A Tough Lesson Learned

I've been debating with myself about how to write this post.  Actually, I haven't wanted to say anything but felt I couldn't leave you all just hanging, wondering what had happened.  It's been a tough two weeks trying to adjust to having a new puppy in our home.  I thought I could do it but it turns out that I couldn't.  Auggie has a new home now.

Here are some tough lessons that I learned through this process:

1.  You can never expect a new dog to replace a dog that you've lost.  I have desperately missed Fresca the Wonder Dog who was my constant companion for almost 15 years.  I thought that a new puppy would fill that gap and take up where she left off.  Auggie will make his new owner a wonderful companion but he will never be Fresca.  It was unrealistic to expect that and unfair to him to put that expectation on him.

2.  Consider your lifestyle long and hard before committing to a pet.  I've known this but somehow that went out the window in the excitement of the moment.  I'm a sedentary person. I thrive on HOURS spent at the computer or in a recliner curled up with a book or my knitting.  This is hardly the personality of a person who is a good match for an energetic little puppy.

3.  Be honest about your personality needs.  I have never been a person who has a lot of patience.  The only time I am patient is when I'm engrossed in a clerical task.  When I was raising my children, it was the Commander who would step in when I was becoming unraveled.  He is a very steady person.  He'd take over and give me a chance to regroup and calm down and then I'd be back in the thick of things.  With a new dog or puppy, you need a lot of patience.  I thought by being home all day, I'd have an easier time training a puppy.  Instead I had more time to be frustrated.  I also need LOTS of structure/order to my day.  I can't handle chaos or a bunch of things happening at once.  I have to assess one thing at a time, deal with it, and then go on to the next item of business.  When I'm rushed or stressed, I fall apart.  I don't think puppies read that manual.  They are, by definition, chaos with a tail.  I've been in a perpetual state of stress since Auggie came home.

4.  Do you have other demands for your time?  Do you work all day?  Getting a dog is going to be tough.  You'll need to make arrangements for a dog walker or someone to come over during the day.  In my case, I'm called down to Texas frequently to help out with the grandchildren.  I knew this beforehand but had  blithely told the Commander that I'd just take the dog with me.  Reality hit home when I saw Auggie in action and realized that it would be some time before I could comfortably take this little guy down to a house of toddlers.  For one, he'd eat most of their toys.  Two, he'd chew up their house.  Three, he'd probably pee all over it.  And four, he was firmly in the nipping stage and they were too young to understand being careful around sharp, little puppy teeth.  With time and training, these behaviors would disappear but I don't have time.  My next Texas trip is December.

5.  Do you have a support network?  I've often been envious over the years of friends who have family living near them who can "pet sit" for them when they travel.  I've never had that luxury since we've been a military family living far from family.  Luckily, with Fresca, I had friends with a dog who was Fresca's best friend.  We ended up trading dogsitting duties with each other when we'd go on vacations.  I certainly couldn't ask them to watch a puppy who wasn't housebroken and still had a puppy's destructive behavior patterns for 2-3 weeks at a stretch.

To make a long story short, I was fast reaching the point where I was exhausted and almost starting to hate this little puppy.  I felt like I couldn't let my guard down more than 1-2 minutes at a time and then I'd have to rush him outdoors or rush to clean up after another mistake.  I knew that I'd made a terrible mistake and I didn't want sweet little Auggie to suffer from my lack of good judgement.  Luckily, I have a terrific friend.  She had one of his littermates and she stepped in to take him until she could find him a good home.

Auggie now has a new mom.  He has gone to live with a lady who is a widow who had also lost her dog awhile ago.  This lady is experienced with puppies.  Indeed, she fostered six Labrador puppies not too long ago.  She understands the challenges.  She also lives on acreage so he'll have room to romp and run.  His new mom has a friend who is a dog trainer and has offered to be available to help if she encounters any special challenges.  She has grown children nearby who love dogs and quite a few grandchildren who adore Auggie.  I'm so happy for him.

