boosted

 Technology is a bit of a bug boo for me today… I’m running out of space on Google so have to figure out how to back up the photos on my phone before removing them from Google photos - don’t forget that if you remove a photo from Google it will also remove it from my phone - boo hiss! It can be done but there is a certain amount of drudge work to get the job done, especially when I look at some of the emails that I could also delete. Well, and I better investigate what happens to my blog when I remove photos! I guess I know what I’ll be spending the next few days doing!

The sun shone strongly today with a bit of a cool breeze. Nice! After an outing with both dogs to a mostly empty parking lot to practice walking on lead together, I rounded them up for a trip into the camper. It was Lupa’s first time inside and gosh did she sniff! She was everywhere snuffling things up. I wondered if she was following mouse tracks :-( 

We’ll spend a bit of time every day out there, plus I’ll start feeding them some of their meals out there to build a really positive connection with the villetta. We might even do an overnight or two.

in the camper

Speaking of overnights, last night was Lupa’s first night sleeping on the bed with us. Carm took her outside before he came to bed as we hoped sleeping with us would cut out the middle of the night fussing to go outside, and it did :-) She was pretty excited at first but did eventually settle down and go to sleep. A few more nights and she’ll be a champ.

Yesterday we went to the Pet Valu to pick up a ‘booster’ seat for Lupa cause she’s not spoiled or anything. ha ha. With the new seat we can remove the wire crate from the back of the car to make room for Carm’s golf clubs, and Lupa gets the benefit of being able to look outside. We’ve done a few short trips with it and she seems pleased. Spike would have loved a seat like this but he was far too big for anything store bought. In the back of the truck I had a large heavy pillow arranged so he could look out the window but it didn’t always work out well. But he did manage to look out the window for much of our trip out west in 2013! (oh gosh I miss him!).

We didn’t do a whole aisle in the Pet Store on a loose leash but did get several steps! I’ll take that for the win :-)

Wednesday night Trudie & Leo came by for a simple soup supper. I tried leaving Lupa loose for the greeting and I think there was a bit less barking… this needs more practice!

Awesome!

“getting the dogs to walk on leash nicely for a few steps”

“Lupa learning the steps to the camper quickly”

“getting the villetta set up for some driveway camping”

red brick road

 Lupa watched quizzically as I grooved around the living room, singing at the top of my lungs. She’d seen me dance around before but not so wildly - I’m usually a bit more subdued when Carm is around but he’s off to his first golf game of 2022. Part way through the song her demeanor changed and she broke into a big grin. Adia knows what it's all about as I sometimes rope her in to be my dancing partner. Maybe I’ll have 8 more feet to join in my dance.

(an hour later… both dogs got into the rhythm a bit… I remember now why Adia is so good at doing certain things. We made heel and weave and down and sit part of the dancing game. It’s possible that I need music to function normally.)

The days have blended into each other with barely anything to distinguish them as my misery continues to cast a grey pall over life. I tell myself that I just have to hang in for a while longer and it will pass. Yes, it will pass like it always has.

The benefits of hanging out on facebook so much paid off yesterday when we scored 320 cement bricks for 0.25 cents each. We have a few small projects in mind. Now we just have to get to them… in my current state this seems impossible.

Lupa has been a maniac since her release but a trip or two into the field eases some of the frantic/manic energy. She’s not as crazy as the first day of freedom thank goodness! Right now she’s pushing a toy into Adia’s face in an attempt to get her to play. She’s a tough, athletic bundle, a perfect playmate for Adia, but small enough to cuddle with on the sofa.

As I watch them horse around I can see spots on Lupa that need more hand stripping. Most of her coat is looking good though, it’s just the edges that look moth eaten. It seems that hand stripping is more labour intensive than running the clippers all over her. It’s the more correct way to manage her coat though so I’ll stick with it for a while longer.

We had a bit of shopping at Findley Creek on Friday so at the last minute popped her into the car for an outing. There was lots of space to practice walking and then we headed into Canadian Tire. I wasn’t paying much attention to her as I was looking for something, but she was good. It’s been ages since she barked at strangers and she even passed TWO big dogs on the sidewalk. We were probably 15 feet away and even so she was a champ. I have hope!

The dog's new collars arrived the other day and since I am slightly insane about matching, I ordered some paracord so that I can braid 2 new leashes. But I needed snaps. It was harder than you’d think to find ones that were weight rated for a reasonable amount. The ones at Home Hardware and Canadian Tire were only good for 60 pounds so I turned to Amazon for the win. They are ½ as big as Lupa but she’ll just have to develop a really strong neck and shoulders! 🤪 

The weather has only marginally improved. We are in double digits this morning but it’s cloudy and a bit windy. Still, I did go outside with short sleeves. As I said, Carm’s at the golf course but he put on long pants this morning. I think he’s feeling the cold more…

I told the woman where we picked the bricks up that I did not do too badly hefting all those blocks for a 60 year old woman. I’m not 60 yet, but I’m trying to ease into it so I’m not in shock when my birthday comes around! (note: my hands and wrists are aching today!)

