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.

On the Final Leg of the Implant Train

Way back in February of this year I began the procedure to have a dental implant.  If you haven't been following this saga on my blog, I'll recap for you.  I had a tooth that had become infected up in the roots and it had reached the point where my jaw was swelling from the abscess and my dentist decided there was no other recourse but to pull the tooth.  That left us with the decision of how to replace it.  Because my mouth is so tiny and because I already have had eight teeth pulled over the years (wisdom teeth & those pulled to make room for straightening during braces), we decided getting a dental implant would be the best way to go.

I had no idea that the whole thing would be stretched out over so many months.  The first surgery was to remove the tooth.  Then my jaw had to heal for 3 months.  Then I went in for Surgery #2 which was when they implanted a post into my jaw.  That required another 3 months of healing.

We are FINALLY at the point where my regular dentist is ready to step in and prepare the replacement abutment and crown to go over the post.  Today was my appointment to have him take impressions of my mouth and then he'll go to work making the custom abutment and the crown which will look like my natural tooth.  The whole contraption will just screw onto the post.  Pretty nifty, eh?

I must say that taking impressions has improved a whole lot since the last time I had it done (when I was getting braces in high school).  Back then, they used a cement-like material in a metal container that you had to bite down into and then eventually you had it pried off of your teeth.  This time around, they were still using metal containers but the material that they put into the container that you bit into was more of a rubbery substance.  It reminded me of those rubber-like masks that the villain peels off his or her face to reveal that he is someone else entirely, not that I've ever done that, mind you.

The BEST thing about my appointment today was that the mystery of my dirty brown stains on my teeth was solved.  I was apologizing to my dentist for how dirty my teeth looked.  You can't see the stains much in this picture but on the tops of my molars and on the backs of my teeth, it looks fairly brown.  I've NEVER had stained teeth.  My hygienists over the years have always complemented me on how clean my teeth are.  That's why I was absolutely mortified several months ago when I happened to peer into the mirror and notice that my teeth looked all stained with a dirty brown stain.

I told my dentist that I had gone up on the Web and looked at pictures of stained teeth and the closest to my own teeth seemed to be those of people who had been chewing tobacco for years.  Yikes!  What in the heck had caused that?

My dentist laughed.  "It wasn't anything you did," he assured me.  "Those stains are a side effect of the mouth rinse that the dental surgeon had you use after your surgeries.  It does a very good job of preventing infections but it also kills all of the bacteria in your mouth and causes that type of staining.  Don't worry.  It will come right off with a good cleaning."

"Oh, my goodness,!"  I told the dentist, "I've been mortified.  I've been using whitening toothpaste and special whitening mouthwash ever since I noticed the stains.  They've improved somewhat but they're still there.  I even cut way back on drinking colas and coffee, thinking maybe that was doing it."

"No, no," he chuckled.  "It was nothing you were doing.  It was just a side effect of that rinse."

"Gosh," I sighed.  "I was dreading coming in here and having you see my teeth in this state because I was afraid you'd think I wasn't brushing.  And I hated the thought of what my hygienist would say.  I figured she'd demote me from an 'A'-patient to a 'F'-flunkee."

"Don't you worry about that," he said.  "Your teeth will be back to their normal sparkling condition at your next cleaning session.  And just so you don't get all worked up about your next appointment, it isn't going to involve any shots.  We'll just be screwing on the new tooth."

You've got to love a dentist that knows you so well that he can head off your fears before they even have a chance to manifest themselves.

A Dog Yard Remodel

 Our new puppy is going to be joining our household one week from today.  I'm pretty excited while, at the same time, realizing that our mornings of sleeping in on the weekends and lazing about in the evenings are going to be over for awhile.  Life will be assuming the tempo of "new parents."