I will admit that I'm still very emotional over the whole thing.  I've cried many a tear over this decision but I know that it is for the best for all of us.  I'm not used to failing at things and I do feel like I failed Auggie but yet, in my heart, I know I made the right decision.  Hopefully by being honest about this difficult time, those of you who are considering adding a dog or puppy to your home can learn from my errors.

It Sure Isn't Mac and Cheese!

We drove down to Frederick, MD last weekend to have a late-birthday celebration with our daughter, Laura.  She had asked if we could have lunch at an award-winning restaurant in Frederick.  The chef had been named "Chef of the Year" several years ago by the Restaurant Association of Maryland and has won other awards and his menus are works of art.  Well, we're pretty much plain farm-fare folks or Tex-Mex aficionados but it was her birthday, after all, so we said, "yes."

We took little Auggie down to meet his cousins, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and he was really happy to play with them.  In fact, he was SO happy that he spent the first 10 minutes chasing Sadie Ann all over their yard.  She finally ran up a tall flight of steps to their upper deck so we all retired into the house.  We hadn't even been inside more than 2 minutes when we heard a big "thud."  Sadie had ran down a half flight of steps to go to their lower level and Auggie had launched himself after her, not realizing that he didn't know how to go down steps yet.  He had fallen down the flight and was at the bottom.  True to his little "tough guy" persona, he shook himself and went to the top of the next flight to look down at Sadie.  We retrieved him before he could repeat his performance.

Soon it was time to crate the dogs and head off to the restaurant.  We had chosen a 3-course lunch.  You had to pick two courses of regular food and then a dessert.  I chose goat-cheese ravioli for my first course.  Here is what arrived.  I took one look at the plate and my first thought was "Someone spit on my food."  When the waitress left us, I said to Laura, "Who slimed my food?"  She laughed and told me that this was called "foam air" and it apparently is all the rage in haute cuisine.  Alrighty then!  Don't ask me what the rest of the stuff was.  It looked like some clover leaves and some seaweed bulbs but Laura said it was fennel and I forget what the green stuff drizzled over the raviolis was.  It did taste ok, though.

The Commander got something with avocado in it.  This is what it looked like.  That green log was avocado paste.  Don't ask me what the rest was.  Our son-in-law got something that looked like twigs but it had dried apple in it.  I have no idea what the rest was.

Laura assured me we needed to order an order of maple bacon glazed donuts so we did.  They were fine but I had to butter my bites.  They were a little dry but maybe it was because we weren't seated until the 2 p.m. seating and they'd been out for awhile.

For the main course, I had a lobster omelet with hen's eggs.  I was a little leery of ordering this when the emphasis seemed to be on HEN EGG.  I wondered what was the catch.  Maybe this was code for some weird type of egg but my son-in-law assured me that the eggs were from regular chickens.  OK, it sounded safe enough.  It came with stuff drizzled over it and was bland but I was afraid to ask for salt and pepper.  I didn't want to insult the chef seeing as how there were no condiments on the table.  I guess they figured his food should be expertly seasoned.  Well, maybe for an expert palate.

None of the dessert choices looked particularly appealing but Laura said to go for the one that had the words "chocolate" and "Marshmallow" in it.  I did.  this is what they brought out.  Words failed me.  That tan smear on the side of the bowl was the marshmallow.  The brownish stuff was very chocolately ice cream that had been freeze-dried (flash-dried?).  Then there was some lacy chocolate thing stuck in a dollop of some unidentifiable ice cream.  It wasn't DQ!

The Commander opted for a cheese sampler plate for dessert.  I kept smelling stinky cheese as I chipped away at my chocolate ice cream.  The fusion of smell and taste was NOT very compatible.  When he was finished with it, I told him, "You're not kissing me with THAT cheese breath."

