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'!

Not a fan of the telephone

 

I never was a fan of the telephone.  I hated calling up stores and asking for stuff, making appointments, etc.  This dates back to childhood.  Nobody was more surprised by my reticence than my mother, who was a lady tiger with her telephone.  But there it is.  I'm a "be patient and it will get done" sort of a customer.

BUT!  And as Lynda always says, it's a big butt... I ran out of one of my meds this week.  The status in the pharmacy app kept saying "We are working with your doctor".  But I ran out.  Completely out.  Of my morning eye drops.  Not today, but Wednesday.  I put off calling until Ember was off in daycare Thursday morning.

I got a human on the other end.  They told me they had been faxing my doctor for ten days and never got a response.  I called the eye doctor's office, and they never got a fax from the pharmacy.  They promised to call the pharmacy and get it straightened out.

I waited four hours.  The status in the app did not change.  I called the pharmacy again, for a human status report.  They didn't have a fax from the doctor's office yet.  They had received a new fax number from them via voice mail.  I called the doctor's office again.  They had "only just received" the fax from the pharmacy and would "get a response faxed right away".  I was in wait mode again.

I find this exhausting.  Socially exhausting.  OK, neuro-divergent, anyone?  

The eye doctor's office did call me back to report they had sent the authorizing fax back to the pharmacy.  The pharmacy did not call me back at all, but after all, they have an app.  Right before I was due to go pick up Ember from daycare, I checked the app.  By then, the prescription was "ready to pick up".  I got Ember, and we took a longer than usual drive home so I could pick up the drops.  Phew!  Friday morning, the bottle of drops was in my drawer and ready for use!

Other random days

Wednesday's afternoon practice car ride with Ember took us through the coffee shop (Scooter's) drive thru, and while it was the 17th of February that was "Random Acts of Kindness" day, I was surprised by a random act in my favor!  The car in front of us paid for our coffee and dog bone!

Friday morning's weirdness began when I woke early and chose to pay bills online.  I have "two factor" authentication, where the bank texts me a code on my phone to log in.  The text did not come.  I did a "try again" and it did not come.  I switched to a different authentication method, which worked, and only later noticed that my phone had "No Service" in its message spot!

This continued.  I messaged (the internet was working) my family members who tend to check up on me in the morning via text message or sometimes call that my phone was not connected at the moment.  We are so addicted to being connected, at the same time as we have trouble connecting with our next-door neighbors these days!  Imagine back in the day if your phone went "offline"!  You didn't have an internet for a backup!

When I went to drop Ember off at daycare, the bars were there, I had service again, even 5G service.  And the service remained when I got home.  Whew!  Back in business!

Friday afternoon our temperature gave us a head wave over 20℉.  I went out on poo patrol in the backyard.  I had avoided this duty during the past four really chilly days.  I managed to fill 8 poop bags, that's two a day, so I figure I got the usual output covered.  LOL... measuring poop to determine the health of your dog... it's one of those things.

Friday was a court date for the foster children.  Bottom line, son and DIL still have their little guy at least through the next court date, which is a week and a half away.  This dribbling out a week or two at a time may seem agonizing, but I figure every day this boy gets with the dependability and stability of living with them, he gains from it.  He's safe, he's fed, he's encouraged in his schoolwork.  I ache for the kids and all the uncertainty that swirls around their young lives.

With that, the weekend begins

Saturday morning at 5 a.m. my blog editing was interrupted by a whimper from the crate.  Since Ember is not a very vocal pup and I was already dressed and up, I just dropped everything to go down and let her out of the crate.  Sure enough, she turned her nose up at the "morning treat" I offer when letting her out and went right to the door to be let out.  Straight down the steps, no dawdling!  It took her a long time to come back.  When she did, she was carrying a large chunk of ice from the yard.

She carried it into her X-pen and proceeded both to lick it and to crunch on it while I dished up her breakfast.  She seems in a fairly quiet mood this morning, only chasing the ball down the basement stairs once, and hopping up on the couch to watch an old Murder, She Wrote episode with me.  She stayed on the couch while I made my oatmeal and ate it.  I washed the pan and made her a crate treat, so she's down for puppy nap #1.