Awesome!

“loud music in the morning”

“Ballroom Blitz making the dogs and Grace laugh”

“walking past dogs without barking”

“Adia’s beautiful eyes”

“sending off birthday greetings to my nieces and calling them women”

release the hounds

 The kraken was released from its bonds today… it’s officially 2 weeks since Lupa’s surgery and since she looks well healed we’ve let her free. First we went outside to burn off some of the pent up energy. That little dog ran and ran and ran - she did 2 weeks worth of running! And then when we got back inside she continued running. She was totally out of control. I thought with the exercise she’d calm down a bit but no…

Now to keep her from playing with Adia for a few days - they are far too rambunctious for a newly healed puppy.

She did calm enough for me to put her on the grooming table for some trimming here and there. Just for laughs I got the clippers out and did her face. It changes her look quite a bit but I like it!

Last night we had Trudie & Leo over for supper and Sunday we had Pat here so we’ve been keeping socialized. Monday we saw Kirsten and Lupa visited her first Canadian Tire. She wasn’t the greatest but I was able to keep her under control, picking her up when it got too busy. Easter Monday had everyone out at the stores so it was packed.

hours later… after a short rest she’s still running…

Winter is in a battle with Spring, desperate to keep its icy grip on us, but inch by inch, spring is starting to win out. The trees and leaves and buds are a good week or two late compared to last year (which might have been exceptional). We are stuck in the taint of the seasons.

Awesome!

“Lupa running and leaping in the field - pure joy at the freedom”

“Don Mclean’s Vincent”

hazy lazy days

 Happy Easter!

Days and days have passed since I last wrote, some slightly in a stupor and others just with overwhelming exhaustion. Why? Who knows, but I’ve gone through this before, just not in a few years. It’s not depression but thinking back, if I don’t give myself a bit of a break, I’ll slip that way. Today I’m gathering the energy to make a turkey roll in the instant pot for Sunday supper with Pat. I would have loved a ham but alas!

Lupa is finally recovering well but still needs to be kept quiet. Ha ha! Her pen is looking bare as I’ve had to remove her bed as well as all blankets and towels. It’s like a prison cell except for a few toys. Right now she has her first chicken foot - I don’t think it will last much longer (it lasted 15 minutes) as I can hear crunching. It’s high on the gross scale… no, it’s VERY high on the gross scale!

She had to be in the cone for a few days but otherwise has been in the onsie - a blessing as she’s able to chew and play a little bit. She hasn’t been off leash for over a week now!

We had a family gathering on Friday and Mom made a fantastic turkey dinner. She pulls it off with aplomb where I struggle to get everything done at the right time. I need a complete project plan with a minute by minute breakdown to get dinner on the table! We were all together except for Nissa who is studying hard at uni. After a dearth of gatherings through COVID it is nice to be able to get together again.

Awesome!

“the scale slowly descending into pre-covid numbers”

“Lupa quiet with a chicken’s foot”

and it keeps on being stressful

 Lupa is doing so-so… the vet suspected a seroma or an abscess so prescribed antibiotics just in case. She didn’t want to do a needle extraction as Lupa’s recovery is already stressed. This morning the swelling has mostly gone down except for one little spot… She’s also leaking a bit of bloody fluid… I’m worried that it might be a hernia caused by too much activity. But maybe I’m just being a worry wart.

Yesterday I went into the vet with Lupa (through much of covid we’ve had to wait outside) and was pleased to see her interested and friendly. She was happy to see the vet tech as well as the vet so it couldn’t have been too traumatic for her :-) It’s clear that they treat their patients with kindness.

Today she’s been in her pen all day except for a few short trips outside and is obviously tired of just lying there as she’s trying to toss her toys around - I’ll go in with her and hold her bone for a few minutes in a while. Once the bloody leaking is finished I’ll put her in her onesie for a bit while I’m sitting here to supervise. 

If she does full front and rear stretches almost to the ground does that mean she’s feeling no discomfort? Her last painkillers were yesterday.

Oh gosh, I am stressed out like crazy.

Carm meanwhile has been outside edging the front bed and raking tons of mulch over it. It looks good! He’s changed the oil in the snowblower and a myriad of other things. More productive than me by 100%. 

I’ve done nothing the last few days - between staying close so Lupa doesn’t stress and feeling so so tired and bluck, I’ve not got the energy to do more than scroll through endless dog posts on facebook.

(just popped out to open the slides on the camper! There are tons of beetles to vacuum up but I’ll go back out when Carm can keep the puppy calm).