They brought us individually-wrapped mini loaves of coffee-cake bread with the bill.  Let's just say that I could have bought a Coach handbag for what this meal cost us.  After we returned back to PA, the Commander said to me, "I don't think I've ever spent that much on a meal."  It was an experience I don't think we'll ever repeat.  I, for one, would have enjoyed a $1 box of Kraft mac and cheese much more but it wouldn't have been much to blog about, eh?

New Pups and Feelings of Disloyalty

I wonder if other folks who get a new puppy after a beloved dog passes away go through a period where they feel rather disloyal to their deceased dog?  Our Fresca the Wonder Dog passed away in the Spring and Auggie joined our home this pass week.  Call me crazy but I've been on an emotional roller coaster for several days as different little things that Auggie does remind me of Fresca and then I'm hit with waves of sadness as I think of how much I miss my "girl."

Perhaps I should chalk it up to "new puppy mom hormones."  Or maybe it's just all part of the grieving process that pet owners go through who chose to add another animal to their home.  Here's an example.

One of Fresca's favorite toys was this stuffed cow that "moo's."  It is the only thing of hers that I kept after she passed away.

Auggie loves this toy.  He bounces around the living room with it, attacking its ears and horns and happily chomping on its belly.

Auggie has VERY sharp puppy teeth.  I suspect Fresca's cow won't last long if Auggie continues at the pace he has been going with this toy.

So I have a confession to make.  I can't bear the thought of that toy being ripped to shreds.  It's my last physical link to Fresca.  I swiped it from Auggie when he was distracted with another toy and I'm going to put it up where he can't get it.  I still need to be able to give the cow a quick hug on the days when I'm particularly missing my Wonder Dog.

It's been a day of "firsts" for Auggie.  He had his first nail trim and did pretty darn well.  He got his first dog license.  Although, when the clerk asked me if I'd ever registered another dog with the township, I found myself telling her about Fresca and how she had passed away and I almost found myself crying at the counter.  Sheesh.....get a grip!

Auggie also had his first "play date" with his sister, Kinzie and Kinzie's big sister, Sadie.  Wow, Kinzie is no longer acting like a little princess.  She was getting the best of Auggie for the first half of their play date and then the tides turned.  Suddenly Auggie had her number figured out and was a lot more successful in pinning her down and knocking her over.

I'll leave you with this picture of Auggie and I sleeping last night after our show finished up on TV.  The sneaky Commander snapped it while we slept.  We seem to have similar expressions.  Oy!

Not Quite on the Same Page Yet!

Day Three with Auggie our Westie and we're still trying to learn each other's rhythms.  So far we've discovered that the little guy likes to watch TV.  He's quite enthralled with what goes on on the big screen and will settle down on your lap for a good long stretch.

We've learned that keeping him in the big crate on one floor while we sleep on the other floor at night isn't working because he didn't make a fuss to let us know that he needed to go out.  Instead he wet in his crate while letting me sleep through the night until 5.  I'm a light sleeper and was awake off and on all that first night expecting him to bark or whine when he needed to go out but I didn't hear a peep out of him.  We had the crate divider in, too, so he would have a small space.  The prevailing theory is that a dog won't soil their sleeping space/den.  Uh-huh.    We now have him in the small portable kennel and are putting him next to my side of the bed and I'm setting my alarm for the wee hours of the morning to get up and take him out.  It worked last night.  He kept things dry and he stirred and woke me up again at 5 a.m. to let him out again.

I've read so many books on how to potty train/crate train/stop biting and nipping/etc. that I'm going cross-eyed.  Apparently Auggie hasn't read those same books.  I mean, the prevailing wisdom is that a puppy will need to relieve itself 15 minutes or so after eating.  Auggie interrupts his meal to walk into the middle of the kitchen and let loose.  And how the heck do you distinguish the difference between sniffing for a spot to "go" and just exploring the scents of new surroundings?  Our little guy doesn't do the circling thing that my other dogs would do when they were ready to go.  He just lets loose.  Consequently, I'm spending LOTS of time running out with him to the dog yard.