I noticed on Friday that the light at the top of the basement stairs had burnt out.  I can't remember how many years it had been since I last changed that bulb.  It might have been the first compact fluorescent bulb I ever installed in the house.  It is an awkward space.  As I age, I am more cautious about ladders and such, too.

I had a crated puppy Saturday morning, and this is the task I took on.  I got the step ladder out of the garage, and wedged it into the landing space, and carefully climbed up and down.  Let's see... once to take off the shade.  Second time to unscrew and discard the old bulb.  Third time to put in the new LED bulb.  Fourth time to put the shade back on.  So, yeah, four times up and down that wedged in ladder.  But there is now a fresh new bulb in place.

Ever wonder just when changing a lightbulb became "a project"?  Yep, about this time of life.

I hope this bulb lasts as long!

When Ember gets up, the plan is to drive out to a cabin where "the kids" and foster grandchild are staying.  It's in a state park a few miles up the road.  It's not as bitterly cold as it was during the week, and I'm hoping the roads are clear and dry.

Life is good.  Spark on!

A hunker down week has begun

It was snowing overnight Sunday, with a dusting accumulated by morning.  It continued actively but lightly falling all day.  Ember went out and froze like a pointer with her eyes on a squirrel who was atop the far fence.

We had only one "middle of the night" trip outside, about midnight, and I got up about an hour early to let her go explore that new snowfall.

I can tell she's feeling better, but also that it's the fourth day she's been cooped up with "just me".  As such I can tell she really needs more people and other dogs!  

We played indoor fetch down the stairs, and she got bored.  She begged to go out into the garage, and in the afternoon, we drove out to get Dexter's tank filled.  Coffee and a dog biscuit treat completed the trip, and after supper, as though she has a clock in her head, she hopped off the couch and trotted into her crate for her pre-last call quiet time.

While she chilled there, her hu-mom went out and did the first session of shoveling.  I estimated there was about two inches of new snow at that point in time.  

I did all three sections of the sidewalk, but with fingers ready to freeze, did not clear the steps or the driveway.  I'll save that for tomorrow.  Hopefully we won't have a lot more overnight.

Monday morning my personal trainer texted that he was cancelling his sessions for Tuesday, due to the predicted extreme cold (we're under a warning from the weather service), and I texted back I'm thinking cancel the whole week for me... it's a "hunker down and survive" week.  Between the interruptions to sleep and fretting over Ember's tummy troubles, plus not being able to even see what her poos are like in the snow. We'll take it one day at a time.  

I did do a sleep on the couch "just in case" again on Monday night, and when I got up to potty a bit after midnight, offered her an outing in the sparkly night.  The moonlight, streetlights, and snow still fresh from Monday made it so.  The contrast of dark dog and bright snow was magical, but it was cold so I did not stay out for the whole time, preferring to start unloading the dishwasher.  When Ember came back in, we snuggled on the couch for a bit before I put her back into her safe den (crate) and came up to my own bed.

Tuesday morning BRRRR!

Would you believe minus 9, Fahrenheit?  Yep!  Nobody wants to be outside.  Ember came back in promptly and curled up on the couch.  She didn't even beg for her normal "threshold" spot.  Nonetheless, when it came time to go to daycare, she was OK with putting on the harness and getting in the car... OK, I played a game of "chase the broom" to get her into the car.  But she seemed happy to see her greeter and headed back to the daycare area without complaint.  

At home, the emboldened kitty sniffed around the dog toys.  The Prisoner doesn't want much to do with the outside, either.  

I vacuumed, shifted furniture, did laundry... you know, the usual housekeeping chores I prefer to do when the dog is out of the house.  So she won't, you know, chew up the dryer vent outside if it's puffing steam out.  

The weather man says we might get more snow this afternoon, so I'm planning a dash to the grocery store before I go back to collect my canine fur-baby.

