lives.

Foster grandchild ran on ahead to climb a tree, then followed the dogs to the water (but not into it, thank goodness).  He then wanted to go build his "dog restaurant" in another section of the park.  The mythical son picked up a big fallen branch to help build the restaurant, using it as a walking stick, and we began the trudge.

There's not much a dog loves better than a good game of chase.  Carl's leading the charge.  

Unless it's a swimming chase, that is.  In this case, it was Ember taking the lead.

When the visit to the park ended, the planned test ride with FGC went very well.  First, DIL got FGC's permission to take the ride.  Then I gave him a brief training session on how to play ItsYerChoice (one of Susan Garrett's Recallers games).  We loaded Ember into the backseat with me beside her, then swapped out the human and buckled the youngster in.

The mythical son crammed himself into the front seat beside me to essentially give FGC security (FGC has never ridden with me before, much less alone and with a dog). We drove to my house, a very short mile.  Once there DIL, son, FGC and my co-Mum-in-law had the 50-cent tour, since FGC had never been to my house before.  

We started in the back yard.  FGC made a beeline for the playhouse over the sandbox and climbed the ladder, poked his head out the window, and ventured onto its little balcony.  No photos, of course, because of foster system rules, but he was so cute in that playhouse.  Last time it had a kid in it was during the weekend of my brother's memorial service, when my great niece came down with her grandma from North Dakota.

Then we went inside. FGC was attracted to Ember's X-Pen, and shut himself into it.  Ember was still out on leash.  He proclaimed that he felt nice and safe in there!  

The people departed after a bit, then I was left with a rapidly drying dog.  She got toweled off, I fed her the evening meal, we chilled on the couch, then I tucked her into her crate "until last call", I told her.  But when I headed upstairs to do my normal thing... barks!  I went back down, she was quiet, laying in her crate, so I headed back upstairs again, and... barks!  This is not a barky dog, so I decided to go back down and take her outside an extra time.  Sure enough... she had not peed when we got home with all the extra people around.  Extended pee.  Good girl for letting mommy know!  Good mommy for trusting your puppy!

Then we cuddled on the couch for a bit before putting her back to bed.  And I came up to find the photos my DIL posted to messenger and FB, so I could pick a few goodies to share here.

Life is good!  Spark on!

Day by Day

 

Day by day, those sprouts grow.

Phone call early on Wednesday morning, from the Dr's office to tell me the mammogram came out "normal" and the bone density test showed it is still osteopenia (not escalated to osteoporosis), I am stable.  They are still advising (pushing) calcium, vitamin D, and weight bearing exercise.  All doable.

Ember came on a longish (for her) car ride with me Wednesday morning, too.  She wasn't ready to go in the crate yet, so I coaxed her into the car, and went to drop off my ballot request at the election commission.  This covers both the primary and the general local elections here.  I will get my ballots in the mail, fill them out and drop them back at the election commission when the time comes.

On the way home we went through the coffee drive-thru and got Ember her dog-treat.  At home, we managed a safe passage to get the cat down to his safe haven in the laundry room, as he'd been outside since first thing in the morning.  Ember was down the steps onto the patio when the kitty decided to jump for the open door.  I got the door closed behind him before she got there, then convinced her to let me go in (good threshold manners, Ember) and go put Prisoner in his room.  

When I came back up and let her in, we played a little while longer before she went into the crate for my human time, part of which I'm using to type this.

Meantime, planning for FGC's week between school letting out and Summer Day care starting up.  He'll be going to Zoo camp.  This is the last week in May, and between now and then I need to get Ember trained to ride in the back seat and allow a human alongside.  The hope is that FGC can ride beside her without getting licked to death.  If all goes well, I'll be on tap for two days that week.

In preparation for this, I vacuumed out the back seat, located the seat belts, and experimented with inviting Ember to jump in while I sat in half of it.  Success!  Come Saturday, we will try a practice ride with FGC from the dog park back to my house, beside Ember in the back seat.  It's only about a mile, and if we survive this, it will be counted as a good sign we can do the transport to Zoo camp.