One of the last things to deal with was our fenced-in dog yard.  It opens up from our sunporch and is just a small portion of our total yard.  We have always used it to let Fresca, the Wonder Dog go out and in to do her business.  She was never left out there any longer than it took her to "sniff and go" but still, the dog yard was in terrible shape.  There were bare patches where we just couldn't get grass to grow and these areas always turned into a muddy mess any time it rained.  I didn't want to bring our new puppy into this mess.

 I did a lot of research looking at pictures on the Web and reading the few books dealing with "pet landscaping."  I finally came up with a plan of what I wanted.  I basically wanted a Zen-garden look.  With every marriage there are always compromises, so the Commander and I put our heads together and then consulted with our landscaper and this is what we ended up with.  We decided on a combination of mulched areas and pathways of crushed stone.

The crew showed up the first day and laid the framework for the stone paths.  They also covered the entire area with heavy-duty landscaping fabric and put the mulch down in the areas where we wanted mulch to go.

The next day they brought in the rock and put that in the pathways.  After hauling lots of wheelbarrel-fulls of rock, they tamped it all down and watered it thoroughly.

One feature that our landscaper had suggested was to break up the path area with a small structural piece in the middle.  We remembered that we had a birdbath that had been languishing in our garage for several years and told him about it.  "Perfect," he said.  I have to agree.  I really like that feature and so do the birds.

The Commander wanted room to put our big gas grill so that it wouldn't have to be kept in the garage and pulled out into the driveway every time we grill.  He got his wish.  Now he can keep it in the back corner of the dog yard, I think.  We'll see how it works.

Here's the view from the far corner of the dog yard looking toward the sunporch.  It was late afternoon so I'm sorry about the shadows in the pictures.

So the plan is to encourage the new puppy to use the mulched area to the right of the steps when he goes outside.  We're quite pleased with how it turned out, although we both agree that we wish we had installed more rock, instead of so much mulch.  (Hmmph.....that WAS my original vision.)  But we can always have the landscaper enlarge the paths next year, after we've had some time to watch how the dog utilizes the space.

One thing is for sure, though.  It looks 100% better than it did several days ago.  Now we just need to add our little guy to the picture.

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!

She's a Grand Old Dame!

 Mom turns 99-years-old tomorrow so we had a little Open House for her today at the nursing home.  She was all dressed and ready to be wheeled down to the lounge when we got there and even had a tiara on.  We had a lot of fun with that.  At one point, some of the nurses that came in agreed with us that she should be declared the "Queen Mum" of the nursing home.  Mom gave us all an imperial wave and some of the ladies there even curtsied.

 My brother flew in from Michigan for the weekend so we've been over to the home several days already.  Yesterday we read some more of the farm girl story that I've been reading to her.  It was all about ironing before they had steam irons (you had to sprinkle your clothes with water and then roll them up to await ironing) and washing with the old wringer washers.  We ALL remembered those times and chuckled over the memories.

John tried to get a picture of the two of them with his cellphone and Mom gave us all a regal smile.  Unfortunately she couldn't see the pictures because of her eyesight but we will enjoy them as documentation of a memorable time.

Besides the nurses and staff that dropped in to say "hi" to Mom and have some food and cake, good friends Linda and Vince Joslin stopped in for a visit as well.  Their little dog Schatze is a favorite of Mom's and she always enjoys a visit from them.

Then granddaughter Laura and husband Jason arrived up from Maryland to add to the fun.  Mom was certainly glad to see them as well.  I think my brother was delighted to have the chance to visit with Jason because both of them are hunters and gun enthusiasts and enjoy talking "shop" when they get together.

While the men discussed archery bows and hunting blinds, Laura brightened her grandmother's day, helping her to open presents and even sing some songs.

You can't hear Mom singing very well in this little clip but listen to the end when she rallies for a "BIG" finale. She still loves to sing.

Finally, while Mom was dozing off, we enjoyed looking at the lovely fish in the freshwater tank.  They had some very unusual fish, including a freshwater mantis.  Vince knew the names of many of them so we had fun trying to spot them and identify them all.