Wednesday morning arrives

Still frigid out there.  Mr. Weather Man says we are likely to break the record low temperature overnight Wednesday night. Brrrr!   

I slept the first half of the night on the couch again and got up about midnight and took Ember out in the backyard for a bonus trip, then spent the rest of the night in my own bed.  Didn't waken until after 5 a.m.  The adventure of the overnight was "losing" my keys.  Being old enough to know better, I looked only in a couple of spots, told myself I knew I had them when I laid down on the couch, and I'll find them in the morning.  Which I did.  They had fallen out of my sweatpants pocket onto the floor under the couch.  Seeing Ember sniffing in that spot found them.  Good Girl!

I woke up congested, so it was a slow start to the day.  Ember was very nice to me, not going crazy, obediently coming when called, and playing mostly quietly.  She kind of turned up her nose at "indoor fetch" and we played "gentle tug" and then did a couch puppy watch of an old Murder, She Wrote episode before I fixed my own breakfast.

I started feeling a bit better.  Ember was sitting with an expectant gaze at the garage door, so we went on a quick store run.  She was pretty good about getting into the car.  I think she was hoping for another daycare day, but this was not it.  I picked up a new toy for her to destroy at the store.  I let her play with it for a while, before calling crate time.  Then I gave her the "thank you" cue, to give me back the toy.  I picked up and discarded the non-food bits she had already chewed off it. The toy is not wholly destroyed just yet, so I put it away for later.

She's getting better and better all the time at manners.  She recognizes when her mouth is on my hand and lets up on the pressure or lets it go easily.  She's even getting better about some distractions.  The weather is not freaking her out as much.  Methinks my puppy is growing up.

Now I'm heading for a bit of a nap myself!  Hope you have a good mid-week, all.  Stay safe and warm, best you can.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Chimney rock in snow?

 

Those of you who played Oregon Trail in school might be aware of one of Nebraska's great landmarks along that trail, Chimney Rock.  Well, the neighbor kids across the way kind of recreated its silhouette, although they might not have done so intentionally.  I spotted it from my deck and immediately decided I had to snap its photo.

One of the classic joke traits of labs is that they sleep in odd poses.  Trouble with snapping Ember in such poses is that she generally wakes up and moves before I can get the photo taken.  Today, I succeeded in getting this oddity inside her crate.  Clearly the crate is big enough for her, she's all stretched out!  LOL!

Here she is, gazing longingly at Bill and Barnaby out for a walk.  I am not walking her on leash without accompaniment these days.  And just now with her little digestive issues?  Nope.  She peeks over the deck rail at her friends walking by.

Reporting on her health, yeah, we had two extra trips outside overnight Saturday to Sunday, at about 9:50 p.m. and 12:45 a.m.  Then mom actually was able to sleep for a couple of hours in her own bed, getting up at 4 to the alarm to make sure I would be able to respond to a whimper from that point forward.  

Have you ever tried to convince a yearling puppy that 4 a.m. is still "the middle of the night"?  Well, the darkness helps, but a puppy who normally gets fed between 5 and 6 a.m. wants some companionship and play time.  She did go back in after I had breakfast.

It was sunny, and no wind, so even though the ambient temperature was 11F, it didn't feel that bad in the afternoon, and we did get a little bit of fetch off the deck.  We also had a bit of retrieve practice down the basement stairs, played some tug, and "follow mommy".  After I did one round of poo patrol she escaped into the garage while I put it out in the special garbage container that I keep out there for poo.  Consequently, we had a round of garage/car games for a bit.

No car ride Sunday, but I did make a grocery run during her normal puppy nap #1 time.  

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Quiet and healing time

 

The couch where Mommy slept Friday night.  We prevented any more soiled crate bedding, but we are still dealing with symptoms like soupy poo, one episode of vomit (looked like a rubber band as part of what came up... wonder where she got hold of that?  Garage surfing?  Out in the yard?  Destroying some toy?).  

She is eating, and drinking and peeing OK, though clearly taking it kind of easy, and I'm pampering her.