Wednesday it got nice and warm out, and Ember got not just one but TWO leash walks.  We joined the puppy parade that walks every Wednesday afternoon about 4 p.m.  This is the same time that kid sis Alicia and I used to visit, but since that has dropped off to a "by appointment" sister visit arrangement, it frees me up to join Ember into that puppy parade.  She did well today and then she collapsed onto the cool garage floor.

Thursday morning, Ember was a little slow in terms of morning energy, but she was clearly hungry and went for not just the "chow" (canned food), but the kibble later.  She did ingest a bit of the fabric from one of her newer toys, as I found the regurgitation in the crate in the morning.  Bedding being washed.

After my workout with the trainer, I got my hair cut and laid in groceries for the week ahead.  I picked up my little diva at the usual time, and she was ready to come home and have her supper and quiet time leading up to bedtime.  It is still light when I start "last call" now, since the clocks got moved, but between her day care days and a really active Wednesday, she was ready for her "big sleep".

Thankfully, Friday is a "just mommy and me" day for Ember, and Mommy is ready for a quieter day, too.  

Onward, my friends!  Whatever the world throws at us (and it may not be pretty at any given moment), we can choose LIFE!  It's not a spectator sport.  It's one day at a time, one right action at a time.  It's choosing to be kind.  It's choosing to love.  And yes, sometimes that can lead to us feeling some of the "downside" feelings.  But Life is good!  Spark on!

Sprung forward? Already?

Was Ember singing the song of her people in this shot, or just sniffing the snowy air?  There's something about a dog, all stretched out, with her nose pointed moon-ward!  I think there may have been a fire siren involved when I snapped that photo.

I seem to have worn-out a Smart TV!  Screen is blank.  I tried the soft reset, did not work.  Blank screen, but it does get audio.  Looks like I will be down to a single TV for a while.  Probably good for me anyway.  My computer can stream anything those smart TVs do, anyway.

Next chapter of potential training for Ember?  I am in contact with a gentleman I know (through triathlon and personal trainer connections).  This is the one who ended up adopting his friend's hunting dog after he lost his own, and the dog lost her owner... he's a hunting guide/outfitter, in the midst of snow goose season right now.  I contacted him for advice about local trainers for a lab... I would like Ember to be able to more fully exercise her instincts.  I gave him fair warning that I am no hunter, but he said we can meet after he wraps up the snow goose season, and he will show me what I need to do for the next phase of training for Ember.

He says being a hunter is not required to train a hunting dog.  I may end up putting more miles on Dexter in pursuit of this new phase, this fellow is headquartered in Northwestern Missouri.

This does not mean that I'm stopping the games that Susan Garrett's Recallers program teaches.  It means I am looking at something more specialized to Ember's breeding to add to it.

I've started mixing in "step up" to her training games, in anticipation of perch work.  We continue to do reward zone training in the back yard.  Yeah, we still have chewing / destructive issues, but I figure the more of a "job" she has with the field training, the less she'll feel the need to take down the buffalo in the family room (leather couch).

Ember was not a fan of the daylight-saving time change.  She was not hungry for her breakfast on Monday.  She snoozed around the house for an hour before deigning to eat it.  I had booked her for a Monday day care day, to accommodate lunch plans for my sister's birthday!  We have dropped the routine Wednesday walks, so getting a sister catch up beyond the on-line check in is a good thing.

It was a wonderful, leisurely sister catch-up.  And it was a wonderfully warm day, a preview of Summer to come, breaking the record for high temperature reading for March 10th in our town.

Tuesday was day care again for Ember, and Mommy medicalizing.  The bone density scan and the mammogram were on tap for afternoon.  The trainer was in the morning.  While sitting in the waiting room in bathrobes, I thought a face on another woman looked familiar and that I should know her.  Turned out I didn't but while figuring that out, another woman (younger) heard my maiden name and asked where I had lived growing up.  I named the street, and she identified herself as one of the little girls who had lived next door to my parents!  

