Wordless Wednesday

 We spent most of Sandy just hanging around the house.  Annie and Paul weren't too impressed by the fact that I couldn't turn off the rain or that they had to do their business in the yard in the rain.  (They, like Melvin, kept giving me a look saying they could hold it or go to the bathroom in the house.)  The lights only flickered for a moment, but it was no where near what was being called for in our area.  

 

Sandy (sitting, waiting, and wishing)

     We've both gotten word that our schools are closed tomorrow in anticipation of Sandy's wind and rain wreaking havoc for the Richmond, VA area.  So now we're just sitting here finishing up lesson plans (me), grading (both), and mid terms (Hubbs).  Waiting to see what Sandy does and wishing everyone out there in the Bloguspher (sp?) safety during and after Sandy.

Chocolate Croissants are a basic survival food for storms, right? 

     Our oven and stove top are both gas powered, so we've got plans to live on spaghetti and Coka-Cola during the storm.   Once I looked at the weather maps, we decided that evacuating to Pittsburgh was out of the picture.  I just talked to my mom an hour ago, and they've had 24 hours of rain with some wind so far.  In comparison, we've had wind, but only some drizzle.

     Annie and Paul have taken turns stretched out on our bed watching out the windows to see what's coming next.  We're still packed incase we have to evacuate, but at the moment I don't know where that would be to.  (Our house has a 1 foot crawl space underneath, and we're higher than our cars are on the street.) Stay safe everyone in Blogville!  

     
     

Sandy (the possible uninvited house guest)

     I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and the Hubbs grew up by the 4 corners in AZ.  Neither of us experienced a hurricane until Irene hit a few years ago.  (ok, the Hubbs went through one while on a submarine, and never felt a thing from it).  Annie and Paul spent most of Irene wrapped in their thundershirts (calm and cool as cucumbers) while I paced the house.
     We're getting lots of warning right now about getting ready, so I'm packing a bag for Annie and Paul incase we end up evacuating.  I'm guessing since the emergency services is stating "Pack for 3 days" for people, I'm packing for 3 days for A&P too.  The list of "what to pack" so far:

• (4) Leashes (2 to be used while we evacuate 2 incase we miss place a leash or Paul eats it)
• (2) Tags for their collars
• (1) Extra collars
• (2) Water Dishes
• (2) Food Dishes
• (12) cups of dry dog food in ziplock bags
• (2) Thundershirts. 
• (2) Raincoats/winter coats (just in case we evacuate to Pittsburgh)
• (4) dog blankets
• (4) 1 Quart Bottles of water 
• (1) Large Jar of Peanut Butter
• (1) Spatula 
• (3) Kongs 
• (1) Bottle of Benadryl
• (2) Spoons
• (1) package of Baby wipes (to clean anything for the dogs)
• (1) bottle of hand sanitizer
• (1) first aid Kit.

    Sandy's not supposed to hit until Sunday, so I'll post pics later today once I've packed up.  Ok, what am I missing?

Wordless Wednesday: More from the Dog Mall

From the Dog Mall

    This past weekend was the Howl-o-ween weekend at the dog mall.  (The actual name of the dog mall by the way is Stony Point Fashion Park.)  We've gone now for 5 years and it's gotten bigger each year.  There's a master list of who's handing out treats and the dogs (with their families in tow) walk the mall to collect their treats.  We don't go in for the contest, just the chance to socialize Annie and Paul a bit more.  

     There were so many dogs with such interesting costumes.  The dogs in the above picture who are wearing the military uniform and the red skirt are supposed to be husband and wife (husband deployed and wife waiting for him to come home).  The bumble bee was part of a group of 3 english bull dogs and the bottom picture is supposed to be a puppy chilling next to a dog statue.  

     The 2 pups at the top were part of a trio: the one on the left is a zombie and the one on the right is a mummy.  The bottom pup is a mail man.  

New Camera Review

     A few weeks ago, I got a new camera.  Actually,  I hate to admit it, but I got an iPhone.  And by default, a new camera came with it.  (Post about old camera)   The really nice thing is that I now have a camera with me no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing.  (I know that's an obvious comment, but I've always just gone with the free upgrade each time we renewed our phone contract.  I've always owned just a phone, never a smart phone.)