We are adapting to the snow.  A new toy, one of the tough indestructible kinds that has a second toy inside is on the deck beside her, with the fresh dusting of snow.  She will take an inside toy outside, it gets covered in snow, it's cold on her mouth, but she's not getting zoomies over it anymore, she knows it's coming.

I am curious as to what's inside those covers on these toys!  So far, there are three that she hasn't taken the covers off and has not ripped up.  I am confident that eventually she will either become bored with the covered toys (she has already with one of them) or will defeat them, and I'll find out!

Indoor puzzle games are also being employed to keep her mind busy.  In this case, treats are not under every toy, some of the cups are empty.  She correctly identified which toys didn't even need to be removed... nose work!

The indestructible bear made it past the "blockade" of USPS for things shipped from Mainland China.  It arrived Friday, and as of 5 p.m. Saturday, not a rip in it.  It is a great lure... "Mommy's got the bear!"  (Bear pronounced as two syllables...)

I have been napping off and on Saturday to try to make up for the time NOT sleeping in the overnight hours.  Ember has been good about voluntarily going in for crate time, so I was able to nap and get a shower in.  We also did a little afternoon napping side by side on the couch.

Mid-afternoon, Ember noticed other people out clearing snow, and other dogs walking.  She went to the garage door and whined.  I took it as a sign of improvement in her health situation, and we put on harness and leash and took a ride in the car, through the Scooter's Drive-Thru.  I don't know how wise it was, but I let her have the full Pup Cup today, and it included a heart-shaped doggy safe cookie for Valentine's.

Progress of a different sort:  Saturday morning, after puppy nap #1, I went out and started walking across the patio to accompany her out to find potty spots.  She took exception to my gloves (y'all know from prior blogs she has this thing about gloves) and grabbed my hand with her mouth.  I let her strip the glove, told her to take the glove inside, as I moved ahead of her to take myself (and my bare right hand) inside.  She knows what it means to take a toy "in the house" or "outside".  We've also worked on the "bring me" game, so I could tell her, "Bring Mommy the glove", and the "thank you" cue to release an item in exchange for a treat.  I got my glove back, intact, though drooled upon.  Training takes time and patience and persistence.  It's never as fast as one would like it to be, but it's magical when you notice the successes!

We are about to enter a truly Winter weather week, in terms of temperatures.  Cold every day with highs in the single digits Monday through Thursday predicted, and lows below 0F.  Brrrr!  We might get some snow on Monday, but the snow we got on Saturday was very minor.  It did come floating down, and it was a good educational (without being overexcited) experience for the pup.

"The kids" are at Ponca State Park at a cabin for the weekend, with their foster kid, so I've been entertained all day with videos and photos of their adventures.  Carl got pressed into sled dog duty for the foster kiddo, a large cardboard box substituted for a sled, and it's just hilarious watching all the various play time, including the dog trying to figure out how to keep his three people "herded".  He is neither a herding breed, nor a "working dog" in terms of sled or cart-dog, but he didn't do badly at the exercise.

That's about it from here for now.  I'm thinking it's another night on the couch for me, "just in case". Life is good!  Keep Sparking!

23 Years

After much self-debate, I did drive over to the periodontist appointment on Wednesday morning.  I was mega early.  The hygienist told me I was one of two (of her appointments) who actually showed up.  The early one drove in from another town, about 55 miles away.  He said the roads were not as bad as they could have been.  That was my assessment as well, but I was still grateful that schools were closed and traffic was light.

They could have started me when I arrived, except that, like unto the hair salon where the girls do each other's hair when customers cancel, the hygienists in this office clean one another's teeth.  My gal was having her own teeth cleaned as I was waiting for the actual time of my appointment. 

I gave both the dentist and the hygienist big hugs and best wishes on their retirements at the end.  They tell me I've been going to them for 23 years, based on patient records.  That's where the blog title comes from.

The 23 years got me to thinking.  I started going to them in June, 2001.  That's before 9/11, the twin towers coming down.  During those 23 years, I lost a lot of weight, took up running and triathlon, got divorced, saw my son off to overseas deployment, twice, lost my sister in law to ALS, lost my brother to undiagnosed heart issues, etc., etc., etc.  23 years is the lifetime of a young adult!