Oh, my goodness!  She would remember my younger sisters more than me, as by the time these little girls lived there, I had already moved out to an apartment.  She did remember my brother.  Small world!  The chance to visit was very short as the mammographer came to get me, so I didn't get to ask her for her first name... she was obviously younger, but those girls were tiny back when my mom was fretting over them and their welfare as their parents split up.  

Anyway, that concludes the medicalizing for the year, I'm hoping.  Thinking so much of the old-ers among us, with aging partners in life who are facing health challenges.  Prayers for all battling the various forms of cancer, diabetes, and dementia... getting old is not for sissies, for sure, but I don't know if it's worse having the diseases of aging or worse caring about someone who is fighting one.

Praying, too, for our nation, and its leadership.  We certainly are living through one of those "interesting times" the old curse talks about.

It almost looks like a glow-stick in this light, but Ember is gnawing on a Yak cheese chew in the morning lamplight in this shot.  

Interesting times or no, health challenges or no, LIFE is still good!  Keep the Spark and the Sparkle alive!

Spring? Not just yet!

 

Crocus?  Or daffodils?  Whatever, near to the foundation, the escaping warmth of the house and the warm weather of late is encouraging something poking its little fingers out of the ground!

But first!  Beware, even as I'm seeing these little fingers reaching up, the forecast has us in a high wind warning, with the S word overnight Tuesday (snow, y'know).  2 to 5 inches of fresh stuff possible by the end of this event, sometime on Wednesday.  Will let y'all know if it lives up to the hype.  

Still, the past couple of weeks, with several "above average" temperature days got Ember and her hu-mom outside on leash, and that felt good.  Her eyes sparkled, she smiled up at me, and my heart melted all over again, despite her finding new places on the carcass of the leather couch to tear at!

On the human task front, I started working on the taxes Monday.  Hunting down the documentation, the first phase.  It does not matter whether you hire someone else to do your taxes or do it yourself, you still have to track down all those documents.  Oh, yeah, the transfer of one IRA from one financial institution to another... have to find that collection... it's around here somewhere, I know.  Puppy distractions can end up with things in odd spaces!

In Emberville, the little diva got her first trip through the car wash.  She was most interested when we got home to sniff around the outside of the car.

I went and picked Ember up about 4 p.m., as the wind was up, the front coming through, and the first wave of rain had passed through.  Got her home as it was changing to slush and then snow.  I fed her supper, gave her a chew stick, but the weather was freaking her out.  She continued to destroy the couch, knocking down the baby gate three times.  She performed zoomies in the snow outside, and eventually, I just put her to bed with a yogurt smeared alligator toy and a peanut butter covered Milk bone.

I put the puppy music on the TV, and after a few complaining barks, she fell into exhausted sleep.  I came upstairs to work on my dental routine, listening to the wind howl outside.  We're in a blizzard warning until 3 a.m.  After I get done with my routine, I shall go downstairs and spend the night on the couch.  That's the plan.  Because my baby is troubled by the storm.

Anybody else in the path of this thing, I hope you are home, safe, warm, all buttoned up for the duration!

High Wind warning extended to Noon Wednesday.

Hu-mom spent the night on the couch, as predicted.  Did not offer last call as the weather was too wild at the time.  Did offer a middle of the night "outing" at 11:45 p.m. when the wind wasn't quite as bad, and told her it was OK to pee and poo on the deck if she wanted.  She did pee on the deck but went down the stairs and under the deck, so I kind of expect to find poo there when eventually I get around to poo colleciton!

Finished my night on the couch at about 4 a.m., with weird dreams.  Opened the door for the kitty, who turned up his nose at the very thought, although he was the one who asked for the door to be opened.

Ember got a little braver, once she really needed to go, and continued to pee on the deck, but trotted down the steps to explore the patio.  

We made it to puppy nap #1, and I took a short mommy nap.  My plan was to wait for the wind to die down before I headed out with the shovels.

I shoveled some on the deck.  This photo was taken before that clearing session.

This was a wet, slushy snow, and the temperature is relatively mild, although the wind is strong.

We do have some bright sunshine.  Even when it's cold, the sunshine somehow makes the clearing easier.