Speaking of our dog yard........Auggie likes to eat rocks.  He also likes to stick his nose down and tunnel through the mulch.  He likes to dig in the mulch too and it doesn't take long before he is down to the landscape mat covering.  Oy!  He has also discovered our heat pump and all the wires and hoses leading out from it and is determined to chew on those.  No matter how I redirect him, he goes right back to it.  So I'm now having to take him out on a leash and stand out there holding the leash so he can't bother the pump and cords.  As for standing out there, one book said to just stand there and not interact with your dog until he goes.  That's hard to do when said dog is tugging on your pant legs or chewing on your shoes or biting your socks (and thus, your legs).  I read in another book that you could try spraying mouthwash spray slightly ahead of his muzzle when he tugs on your pants and this should cure him.  The Commander was out shopping tonight so I asked him to bring some back.  He couldn't find any.  I had to laugh when he asked if I thought the air freshener spray up in the bathroom would work just as well.

This is my first time trying crate training/potty training.  Before we always set up a wired enclosure in our kitchen lined with newspapers and then would take the puppy out from that.  This crate stuff is hard to figure out.  It sounds like they are to be out only when you are watching them every second or if they just went potty outside.  Then you can reward them with some play time.  You have to potty them after a nap, after eating, after playing, and if a certain length of time has gone by.  If they go, you can reward them with some play time.  But wait, doesn't that mean then that you have to take them out again?  Oy, maybe I should build a temporary little hut in the dog yard for myself.  I'm out there enough, eh?

I just ordered one of those leashes that snap around your waist so you can tether the dog to you as you go about your daily activities.  This way, he can't bounce off (and he moves fast) and get under furniture.  He thinks he's made up a new game called "Hide and Go Seek and Make Mommy's Knees Creak."

Auggie does seem to have some tendencies that I think we could make work for us.  The other day he grabbed a rubber broom and headed out of the kitchen with it.  Now this is a tiny puppy and it was a big broom but he managed to grab it and drag it through the doorway and down into the living room.  When we grabbed it from him, he streaked back into the kitchen and came bouncing out with the dustpan.

Butter my biscuits, if he didn't go around the room trying to scoop up his toys with the dustpan.  Now if we could take those cleaning tendencies and develop them, maybe we could get him to wield a dust rag, too.

Guess where the broom and dustpan are now being temporarily stored?  His nice, new dog bed is sitting on one of our living room chairs because he tried to rip it to shreds.  Our living room curtains are draped over the Florida shutters since he also tried to eat those.  Maybe he's part shark.    Well, gotta go and finish reading some more of those training books.  Baby's napping!

Meet Auggie MacDuff!

Meet the newest member of our family - our little 9-week old West Highland White Terrier, Auggie MacDuff!   We headed up to midstate PA yesterday on a gorgeous, crisp day with my friend, Judy and two of her grandchildren and Judy's dog, Sadie, to pick up our puppies.  Judy was getting a littermate of Auggie's - a little girl Westie.

The Commander had picked out Auggie from the litter when he was 5 weeks old when I was in Texas so I had never met him.  I was a tad nervous wondering how I'd feel about the little guy.  Well it was love at first sight.  Here is a picture of our first moments together.  I think the feelings were mutual.

Judy and her little Kinzie got along well, too.  Kinzie was so funny to watch compared to Auggie.  Auggie is all boy and Kinzie was such a little princess.

The two puppies shadowed Sadie all over the room, pouncing on her and pestering her.  Of course, she retaliated by "sliming" them - licking them all over.

This is Sadie and her new little sister, Kinzie.  I think they're going to have LOTS of fun together, don't you?

Judy and her granddaughter tried to help me get a shot of the puppies where they aren't a blur of motion.  Kinzie is saying, "Be sure you photograph my best side."  Auggie is saying, "Ma, Ma......what's she doing?  Let me down.  I've got places to go." His little feet were a blur of motion.