They have taught me well.  They tell me I don't really need a specialist anymore, and I will be fine with my regular dentist who is very good and will keep a close eye and send me to another specialist, if I ever need it again. 

The rest of Wednesday, the wind kept blowing.  I timed shoveling sessions for when Ember was napping.  I did three sessions, clearing as I normally do, coming inside to thaw out between sessions.  When I went out for each session, I found that most of what I had done before was drifted in.  I did the next section, then came in again.

Across town, DIL's dad is had a family birthday dinner at the China Buffet, but I begged off.  Ember and I have had enough adventures for one day.  I am missing seeing my foster grandchild by skipping this, but as I said to them via messenger, "I know my limits".

Couch puppy time!  This was shortly before she fell asleep and then transferred to her crate.  She was being my heated, weighted lap-puppy blanket.  I can just feel the stress drain when I have my pup on my lap!

Thursday - cold!

At 3:56 a.m. I heard my puppy whining.  I put my feet on the floor, and went swiftly through my morning routine, but I did not skip steps.  Guess I should have.  I was downstairs to rescue her before 5, but she had soiled the crate bedding already.  Poor baby!  She tried to alert me, I just wasn't fast enough responding.

So that's how our bitterly cold Thursday morning started out.  Puppy out in the snow, Mommy rinsing things out in the toilet and starting a load of laundry.  We played some indoor fetch down the stairs, and she played "take an inside toy outside, be startled by how cold it got when you rolled it in the snow, then get zoomies that range both into and back out of the house".  We calmed down and napped as a couch puppy until a little after seven.

I texted my own trainer to bow out of today's human training session, in favor of dealing with the remains of Mother Nature's gift.

In the pre-dawn streetlight it did not look too terrible, but you know how slick side streets can be, even with a little bit of cover.  

Cold as it was, I tried to keep the day as normal as possible for Ember.  It took fully half an hour to get her into the car, and we carefully crept over snow-packed streets to the day care.  Her workers met her at the door, and she was so excited to be there.  A couple of her fur-friends were also there, and the workers took them back to play.

Back home, the sunshine made the shoveling not quite so bad.  The temperature had risen above zero to 2F for my first shoveling session, which was pretty much clearing out parts that had drifted in.  I had not cleared the driveway on Wednesday, so that is part of my puppy day care agenda, too.

I call this next photo:  "Things I have done for my dog that I never dreamed of doing for my cat."

Yes, I shoveled off the deck as part of my puppy day care activity.  I did wander out to do "poo patrol" but could not find any visible... I imagine when the snow melts... or someone steps in it...

Meanwhile, a month in to having "daycare" days for the puppy, the kitty is getting bolder about coming upstairs to see mom during Ember's absences.  

The day care worker told me Ember had loose stools during her time with them, a couple of times, but it got better as the day went on.  Now I've got just her and me for the next four days so I can keep a close eye on her.

Life goes on.  It is full, and it is good.  Keep on Sparking, my friends!

The Calming Duck

 

Ember went to day care, after being picky and not eating her breakfast on time Tuesday morning.  I let them know that she might be super treat-motivated today, having skipped a meal.

I myself went off to work out with the trainer, and did my "human things" for the rest of the day, getting my nice long shower, a quick grocery trip, and vacuuming out the X-Pen.

The "treatment" section of the daycare place called me about 1:30 p.m. to let me know that Ember and another dog had been playing rough, and Ember ended up with a nick on her ear.  These photos were taken after day care, and you can't see it.  They had applied pressure but wanted to alert me, in case I noticed.  I would not have noticed. No bandage was needed, but had it started to bleed again, they would have put a pressure bandage on.  One of the advantages of having day care at the same facility as her vet, I have the added knowledge that if mishaps should occur, they have the expertise on staff to assist!    

The widely advertised "Calming Duck" showed up in my mailbox on Tuesday, as well.  I gave it to Ember when she came home from daycare.  The question became:  how long before she destroys it?