It got increasingly milder, and a neighbor helped me with the deepest drifts on the South sidewalk.  Clearly, it's melting and soaking in to the grassy areas faster that I got the cement areas cleared.

In any case, it looks as though this storm is pretty much wound down, leaving room for the next one to come through in a couple of days!

Spring is "just around the corner" but it hasn't quite rounded it yet!

Life is good.  Keep on sparking!

The week that was

Monday afternoon it got up over 65°.  As you can see in the photo the snow was mostly melted.  What a difference from a week before!

With the nicer weather I dug out a different collection of toys, including the dinosaur egg.  We got out on the leash in the neighborhood, at least to go around a block on three or four of the days.

I worked out with the trainer both Tuesday and Thursday mornings, while Ember played with her friends in day care.  On Tuesday as I was heading in, I encountered my brother-in-law, taking their Benji in for his grooming.  "Don't tell your sister, it's a surprise," he said.

My son called me in his afterwork time on Tuesday to confirm that the VA had fired some 1400 "conditional workers".  He is in a category where the "conditional" is two years, and he's only been there one.  His last performance review was excellent.  He does not know if he's fired or not.  He has not been notified if he is.  He's not quitting, that would be abandoning a mission, and his work there is a mission to him, serving other veterans.  Veterans who continue to work as civil servants (my son among them) are true patriots. They view their work similarly to their military missions.

My son serves homeless veterans.  He serves those who have mental health issues.  He is provisionally licensed for three different categories of mental health care.  He served two deployments overseas in this role, leading up to his continuing his education when he came home.  His skill set is in high demand in both public and private sectors.  If he should be fired, I am certain that he will land "on his feet".  "I'll let you know if I get fired," he quipped.

However, I have lived through downsizings in the corporate world myself, in all three roles:  as someone who got a heavier workload because of the exodus of others; as someone who opted to exit herself; and as someone who had to assist in the decision of who got "let go".  None of these roles is fun.  So please everyone, be kind to civil servants you encounter during this difficult time.

Sunset is getting later, day by day, and the increasing sunlight time is encouraging.  Photo is shot toward the west, Thursday during Ember's "last call".  As the hours of daylight increase, Ember is sleeping fewer "nap" hours, and I am letting her stay up later especially on day care days, so she has time to settle before she goes to bed.

We are trying out yak cheese chews.  Ember had not had this treat before.  They last a long time.

I managed the no-buy day on Friday.  I'm not sure how much good my personal participation will do, but I am honoring the "picket line" if you get the reference.  Depending on how widespread the observance is, it could make a difference.

Across town, in the land of foster care, there's a court date coming up on Monday the third of March.  In anticipation of this there was a home visit from the HHS worker and another foster care vendor who are working on the case.  Son and daughter-in-law were able to brag on their foster kiddo, as he showed off his skills with counting and dice playing Pokémon.  They also mentioned to the visitors that he can read good portions of the bedtime books to them.  Doesn't matter to me whether he's memorized them or whether he really does recognize the words on the page, it shows a level of literacy.  I'm proud of the good these young people are doing for this child. 

We will see what the judge says on Monday.  But hopefully they will leave him with them for a while, as they continue to work with birth dad.  We are talking several months.  Which would be awesome, to not have things hanging over their heads every week or two.  Fingers crossed!

Son and DIL bought the kiddo a bicycle, and they tried it out on Saturday.  No training wheels, the six-year-old pedaled on down the block with parents (and Carl) following along.

Couch puppy is still working on one of her "super chewer" toys from Bark.  Some of them she likes, some of them she gives up on, some of them she totally destroys.  This one she's been working on for a week, and has it partially opened.  This one has a hard rubber toy inside of the burlap stitched cover.

In short, it's been a "later, rinse, repeat" kind of a week.  Grateful for the return of milder weather, hoping that March brings more of the same!

Life is good.  Spark on!

