Bread

Today I picked up Suzanne's dog at the vet and took her to her home. She'd had surgery and riding in the back of my van is more comfortable for the dogs.
Here's the great part: When I got there Suzanne had made a loaf of bread for me. It looked very nice. Crusty crust, nice shape, wonderful smell. Best of all, it tastes quite delicious. She uses a different method than what I'm familiar with. So this nice daughter has bought me the book of instructions which should arrive tomorrow. It changes everything I've learned about bread baking. This evening I made my way to Target and bought a baking stone.
Rest assured between Michelle and I the loaf is nearly finished off.

Projects and Dog

Last year I promised myself to scale back from getting involved with Projects. Projects can spiral out of hand, become larger in scale, as well as in cost. I have been very good at choosing what to tackle.
The house next door to me has changed hands again after being empty for most of a year.
Bad news: It will be a rental house, once again.
Good news: The owner's dad is handling the details of repairs and control of tenants. ( The owner is away, working on his PH. D. in nuclear science.) My point is that they are no dummies.
The fence around the front is being fixed up with pickets and will look very inviting. Next to that is my sixteen foot section of old plank board fencing. Yuck. I collaborated with "dad" . We are continuing the pickets all the way to my driveway. It will add to the appeal of his house, and mine as well. Today I took out the old section, piled up the wood. Dad says he has a couple of "gorillas" (handymen) in the house that will load it up onto his trailer and haul it away. How nice is that?
"Dad" gave me a shopping list and for $100 and some elbow grease we will pretty up the front. Next week Michelle and I will be working on that. I am looking forward to some curb appeal. There is a reason why it's called "First Impression".

Brighton Report: She's suffering from Cabin Fever. I know she'd like to be out playing with the big girls. Wounds are healing well.

More on Brighton

The SPCA organization called Saturday morning stating that they had a cancellation and if I could have Brighton there in thirty minutes they would spay her then. Good thing I was street ready already as it took twenty minutes to gather the beasty and make the drive. There will never be any little Brightons now.
She was pretty loopy until Sunday afternoon when she was eating and drinking again as she should. By then she was licking her wound and I took her to PetCo to fit her with a collar.
She shouldn't romp with the big girls for two weeks, or even take long walks. In other words the street training has been delayed another two weeks. I'm so ready to take her to town to walk with her.
She is, however, learning the sit, stay, wait, commands. She also waits to get through the door until I invite her to. Mostly. In both directions. (Azi was like a bullet out the door, not a good thing for so many reasons!) The house training is going very well also, made more challenging by the fact that she not a whiner that sits by the door to be let out.

Meanwhile as I keep track of her in the front yard I've taken the opportunity to do some trimming and cleaning up of the planting beds. The spring bulbs have emerged. Some things
froze this winter and I need to replant.
Instead of flowering plants I'm planning to plant some peppers and Basil instead. Cucumbers would work well, as well as ornamental gourds.

We did have some rain, need lots more. Today we have sunshine and it feels much warmer than it is.

Pizza

My son left some Papa Murphy pizza in my freezer when he left after Christmas. I don't have it very often, so I really enjoyed those left-over slices. Yum! Thanks!

Brighton's First Walk

This day started out cold. The ground was frozen when I got up, let Brighton out, retrieved the paper, fed the cat her soft food, fed the big girls. By then I was almost awake. I read the paper, drank a pot of coffee.
Finished a book, "The Saint of Lost Things", which I enjoyed and could relate to. It is about a family of the Italian Neighborhood of Baltimore and the new immigrant bride.
Before I noticed, the day had become warm enough to enjoy the outdoors. I cleaned out my tomato planters, trimmed some roses.
I took Brighton to PetSmart to get her fitted for a harness that's easy to work and she won't chew off. She was so happy to see other little dogs in the store she barked a whole bunch. The store's dog trainer tried to shush her with limited success.
I was looking forward to this walk since she now has all the shots to protect her from doggy deceases. Once back home it was time to attempt the walk around one block. A measly half mile! There seem to be so many more dogs than there were seven months ago when I used to walk Azi. She's easily distracted, oh ya! I carried her at times to get away from the noise. She pulled ahead of me, which I don't like, being a sign of her thinking that's she's in charge of the pack. For an eighteen pound dog she has a lot of strength. There were a few yards where she seemed to get the idea of walking beside me, but it didn't last long. Overall, let's say the walk was not enjoyable for either of us. When her neck is thoroughly healed I will put her on the leash and hope to have better results. She will learn to walk like a civilized dog should!
Sitting outside in the evening sun I spend some time trying to have her drop the retrieve toy after I pitch it and she brings it to me. That had much better results. I've been using the clicker with a treat to have her come when I call her, so she responded to that.
All these activities must have been harder for her than I thought. She came inside, ate and found a cushion to curl up on and is sleeping now.

Old vs. New

My automobile is several years old. It is very easy to to get and out of. Roomy enough to bring home all my purchases, even those boxes from IKEA. Registration and insurance are not a huge expense either. When I take this car to the garage to have some work done, I always tell the mechanic:"Tell me when I need to buy a new car!" So far the response is: not yet, it's still a good car. This week the car was in the shop, the symptom being those dash warning lights were on, and , oh ya, the interior light wouldn't turn off. There was a short, a wire was touching the ground. And those dash lights were on for a reason. How about leaking brake fluid and needing new rear brakes. Even though it was a costly repair, it was so much cheaper than making a payment of the same amount every month to a finance company for a new car.
How much longer can I make this car last?

Problem Solved !

On these cold days and nights the cement around the house gets very cold. This fact is not lost on Alani.
We provide the dogs with a large area covered with a thick foam cushion, carpet in the washroom and garage, and yet she needs her own chair.

Winter

One of the things I like about being stuck inside the house for much of the cold season is the way the sun shines inside. Most of the year I don't have direct sunlight inside, on the south side. (That's actually a good thing!)
Around the end of every year for about a half hour, just before sunset I get a lovely display of the sun's work on the wall.
Of course many winter days are rainy and dreary and I get this display often enough to enjoy it, not often enough to grow unappreciative.


Brighton, being a baby, likes to chew. She's using leftovers from Azi, but has discovered the bones the big girls have outside. She's tried to sneak one in the house. She goes through the rawhide bones pretty fast. Today she will get her very own, clean for now, chew bone. The non-staining sort.
Beside seeing the laser beam, she also pays attention to the TV screen and was looking at the computer monitor.

I'm baking rolls for Suzanne today. So far she's always ending up with leftovers, today she'll get the whole batch.

Brighton

So here it is three weeks since the last post.

Christmas is past. The new year has begun. I've had a lot going on. Family and friends have visited, eaten, toasted and talked. It was a whole lot of fun.

To add to the mix I adopted a puppy a few days before Christmas. Suzanne read about her on line and she, the dog - not Suzanne, was only across the river at the Sutter County Animal Shelter. She had been picked up on the loose. She is a Beagle mix, weighs only seventeen pounds. The vet thinks that she's about six to seven months old. She's almost got the house rules down.
So as soon as she's had her booster shots, next week, I get to take her out on walks. She's not so sure about the leash thing, but we leash her sometimes to potty, so she's getting the idea.
She and Alani have become fast friends. Alani is so gentle and patient, teaching her doggie smarts. Unlike Azi she's not much on barking, and unlike Azi food is not a huge motivator. She's a bit on the skinny side, but she'll get the hang of this eating business.
I'm glad that I have her by my side.