Truth to tell, I noticed toward the end of the purchase windows that it was offering an "are you sure you don't want the large size duck?"  For $30 more, of course!  I did not bite, so the duck that arrived looks like about a mouthful for my pup.

Ember performed a squeaker-ectomy and lipo-fluff-ction.  Within half an hour we were looking at "remains".

When she goes to day care, we have our little arrival routine.  She goes out in the back yard to secure the perimeter (she's not as much a guard dog about this as Carl is, but she does investigate how far the squirrels or the cat have encroached) and "take care of business".

Tiny flakes were starting to fall as we did this Tuesday afternoon, but the snow in earnest isn't due until a little later in the evening.

I fed her the breakfast she didn't eat this morning (I had saved it in the 'fridge, covered).  She was much more interested this time, and licked the platter clean.

I generally then put on the Dog TV soft music and give her a chew stick to settle down.  About 5:30 she was ready for crate time, and that's where she is now.

I have canceled Ember's daycare reservation for Wednesday morning, as I decided it was just too much for me with the forecast snow to drive extra on the potentially slick roads.  She will do fine in the crate long enough for me to go off to the Periodontist.  And I won't put us both "at risk" in traffic either in the morning, or the after-school hours, when I normally would be picking her up.

The forecast calls for 3 - 6 inches of snow starting right about now for the next 24 hours.  Expect changes in the forecast, of course!  I'm a weather wimp when it comes to driving.  However, this is my last appointment with the periodontist before she retires, and I'd like to keep it if I can.  We shall see!

Life is Good!  (Back to MOBYCARP's theme!)  Spark on!

Crate lover

 

Total transparency, this photo is two months old.  I wanted to find one of Ember in her crate, because my heart is full with something she's been doing lately.  I have been letting her fall asleep beside me on the couch, then when I wake up (I nod off, folks, I'm an old lady), take a potty break, or open or close the drapes, and I suggest to her that she might like to chill in her crate for a while.

This past week, three times, when I've done this, she has voluntarily moved into her crate, trusting that I'll give her a treat or just give her that safe space.  My baby!  She loves her crate.

Yes, I've been playing Susan Garrett's Recallers games with her, but not in much of a structured/planned way.  Today we played the game of the week, "Smoke Ya" even though we haven't got all the way through five games that lead up to it.  But it was so much fun.  Even for me, with my post-vax side effects (mild, and didn't last terribly long, thank you!)

We got into the car today without much hassle.  OK a little hassle, but not much.  We went through the Scooter's Drive-thru as a reward.  Today she got a Milkbone, but no whipped cream.  I only let her have the full pup cup experience about once a week, and she got that on Friday.

We had neighborhood activity to observe as a big truck showed up to deliver furniture to the people next door.  She was real interested in that.  We played with our tug toy and the soccer ball with the handles on it while keeping a sharp eye on those workers with the truck.

During Puppy Nap #1 I went out to acquire a few things and bumped into a gal from the neighborhood whose phone number I had been wishing I had.  You know, nowadays, not only do we not have telephone books, but we also often don't even know one another's names.  I know Susan "Frank's Mommy", and have her phone number, but I don't know her last name.  We today, accosting this gal at the grocery, I acquired both her full name but also her phone number, and I can now text her for help walking Ember!  

On Sunday I got out the Horse Jolly Ball for the first time for Ember.  She immediately attacked the handle, and has already chewed it up pretty badly.  But she loves this toy.  I used it for our Sunday "get in the car" enticement, as well as using the car as a circuit center for a game of Smoke Ya inside the garage.  

The Scooter's Drive-thru was busy on Sunday.  We had people walking about for Ember to watch.  That makes the car ride so much better, don't you know?

Sunday's Super Bowl game... yikes... y'all know I live near "Chiefs Nation", right?  Some of us were both appalled by the loss, and relieved to not have the volume of fireworks that would have accompanied a win.  I stopped watching at halftime, taking Ember out for her "Last Call" so I didn't see the halftime show.  I did watch the first KC possession of the second half, then turned it off, mercifully.