Later: she’s figured out how to chew the bone with the cone on!

and now she’s tearing apart the towels…  I stuck her in her onesie for a little while so she can chew her bully stick...

Awesome!

“warm enough to go outside without a jacket or even flannel shirt”

“opening the slides on the villetta”

“tulips poking through the grass”

“freshly mulched flower bed”

lupa's recovery backslide

 It wasn’t a late night but regardless, there were some sleepy people gathered around the island this morning. Olaf & Stephanie came for an overnight stay yesterday but sadly they were recovering from a late night on Friday so our evening was subdued - no giant tasting, just a few rounds to confirm (again), that Quebec IPAs are far superior to Ontario ones. It was still great having them here and better for me that we weren’t up to all hours.

Earlier Saturday we had lunch at Mom & Dad’s to celebrate Graham’s birthday :-) Lupa was with us - she was subdued from her operation but enjoyed saying hello to everyone. These family gatherings are great socialization for her. She did bark a few times but it was well in control or maybe she wasn’t feeling up to being silly.

Even earlier on Saturday we had a ‘guy’ come by to give us an estimate for building a new back deck! Waiting on tenderhooks for the quote.

This morning Lupa isn’t doing so well. Her tummy is swollen and she’s leaking fluid from her incision. I called the emergency vet and sent photos but they can’t see her till tomorrow so they said to see our regular vet. We’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. She’s got the cone on now so she’s depressed and doesn’t want to move very much which is just as well as she’s supposed to be kept very quiet.

There’s been a pit in my stomach all day as I don’t think I could bear losing another dog so soon.

Awesome!

“it’s not snowing today”

beginning sniffaries

 There are buds on the lilac that’s snugged against the south side of the house; the goldfinches have shed their drab winter garb to reveal brilliant yellow; the bright white snow… what! That’s not a sign of spring! Thankfully the overnight snowfall was gone by mid morning, leaving Lupa looking for a patch of snow to pee on.

The grey skies sapped my energy like they usually do, so I fired up my little speaker with my favorite playlist. Carm escaped to the car for some sort of task, something to do with maps. Adia is asleep and Lupa is feeling well enough to chew on a bully stick (her mouth must feel okay after having all those teeth removed). I’m building my energy to do some prep for Olaf & Stephanie’s visit tomorrow. 

I could say that Carm helps but that means that doing all these things is my responsibility so instead I’ll say that he is a strong participant. His domain is the crostini which he has mastered. Oh, a bit of baguette, a slip of oil, and a rasp of garlic create crisp disks of yumminess.

I’ve taken Lupa out for a few ‘sniffaries’ where I try not to rush her along, but instead let her engage her doggie senses. She has to be on leash for 2 weeks so we’ll be doing lots of these… good for me to help learn patience as I’m one for fast walking and getting things done! Once she’s a bit better I’ll also practice commands with her to help tire her out. She is a dog used to operating at top speed so it will be a long 2 weeks! I don’t remember Bella & Kabira’s spays but I’m pretty sure we didn’t go to great lengths. But they were used to being crated all day so perhaps they were more chill.

Dogs are so good at taking everything in stride. She’s wearing a tight sweater that only leaves her head, legs, and business parts uncovered but she’s not fussing and she’s being quiet in the pen (we’ll see how many days that lasts!).

With a bit of spare time this afternoon I scrolled back in my blog to when we first got Lupa… post after post I drone on about her… sorry!

Awesome!

“snow melting by noon”

“my speaker”

“late afternoon sun streaming down the hall”

“wild thunderstorm with rain coming down in buckets”

Lupa spayed

 Not to self: do not look at old photo albums where photos of Spike predominate. Especially when I’m already feeling fragile… He had such a nice face.

Today we are waiting (not quite on pins and needles) to pick Lupa up from her spay. Apparently the surgery went well but she did have to have 6 baby teeth removed as they weren’t falling out by themselves. One even impacted one of her canines and will need ‘ball therapy’ to fix the tooth. She’s a loved member of our family now so it hurts to see her suffer.

…

We are home from the vet with our sad little dog. We’ve taken off the cone and put her into a onesie which nicely covers her incision (which is 1 ½ inches long). After a quick trip outside, she’s now in the puppy pen which we moved to the sofa area earlier. She can’t seem to settle and is shivering and occasionally whimpering. I suspect those are all effects of the anaesthetic. Poor Spike had a hard time being put under and would take more than a day to recover.

It’s raining today.

Awesome!

“getting final jeopardy when none of the contestants get it”

smile on a passers-by face

 We’ve lucked out with another lovely day, although the wind is cooling things off more than yesterday. Lupa got to go for another car ride, this time to the village, the grocery store, and finally the drug store.