Then it was time to take Mom back to her room for a nap and head back to our house.  We got quite a good laugh when we saw Jason and Laura's new truck parked next to the Commander's Ford Escape.  My, my....I always thought the Escape was a big car but next to the truck, it looked like a puny "little brother."

Happy birthday, Mom!  One more year and you'll make it on the Smuckers jelly jar on the Today Show.  Hip Hip Hooray for a grand old dame!

Imagination is a Wonderful Thing

It's our last day with the little ones before heading home.  Hard to believe in some ways that it has been three weeks. In other ways, I'm very aware that it has been three weeks.  Ha!  Little Sweet Pea popped into our bedroom this morning and we watched a "Thomas the Train Engine" video on my Kindle Fire together courtesy of Netflix.  Ah, technology...it's a wonderful thing.

I guess watching the Thomas video inspired her to pull out her various train engines and set up her OWN "Isle of Sodor."  Mommy helped by finding a play rug with tracks and villages and other landmarks.

The trains were busily moving from one end of the play-mat to the other as our little engineer talked to herself happily.  I caught strains of "chugga chugga"  and "clickety-clack" and she was very happily directing all of the different engines until.....

Godzilla, in the form of little Spud, tramped right through the middle of the island, scattering engines and waving a school bus ominously in his hand.

That didn't go over real well with big sister so we stepped in to negotiate a detente which held for just a few minutes before it was time to remove and distract Spud.

First he got distracted by his daddy and PawPaw in discussion in the office.  He had his little face plastered up against the glass and would occasionally bang on the panes, hoping to be let into the inner sanctum.

Then he got distracted by lunch, which contrary to this picture, was NOT his toes but he had fun pretending to eat his feet anyway.

Spud was in a much better mood after filling up on lunch and then he was ready for a new adventure which was soon taking shape.

Mommy pulled out some brown paper and some painter's tape and taped the paper on the floor.  Then out came the crayons and Sweet Pea and Mommy started drawing houses, dog houses, roads, tracks, and all sorts of extra places for the trains to visit.  What a lot of fun to have a customized play map for the cars and trains!

And now we're getting ready for supper.  Jason is out grilling salmon, Laura is fixing vegetables with two suddenly cranky kids (I used to call this the "witching hour" with MY kids - when the children would reach a very ornery meltdown point).  Time to sign off and make myself useful.

Daddy and Mommy are Home!

Today was a day for celebration.  Last night, after the children had gone to bed and fallen asleep, Mommy returned from a LONG week of working in the ICU at the hospital.  That's why the Commander and I knew that we could sleep in this morning because Mommy would be waiting to greet the children when they woke up.  Indeed she was!  I woke up to the babbling of little Spud who was "talking" a mile a minute out in the kitchen to his mom.  Soon Sweet Pea woke up and joined the delighted reunion.

When I walked out into the kitchen, little Spud took one look at me, started wailing and skedaddled over to his mommy and grabbed her legs in a grip that said, "Oh, no, you don't.  You're not leaving me so soon."  I think he thought it was his mom's cue to head off to work and for me to take over as a poor substitute.  Not to worry, little guy!

Then it was time for Laura and the children to head off to the airport to pick up our son, returning from his two weeks away in Canada.  I don't think the kids knew quite what to do.  They were just so happy to see both of their parents home.

Little Spud stuck to his daddy like glue, even giving him a hair massage and kisses.  Sweet Pea wandered in and out of the tableau but she was moving so quickly that I couldn't capture her on film.

Of course, "Daddy" was eating up all the attention and SO happy to be reunited with his family again.  We were happy for all of them.  I can still remember the times our own kids and I stood on the pier waiting for the Commander's ship to pull into port after a long cruise and the excitement of everyone as we would finally spot our loved ones on deck.

Later in the afternoon we all went to Olive Garden to celebrate.  Little Sweet Pea was happy as a clam with the breadsticks and her own set of crayons.

Spud was just happy to have Mommy and Daddy close by.  Of course, he wasn't turning his nose up at the breadsticks either.