Monday morning, Ember was not ready for breakfast at breakfast time.  I worried (as paw-rents do) that she might not be feeling well, but then I remembered I fed her extra and later in the day on Sunday.  When she perked up a couple of hours later and ate her breakfast and we went through our normal pre-breakfast (for me) routine of games, I felt better.  She has now settled down in her crate for her traditional time after my breakfast, although about an hour later than most days.

Life is good.  Keep living your own life, your way!  Spark on!

The week in Emberville

 

In the drive-thru at the pharmacy, Monday.  We continue to work at practicing getting into the car.  She continues to show signs of being stressed by car rides (drooling).  But we're working on it.

How, pray tell, do you work on it?  We play "get in the car" games.  I bring her Tearrible toy, or "Shortie" the fur-tug, and of course treats, opening both car doors to make a tunnel, I crawl through the tunnel, and eventually she gets in, I clip her to the seat belt, and off we go.  I have plans to do some games where we don't go, just get in, get treats, get out, go play something she really likes, etc.  

Overcoming a dog's anxiety about certain things takes time and patience.  Since she has that history of upset tummy in the car, we're kind of late to the game in this particular area.  Many dogs LOVE going on car rides, knowing there are good things on the other end.

I read something, don't remember which dog training resource it came from, but it was explaining the differences between male and female dogs.  Turns out the laying in the threshold thing that Ember does?  Is what a lot of female dogs do.  According to this particular source, they are protecting the den, keeping watch.  And yes, that fits what she does.  She wants the door open so she can see out and watch the cat or passing traffic, or whatever!

I see in the news that the postal service will not be accepting parcels from China.  Guess a couple of toys I had on order will be late arriving.  If I ever get them at all.  Yes, I was drawn in by the ads for the calming duck, and ended up also ordering a bear.  Both are supposed to be "indestructible" for super chewers.  But if you are waiting for all the circus to impact you personally, here's my first one.

{insert blogger's block that lasted two days here}

Sigh.  Meanwhile, across town... the kids have their foster child for at least two more weeks while the court kicked the can down the road, due to system access being down.  The judge wanted to check precedent for one lawyer's argument.

Anyway, it's prolonging the drama, but at least they have two more weeks of the little guy being with them.  And no one knows what happens beyond that.  But the wheels are turning.  And DIL is busily helping FC plan out the valentines for his classmates and his teacher!

Ember had day care on Tuesday and Thursday.  On Friday we did a little leash practice in our own yard, and she wanted to pull me places I did not want to go.  So more work needed on that front.  We did not leave our own yard except to try to pull me into the neighbor's yard where the cat likes to hide.  

We went on to play car games and she got her weekly pup cup.

While Ember was puppy napping, I went out and got my Covid booster.  I had escaped catching it from my son and my daughter in law, and this was about how long the PA said to wait to consider myself clear for the next shot.  I am now finally caught up on vaccinations, based on what the doctor told me to get a year ago.

When I got home, I called my older sister for her birthday, and we caught up.  I am continually startled by how quickly children grow up.  Her grands in Utah will both be in high school next year!  

There are more "follow up" / "maintenance" health care things in the weeks ahead.  Next week, Ember will have day care three days in a row, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday because I have a dental appointment on Wednesday.  The following week it will be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with her in day care, to accommodate my bone density scan and mammogram on Friday.  Hopefully, at that point, this particular collection of scurrying about will be over.

Hope y'all are staying well, and warm (or cool, as your side of the planet dictates).  Keep on choosing to live your own life... and Spark on to health!

Birthday and the weekend

 

Birthday pup cup, the day after her birthday.  It was a cloudy and cool day (not frigid, though).

I was noticing Ember's gait being "a little off" favoring the left hind quarter as she started chasing balls Saturday morning, so I kept it a quiet "mommy and Ember" day.  We did go through the drive-thru between puppy naps and got her a pup cup to celebrate her birthday, but we didn't leash walk or go to a dog park.  We did some playing with big toys, and we chased balls in the back yard.  We practiced Reward Zone games. 