The main street in the village is just too much for her to give much attention - so many dog smells! We didn’t walk far, mainly going back and forth in front of the convenience store. She met one person. She did sit and walk on a loose leash for micro seconds but it is a start. 

At the grocery store we wandered up the parking lot to the area in front of the store. There was construction but that wasn’t too interesting. She did meet 2 people. The area wasn’t as overwhelming to her as there probably wasn’t much dog pee! Sits and loose leash were not too bad :-)

Finally at the drug store we hung out beside the building (out of the gale force winds) and practiced a few things. She could sit and even did some short stays. She met a woman and her 3 year old son. She wasn’t too sure about the little boy but did go up to him. He had a nice manner about him but might have been a bit scared which rubbed off on Lupa.

Adia getting a mani/pedi yesterday

Sorry to blather on about this but it’s fun for me to go back in history to see how far we’ve come :-)  Getting out is making such a difference, and I think she brightens other people’s lives if only for a few moments - most people break into a smile when they see her - she’s cute and a puppy - what’s not to smile about! I tend to be more outgoing as well in the hope that people will stop to pet her.

Lupa goes in for her spay tomorrow - we are both a bit worried!

Awesome!

“people smiling at my puppy”

bridge to the river castor

 It is one of those spectacular days with strong sun and a whiff of breeze. The weather is set to turn chilly and rainy again thursday but I KNOW more heat is around the corner. In some ways these tastes of summer are better than the feast of heat in the middle of July.

We met Kirsten at the ½ way point again. We met at the Pet Valu for some training and a little bit of shopping (chicken feet anyone?). And then motored off to DQ for blizzards. The guy behind the counter wasn’t wearing a mask which should have been the first clue that he’d make us crummy icecreams. I think he forgot to sprinkle in the Skor bits. But as I told Kirsten: in the scheme of things it rates a 0 for things to worry about.

Lupa did not bark!!! At all! The only dog she saw was Velvet, her little chi cousin, so it wasn’t a true test but I felt happy anyway. Getting her attention for the first 5 or 10 minutes was difficult but overall I’d say she was better than last week. I like to walk up and down the same aisle so she gets her sniffing out but honestly she never does. She would eventually sit, etc. The day she can walk down an aisle at a heel will be a day for massive celebration!

Our next challenge is getting people into the house without a flurry of anxious/excited barking.

So much talk about Lupa and so little about Adia. Unfair that the naughty dog gets all the attention! Adia has been fantastic. She’s great with Lupa (they play and play), and a role model for good behaviour around the house. She’s such a GOOD dog and deserves many accolades.

Yesterday we spent some time at the other end of our property removing a fiberglass fence post. It was near the bridge which is being gutted and slightly in the way. The posts are $$$ so we didn’t want to risk it getting damaged. We have 2 bridges on the roads that bound our property. The little one over the creek was done a few years ago and now they are redoing the one over the river that is our property boundary on the east side.

As I was about to head out the door to catch up with Carm, I briefly wondered if I could leave both dogs loose. Then good sense kicked in so I locked them up. Not even a month ago I wouldn’t let Lupa out of eyesight, let alone consider leaving her unsupervised! She’s come that far :-)

Awesome!

“walking outside without a coat”

“online visits”

“Adia stayed in the back of the car after Carm opened the hatch”

“the haul from Costco - it makes me happy to be well provisioned”

freedom

 It’s 5pm on Sunday afternoon; we are curled together on the sofa, Lupa up against me, Carm at the other end and Adia on the loveseat. Fareed is playing on the tv as we chill from a fantastic afternoon with Jo Ellen and Don. I feel slightly sleepy and content, a nice segue from anxiety that has been through the roof lately. Today was no different, but the distraction of company gave me respite from the horrible feelings. I wasn’t sure I would make it to company arrival as I broke down crying a few times, but I thought of others in my family with challenges and kept going.

It’s Sunday so we had a traditional Italian lunch of pasta with a ragu sauce and a side of meatballs and pork riblets. Carm’s crostini played center stage.

But the fun didn’t start today… no, we had a lovely supper and evening with Trudie & Leo last night. Lupa was along for the fun and was reasonably well behaved, but does have a fixation on Pepper the cat! She’s figured out how to get down the steep wood steps when she ‘ends up’ upstairs. I watched her bounce down step by step as if she were an old pro.

The field has dried out enough to take the dogs out to play - they run and run, Adia obviously at the front, little Lupa trying her best to catch up. It brings a smile to my face and a laugh to tickle my tonsils. Freedom!

It was sunny yesterday but we suffered through another gloomy day today. Oh to see a few days of sun!

I’ve got to look up more music by Jon Batiste. I like ‘Freedom’ which spoke to me - lots of dancing and singing seems like freedom to me!

Awesome!

“friends”

“Lupa cuddled on my lap”

“ragu from our own tomatoes”

“Freedom”