     So far, I've gotten more pictures of Annie and Paul than before, and they're good pictures!  They're not blurry, their eyes only glow if I turn on the flash (yep, still can't get rid of it).  Annie doesn't run from the camera (YEA!)  It's much easier now to take pictures of what's going on.  So on this Wednesday, here's a few pics with the new camera.

Annie: Where the Cheese Was

     Today, I came home from work, took the pups out to pee, and started slicing apart a block of cheese.  (Cheese is presently Annie and Paul's training treat when we go on a walk.)  I got about half the block sliced up and sitting on teh counter top.  "I'll be right back, and then we'll go for a walk," I told the pups as I walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
     Two minutes later I walk out of the bathroom and go to pick up the cheese to put it into the fridge.

     I swear there was half a block of cheese there.  I looked on their back window couch, the living room couch, the master bed, Paul's 2 dog bed, and the main dog bed in the back: no cheese.  I'm going to be walking around the house for the next few days smelling each room for a hint of cheese (sharp cheddar).  But in the mean time, I'm out of luck.

     Why am I blaming Annie?  Besides the Hubbs and I, she's the only one who can be tall enough to reach the counter tops.  And for the record, I just went back into the kitchen and the rest of the cheese from this picture is already gone.

Wordless Wednesday: From the Dog Mall

     I'm looking to do a run of dog cookies with the proceeds going to Kissa-bull. They're almost done rebuilding their house from the fire in December, and Wells Fargo has sent them some paperwork for foreclosure. If you've got a buck or 2 to give, they'd greatly appreciate it.   The pics below are just a run of pics from the dog mall.  

A Quiet Weekend

     We've had a very quiet weekend here.  I've been sick coughing and blowing my nose.  So Annie and Paul have done a lot of chilling out around the house.

Paul v. Screen

     I know I've talked about things that Paul eats before.  The latest thing has been the screen from our front windows.  Last night, as we're lying in bed with Hop Along Annie, I heard Paul growling at something outside.  And a noise I can't describe.  When I went to check on him in the living room, this is what I found.
     Clearly, this is the "after" picture.  As in after I removed the frame from the window and removed the screen from the frame.  I'm still not sure what Paul thought he was going to chase outside the house, but man oh man, did he want to get to it.  I spent the next half hour cutting and putting the new screen into the window (Paul's gone through the screen before a few years ago, so I still had the rest of a roll of screen inside out coat closet.  There's more left for the next time Paul does something like this.)
     I put the screen frame back into the window, took A&P outside for the last pee of the night, and put them to bed with some peanut butter muffins.

     Does anyone else's pups give them pre-bed time activities like this?
     Looking at the pic on the right, I think Paul knew I wasn't happy with him at that moment.  (I must confess, I gave him "the look" when I realized he ate through the screen like that.  Thankfully with Paul, the look is really all I needed to do to convey my displeasure with this.)

Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Annie & the Car

     When we first met Annie, she didn't like the car.  As a matter of fact, I had to lift her up and put her in the car.  D, who fostered her, said that she would only hop in the car once Belle and Saddie, her beagle foster siblings, were in the car.  Annie's attitude seemed to be, "well, if my friends are there, I guess I should hop in too."

     Tonight, when we got home from the dog mall, Annie didn't want to leave the car.....

     

Hop along Annie

     Annie's favorite game when we go out is chase.  She's not interested in toys or balls; it's us.  We run, she jumps stops, twists, turns, all the while trying to catch us.  And like any kid, she sometimes twists her ankles.
    Last night was once such night.  While chasing the Hubbs, Annie twisted her front left paw enough that we carried her home.  A baby aspirin, some peanut butter, vet wrap and a baby sock over the vet rap to keep her from chewing it off was how Annie spent her night.

We lifted her off of any furniture she insisted on jumping onto and did her walk the next morning through the yard.  With in 24 hours of twisting her paw, she was right as rain.  We still won't let her play chase us again for a few days, and we keep an eye out for her limping during the walk.  However, it's always nice to see her ok in such a short time.

Somehow Annie stayed still for all 3 of these pics.