After supper, I put on the dog TV, and she fell asleep on my knee, and she volunteered to transfer to her kennel when I slipped out to go to the bathroom

Melts your heart, doesn't she?

I waited to take my third Covid-19 test until today, which by the way, is the expiration date of the three tests.  Negative.  So, I managed to escape catching it from either son or daughter in law.

They gave the foster grandchild a Covid and a flu test on Thursday at his first doctor visit.  Ugh!  Negative for both.  The decision to do the surgery on his swollen hand was made by an orthopedic specialist his regular doc referred them to on Friday.  So far, so good, as of Saturday afternoon.  The HUGE bandage still looks clean in the photos DIL shared.  Two days to go 'til back to the surgeon for follow up check.

Sometimes we forget the perspective of a child, but here are a couple of insights from this experience:  when the drugs kicked in, the joy of "Mom, it doesn't hurt any more!"  We had to tell him that was because of the painkillers, and he shouldn't test it too far, lest it hurt more later.  Saturday morning, when bandages were removed from the other hand, where the IV had been placed during surgery, his surprise and relief that the needle wasn't there any more!  We forget that there are things one learns the first time... and this was his first time.  It dredged up a lot of memories for me, of my own son's first encounter with x-rays, and getting his arm set, when he was in second grade.

Sunday morning, Ember had a grooming scheduled.

Here she is post-grooming, with her cute little bandana.  We played some fetch but mostly had a quiet remainder of Sunday.  Across town, they took foster kiddo to the Sonic 3 movie, and out for donuts afterward, so we didn't do any visiting.  She napped on the couch for a while between games, had her supper, and got put to bed according to her normal schedule.

Onward to a new week!

Keep on choosing to live your life, no matter what swirls around you and in the news.  Be kind.  And Spark on!

Finding her voice

 

Another size comparison photo of various Ember toys.  From tennis ball sized glow in the dark to the horse jolly ball (10 inch diameter).  The blue ball, partially skinned, with the "4" on it is my old, weighted exercise ball, and is the heaviest of the lot.  The jolly ball may well be the lightest of the group.

Ember has not yet played with the jolly ball or the soccer ball with all the tags on it.  The others are already well marked by her teeth or her slobber, or both.

The little one was excited to see her mom after day care on Thursday.  When she went into her kennel for the "Mom's getting ready for bed" time, she wasn't quite emotionally ready.  Mom went out to collect a poo and then trundled the garbage bin to the curb.  Ember barked in her crate.  She does not do this often, so mommy responded, checking on her.  

I ended up letting her out for another trip outside, which did not appear to be the need.  Then we sat on the couch together while she fell asleep and only after a bit of snoozing with her adoring mom watching her did she consent to being crated (gently) with a treat.  Love swells watching her sleep.

Friday morning and she was off to daycare again.  I saw the doctor for my annual physical and he said "carry on, see you next year".  I do still have to get my bone scan and mammogram, which will happen in February, along with a dental cleaning.  

She tried a couple of barks again after being put in her kennel for mom's prep for bedtime, but on Friday Mom didn't respond, and after those couple of trial barks, she settled right down.

When I went back to get Ember, she was wearing a bow on her collar, for being the birthday girl.  I tried to get a photo, but she wasn't in a posing kind of mood.

Meanwhile, across town, the foster grandchild was being treated for something that happened with his hand.  It started out as a blister, and the blister grew.  He ended up having surgery Friday afternoon and is recovering at home.  The child is a six-year-old, full of energy. Keeping him still and the dressing clean until Monday (when he goes to have it changed at the doctor's office) is going to be a challenge for the foster mom and dad!  

I had thought to do a Saturday afternoon trip to the dog park, but now we have called that off due to "too many temptations for the child".  Since Ember has a groom session on Sunday morning, we are holding out for a drive-by petting afterwards, as reward for both boy and dog, if all goes well.

Going to tie this one off, at the puppy nap #1 point here, as hu-mom wants a nap, too!

Keep on choosing to live your life, your way!  Spark on!