We'll be heading off in a few more days back to our own home (and Fall weather).  Then I have to start working quickly on plans for a little celebration for my mom's 99th birthday.  Won't be long after that when our new puppy will be arriving at our home.  Guess this babysitting has been to prepare me for the days ahead with another little baby, even though he'll be a canine baby.    For now though, I'm going to head to bed happy in the knowledge that our Texas family is back safe and sound under one roof.

Look Out Preschool! It's the "C" Team!

 It was our turn today to take the little ones to their preschool for Mother's Day Out.  I've only gone the one other time with their maternal grandpa.   But never fear.  I had their lunches packed, clothes in their bags, and figured we were prepared.  Their maternal grandma ("Nammy") dropped little Spud off on her way to work.  They've been keeping the little guy at night this week until the weekend when their mommy is off from her residency duties and their daddy returns from Canada.  (Let the rejoicing commence)  We've had Sweet Pea with us.

Last night I was brave and gave Sweet Pea a bath. It has been just about 23 years since I last bathed a child so I was not too sure I was up for the task but things went pretty well.  Although I've discovered that it is a darn side harder to get a newly-bathed child into pajamas than it is to get a dry kiddo into a pair of pjs.  Man, I thought I'd NEVER get her arms into those sleeves and out the ends.  I liberally sprayed her wet hair with the stuff that is supposed to slick it down to make the combing "tangle-free."  It worked.  Hooray!  Then I introduced Sweet Pea to my blow dryer.  I didn't want to put her to bed with wet hair.  My mother taught me that this is a sure way to give a child pneumonia.  At least it is in Minnesota.

Back to today!  We got both children fed and left them to their own devices for a few minutes while I finished getting their bags ready.  The normal squabbling was going on in the background but no one seemed to be in imminent danger so as the time to depart drew closer, I decided we'd better do one more diaper check.  I had the Commander change Spud.

"I hope I remember how to do this," he said.

"You'll learn," I retorted, and continued getting the little guy's bottle ready.

Then I took over with Sweet Pea.  Of course, she had a major stinkeroo waiting for me.

"I want my soft pillow," she wailed, as I hefted her on to the changing table.

"Sorry, you've got the hard one," I countered.

"I want all of my kitties," she whimpered.

"Have a dog," I said, trying not to breathe in the smell.

The diaper was swiftly changed and off we traipsed to the van to load up and head to the church school.  Sweet Pea was still not too sure about the fact that her kitties had been left at the house.  "Here, have Perdita," I said and gave her one of the plastic dalmatians.  Spud was keeping himself occupied with undoing the Velcro straps on his shoes in the meantime.

We arrived at the school without further incident and walked down the hallway to the kiosk where you check the children in electronically.  I had "kind-of" watched their grandpa do this the other day but hadn't paid very close attention.  I handed the special card to the Commander and he took over.  He's very good with figuring out stuff like that.

While we were studying the screen, another parent was getting impatient.  "Push this button," he said.

"Sorry," I laughed.  "We're the 'C' team today.  We're still learning the ropes."

Their check-in sheets printed out but I was concerned that no corresponding labels printed to stick on the backs of their shirts.

"That was only for the first couple of weeks," explained the parent.

Now it was time to deposit Sweet Pea in her classroom.  I found her door, alerted her teacher and turned around to usher in our girl and was greeted by the most woebegone look that I've seen in a long time.  Oh, my....I can see that this child has inherited my dramatic abilities.  With trembling lip, she slipped into the room.

It was Spud's turn.  This could be a challenge.  He was not a happy boy last school day but today he was calm and collected right up to the classroom door and then.........he lost it.  Luckily his teacher took over and whisked him into class while I deposited his bag in the proper bin and his bottle into the refrigerator.

The Commander and I climbed back into the van.  "Do you want to stop anywhere?" he asked me.

It was too early for Dairy Queen to be open so I opted to just go back home and enjoy the luxury of a shower.  "C" team, signing out.

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.