Towards the end of our time at the breeder's, little Kinzie conked out.  You'd think that Auggie would have been tuckered out, too, wouldn't you?  You'd be wrong.

He had swiped Judy's camera case and was making off with it before she realized what had happened and was able to retrieve it from his little jaws.

We got some last minute instruction from our breeder along with some paperwork before it was time to make the 4-hour drive back home.  At this point, Auggie settled right down to sleep contentedly in my lap.  I told the gang that Auggie's philosophy must be "party hardy and then collapse and sleep."

We are now beginning the slippery negotiating of crate/potty training.  It's amazing how much I've forgotten and it's also amazing how different each dog is when it comes to the "signs" they give when they have to "go."   I'm confident that Auggie and I will both figure it out.  In the meantime, I foresee a LOT of fresh air in my future.

Waiting on a Westie

In three days, the Commander, myself, and my friend, Judy (along with her dog, Sadie) will be heading up to midstate Pennsylvania to pick up our Westie puppies.  I'll be bringing home our little male puppy and Judy will be bringing home a new little sister for Sadie.

The time has gotten close enough that I'm now setting out things for our little guy.  I've got a little bed set out by the fireplace with a few toys by it.  I must confess that I felt rather guilty setting that bed down in the very same spot where my beloved Fresca's bed had always sat.

I've placed his main crate beside my computer.  I figure since that's where I spend the majority of my time each day, writing and researching, that my little guy can crawl in there to nap and, since the side panel curtain also folds up, he can see me at all times.  I can also shut the computer room door while in there and keep a close eye on him when he's outside the crate.

His dog dishes are in place beside our refrigerator in the same spot where Fresca's dishes used to stand.  I have to keep reminding myself that Fresca understands and approves, looking down from doggy heaven.  After all, it is a great tribute to Fresca the Wonder Dog that her love and companionship was so special to me that it has made me want to have that again with another dog.

The leashes are in place beside the front door, waiting for those walks that our new little one and I will be taking.

Today I'll be heading off to the pet store to pick up puppy food and any last-minute supplies that I don't have on hand.  I'll also be picking up some fleece material from the fabric store and will be sure to handle it quite a bit between now and Saturday so that it will have my scent on it.  That way it should prove comforting to our pup when I place it in his little bed in the crate at night.  (I'll let you know how THAT goes.)

I'll leave you today with a glimpse of my latest desktop wallpaper - a picture of little Spud shopping for pumpkins.  I figure it's the perfect wallpaper for this Fall weather.

Of Piddles, Puppies, and Poo

In ten days, the Commander and I will be picking up this little guy and he'll be joining our family.  I can't wait.   However, I'm not going into this with oblivious optimism either.  I KNOW what is ahead.  We're making a big-time commitment to our puppy to train him and help him be a responsible member of canine society, not to mention a beloved member of our family.

After fifteen years, I'm going to be potty-training a puppy once more.  It's like childbirth.  You kind of selectively forget those days.  The big difference this time is that I'm going to be home and not working.  I hope that makes it easier on all of us.  I've also been reading lots of books on potty-training a dog.  Hey, I'm a reader.  What can I say?  I've already picked out some good ideas and noticed some things that we did wrong with our Fresca the Wonder Dog.  She ended up potty trained quite well (even rang bells to go outside SO successfully that I eventually had to take the darn bells and hide them) but I see where I could have made it easier on both of us.

We're also having the dog yard portion of our yard re-landscaped.  It has always been a disaster.  We could never get grass to grow there with any degree of success because it is in a totally shaded area.  Even after Fresca passed away, grass still wouldn't grow.  When it rained, it would turn into a muddy mess.  Fresca shed dirt with no problem but she would track mud into the house so I was always having to wipe her paws whenever she'd go in and out to do her business.  This little Westie will probably have the tendency to be a digger.  It's a characteristic of the breed.  I'm not going to give him a muddy playground.  That's a recipe for disaster.