Comedy of Canine energy

 
Ember and I trekked up the road to the state park, where the young people were hanging out at the sledding hill.  This first photo was taken by my DIL before I got there.  You can see the blow-up snow disc they were using for a sled.  I understand it expired a short time later, and by the time Ember and I got there, son had gone and acquired flat plastic ones, that can't "pop".

Ember was over the moon at all the people wanting to pet her.  She happily hung out with DIL and her mom while I went off in search of a restroom I could access.  By the time I took care of that chore, the "kids" were done with sledding and ready to head back to the cabin.

At the cabin is where the canine comedy begins.

I'm going to paint it in words, as nobody had cameras out, and it's a darn good thing because it was an "all hands" situation.

First, I got Ember out of the car, on her leash, and I became concerned about the melting snow/slushy footing and of course her ability to pull me around when she so desires.  I at least got her directed to follow my son and DIL toward the cabin.  But then Carl detected Ember's presence and ran out the door of the cabin with no leash or anything.  Ember wanted to follow Carl, of course, but I found a tree and wrapped myself around it, legs and arms, clutching her leash and hanging on for dear life.

It did not take long for son and DIL to corral Carl, and they got him into the harness, but when I let go of the tree, Ember dragged me over to greet Carl, and the leashes got tangled, and I was doubtful of the plan for a parallel leash walk because I knew I was not strong enough to control her by brute force, and she was too distracted to listen to me.

Son to the rescue!

My big strong offspring took hold of Ember's leash, untangled the two of them, and took charge, walking them both together.  She immediately recognized him as Carl's alpha human and fell in line.  I followed along.

Son continued walking both dogs for about a third of the distance we hiked, then I took over her leash and we continued the walk the way I had originally hoped.  She did not drag me around, but it did require alertness on my part, and I picked my footing carefully.

I chickened out when we got back to the cabin, put Ember into the car, went inside to hug all the people, and took my leave.  Having second thoughts later in the day, of course... but it was pretty chaotic in the house with just kiddo and ONE dog, Carl.  I think bringing Ember in would have just escalated the chaos!  But then again, once the chaos of greetings is over, she might have settled down and accepted her place in the pack.  So that's me, the "socially sensitive owner" as opposed to the "socially sensitive dog".

Topsy-turvy Sunday

Welp, after all the turmoil in Ember's week, she didn't make it through Saturday night, but whimpered in her crate at 2:30 a.m.  I had made the attempt to sleep the night in my own bed... oops! 

I went downstairs in my snowboots and PJ's, and only had to clean up the crate floor and one towel.  I let Ember outside for the beginning of this, then let her back in, and tried to complete cleaning out the crate floor on my hands and knees.  At this point, she decided those snow boots were attacking me or something, and she started "rescuing" me.  I managed to get her contained in the X-Pen, then endured her complaining while I did a few more human things.  I deliberately took off the snow boots, exposing my bare feet, right beside where she was in the X-Pen.  I went upstairs and put on day clothes even though it was 3 a.m., bringing the shoes back downstairs to again put on right in front of her.  At some point she has to adapt to mommy changing clothing!  

I let the cat in and fed him, dashed upstairs to take my morning meds, etc. then let her out of the X-Pen and got her calmed down with some games, then fed her chow in the 5 a.m. hour.  I reassured her that mommy still loves her, she's still my precious puppy.

We had some "odd" / "extra" nap times as a result of this super early start.  Ember was pretty quiet today... a little bit of fetch, not much tug, and some chew toys, but a lot of couch puppy time.

During one of her crate naps I went out and did poo patrol and shoveled some of the rapidly melting snow off the patio.  And before feeding her supper, seeing that it was 54℉ and the sidewalks were dry, I took courage and put her in harness and leash, and we walked outside, around a block.  Pretty decent manners, and it wasn't so cold that I feared frostbite, so it was a good, short walk.  We encountered other folks walking dogs and she went into the sit, or down position and waited, hoping to greet, but I negotiated with the other walkers and we opted not to take that chance.  

Supper, some outside time, and a final couch puppy session before she decided it was crate time 'til last call, and that's where I am as I type!

Life is good.  Keep on a-Sparkin'!