Consequently, we are having ALL of the grass removed.  The landscapers have arrived today and are in the process of transforming the dog yard into a vision I've had all along......more of a zen garden type of place.  There will be sections of mulch and crushed rock paths with a spot in the center for a bird bath.  The dog will be able to go potty on the rock paths or on the mulch.  I don't really care.  We can replenish the mulch each year and hose off the rock and keep things cleaned easier than sloughing through muddy patches looking for poo.  That's the theory, anyway.  Only time will tell if I'm correct.

I'll keep you posted on how the dog yard turns out.  Until then, I'm off to read about "dog socialization."  Happy Yapping!

The Cavalry Has Arrived!

The beginning of the new week, the beginning of our daughter-in-law's taxing rotation schedule, and PawPaw has arrived!  Boy, am I happy about that.  With this cold that I've been battling for about a week now, I'm so wiped out that I can barely see straight, let alone keep up with two very active toddlers.  It was so nice to be able to collapse on one end of the couch and just listen to him reading to the little ones.

Spud was particularly delighted with pointing out the "dog" in the book to his PawPaw.  If you've never seen the children's book, "Good Boy, Fergus!" by David Shannon, I'd highly recommend it.  It's a very cute story of a little West Highland Terrier dog and his owner and it charmingly captures all the quirks that Westies are known for.

It was really fun to just watch the children interacting with their grandpa.  They haven't seen him since April so they've changed a lot since that time.

After supper, one set of grandparents took little Spud to their house and we had Sweet Pea with us.  I made her a glass of her warm "chai" (it's really just warmed up 2% milk with a tiny bit of Nestle's cocoa powder added to it) and then she and PawPaw settled down to watch a short video featuring a sing-a-long with the 101 Dalmation family.  Let's see if I can get this straight...the mom is Perdita and the dad is Pongo.  I already know the words to all the songs by heart.  Sweet Pea gets on a kick and wants to watch the same video over and over again.   Then it was time to head to the bedroom, have PawPaw read three books to her and say "goodnight."

 This morning I was up bright and early, getting their lunches ready for preschool.  It's "Mother's Day Out" so it is a school morning and that means bags to pack and lunches to prepare.  It wasn't terribly hard at all getting Sweet Pea ready, fed, and dressed.  I mentioned how much easier it seemed to be handling one child rather than two to her grandpa when he showed up with Spud to take them to school.  Maybe the trick is "Divide and Conquer."  I'd give it more thought but I'd rather go take a nap.

You're Getting a What?

It seems like many of my recent conversations with friends and extended family have migrated around to the inevitable "What's new with you?" question.  That's when I share our latest news.  We're getting a puppy.  It's been interesting to note the types of responses this elicits.

1.  Hey, that's great!  These folks seem quite happy for us.  They're enthusiastic, go-with-the-flow types of folks.

2.  Why?  This response usually comes after a moment of stunned silence followed by a wide-eyed look of astonishment and the unspoken (or sometimes plainly stated) feeling of "Are you NUTS?"  Often these folks are empty-nesters themselves who are now footloose and fancy-free and can't imagine why we'd voluntarily tie ourselves down to a new little one in our family.

3.  What kind?  The folks asking this question are often dog-people themselves and are naturally curious about the breed we are getting.  Of course, they COULD just be nosy but hey, let's be generous here, ok?  I would fall into this category.  I always want to know what kind of dog a person is getting because it gives me a clue into the type of person they are.   It just seems like certain personalities are drawn to certain breeds of dogs.  And therein lies my dilemma.

Let me just categorically state here that I do NOT have a terrier personality.  At least I don't think that I do.  I have never in my entire life felt that I had to get one of the terrier breeds.  I always was drawn to the herding breeds or the working breeds.  I had two Shetland Sheepdogs and an Australian Shepherd.  They were smart as could be.

My Eskie was very smart, too, and my personal bodyguard par excellence.  I also really liked the idea of owning really big dogs.  When I was a teenager, I wanted Irish Wolfhounds or Scottish Deerhounds.  In college, I lusted after owning an Afghan Hound.  I always thought that it would be nice to have a Bernese Mountain Dog.

Well, we're getting a West Highland White Terrier.....a Westie!  I'm not quite sure how that happened.  One of my friends has one and when she went up to see her breeder about getting another dog, I rode along.  I had a hole in my heart  after Fresca's death and apparently, it was just the right size for a Westie.

I've done my research and know that this is NOT going to be a herding dog.  Westie folks (and I'll be one of them shortly) say that they are smart dogs in their own way but stubborn and that THEY have to decide they want to do something before they will do it.  Hmmm, this will be different.  My other dogs all lived to please me.  I was the Queen Mum in their lives.

 "Run an agility course?  No problem, Mom.  Here I go!"

" Run circles around the rest of the group in this Obedience class?  Just give me the training manual, Mom, and go sit down.  I'll read it myself and have it all figured out."

I can't wait to see how Puppy Kindergarten and the subsequent obedience classes will pan out with my little Westie.

I was describing our upcoming puppy to someone today.  "He's a West Highland White Terrier," I told her.

"A terrier?  What do they look like?" she asked.

"You know the dog that is on the front of the Caesar Dog Food containers?  That's a Westie," I responded.

She looked blank so I tried again.  "Do you know what a Scottie dog looks like?" I asked.

"Yes," she grinned, her face brightening.

"Well, they look kind of like a Scotty but they are all white, their faces are rounder and they tend to be a little shorter," I explained.

"Are they the ones with the long hair?" she asked.

"Oh,oh...she's thinking of a Maltese or a Lhasa Apso," I thought.

"Their hair is more wiry....like a cairn terrier's," I told her but she just looked at me blankly.

"Well, I DID want a greyhound rescue but my husband thought they were too big. They're nice, quiet couch potatoes, though," I continued.

"Aren't terriers happy little dogs that have a lot of energy?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm going from a couch potato that just wants to sit around or eat to one that wants to run around or eat and I just hope it's not the grandkids," I laughed.

I'm getting a puppy....a terrier puppy.  Batten down the hatches, hide your children, and pass the Prozac!

Preparing the Nest

As I wait (impatiently, I must admit) for our new puppy to be born, I've started preparing the house for our little one.  It's been over 14 years since we've had a puppy living with us so puppy-proofing is in order.  I'm also starting a new project.  I'll give you a sneak peak.  See if you can figure out what it is going to be.  Here is the fabric I picked out at the store the other day.  I must admit that I hadn't figured on the fact that I probably would want to line this project but I had fabric on hand at home that coordinated, thank goodness.

Today I ironed all of the fabric which I had pre-washed yesterday.  I was a little worried that I might not have enough fabric since I don't have a pattern for this project but since I was able to pull other fabric out of my stash, I think I'll be in good shape.

I took careful measurements and then went upstairs to my cutting board with my freshly ironed fabric and proceeded to cut out my pieces.  As with any project, but especially with one that you are doing by the seat of your pants, I measured each piece and then measured one more time before I cut each piece.  It's so easy to slip up and forget things like seam allowances.

Tonight I started on the trim.  I think it is going to work out ok.  Of course, I only have a vague idea of how I'm going to attach this trim.  I'm more of a "creative - what if...." thinker.  I'm definitely not a spatial thinker so trying to take an idea and turn it into a tangible object is a real challenge for me without a concrete pattern or instructions to follow.

Not to say that I don't have some idea of what I want the finished project to look like.  However, getting to that point is going to be an adventure.  That's why I'm stopping for tonight and heading downstairs to knit and watch a show.  I think I need my mind to be fresh to tackle the next step on this creative endeavor.