life update - xmas, new years, buddy, etc.
I've been pretty absent lately just doing other stuff. I'm trying to skim LJ but not so much with the posting. Sorry.
For xmas we drove to NM to see my parents. The drive down took 12 hours (instead of the mapquest estimate of 8). We sat for over two hours just getting between Denver and Colorado Springs. It was a nightmare. A mix of regular traffic, holiday shoppers, and leftover snow issues from the blizzard. Next year we're taking back roads down because that was just ridiculous.
Buddy handled the drive well though. We stopped several times to let him walk around and drink some water and eat (not that he ate much, too many distractions). Got to my mom's around 1:00am. Then had to stay up a bit while Buddy got acclimated a bit. The next morning he got up and started to pee on the xmas tree and my stepfather caught him and stopped him then let him out back. Poor Buddy didn't know it wasn't a tree for peeing on. All we have around home are pine trees. How convenient to have one right there in the living room, right? But being a good boy, he didn't try it again. One no was sufficient.
My parents loved Buddy. And having him there convinced my stepfather that it might be okay to get dogs again. They'd both been resistant after having to put Foxx and Pris down over the summer, but Mom was ready again. They've purchased two Papillon puppies who should be ready to come home with them at the end of January (they're only about 5 weeks old right now). So they went from medium-sized dogs to dogs that will only get to about 6 lbs. They're a brother and sister and will either be named Rocky & Bullwinkle or Boris & Natasha -- both names courtesy of Chris. Mom wanted something cutesy like Sugar & Spice and the rest of us were disgusted. Then Chris came up with those (the puppies' father is named Moose!) and my mom really liked those. So she just has to decide which.
Thanks to Buddy Love, there was no fighting with the mother. Yay! She was even happy to have him there on Sunday while we drove up to Ski Santa Fe and got a few runs in on the slopes. We drove home on xmas day with no traffic and the drive took the appropriate time of 8 hours. Parents gave us a short cut from their place to the north side of Santa Fe so we were ahead of schedule and we were able to take our time with the Buddy stops.
Buddy didn't eat normal the entire time at my mom's and was still off schedule all last week. He seems to be getting back to normal though, which is good. At my mom's we just figured it was the stress of the drive and the different surroundings, but when he was still off at home we got nervous. The vet said to give him a few days before bringing him in so we waited and we think he's good now but I'm still watching him closely.
This weekend we mostly stayed home. Saturday we popped down to Keystone and I dropped my Four Stars at the consignment shop. Hopefully they'll sale quickly and I'll get my full asking price (minus the store's cut, of course). We walked Buddy around the base area of the ski resort for a bit and did a little shopping. He had a good time. Sunday we were going to go ski but I didn't get out of bed then Chris got cranky. Then we watched football and I knitted all day. In the late afternoon the neighbor popped over and invited us to come over around 7 and have some snacks and hang out. So we were there a couple of hours.
While we were gone, Buddy managed to close himself in our bathroom. We came home and couldn't find him at first then Chris found the bathroom door closed and could hear Buddy scratching on the other side. Poor guy was super hot in there and clearly dehydrated. It's a small room with it's own heat vent. Usually the door is open, but with it closed it warms up fast in there. He was panting and went through three bowls of water. He was also extremely agitated and in need of attention. The bathroom was a mess, he'd peed a little on the floor and pulled down towels and stuff from the vanity. We think he tried to drink from the toilet in desperation, and knocked the lid down on himself. *pets Buddy*
So yesterday morning when we went skiing in Winter Park, we made sure to close the doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms. He had the open area of the family/living/dining/kitchen to move around in. Chris dropped some treats for him in his favorite places and we left him plenty of water. When we came home about 5 hours later he was okay -- desperate for a walk and some attention, but certainly not upset or anything. Only one mini blind was damaged and that was the one he'd already destroyed that won't go up anymore, so he just further mauled it. We have to go to Denver to get blinds, so I haven't replaced it yet. We cut off the bottom half today. *g*
That's about it. I've been reading books and fanfic and knitting. And indexing, of course (although it's a little slower right now than summer and fall).
For xmas we drove to NM to see my parents. The drive down took 12 hours (instead of the mapquest estimate of 8). We sat for over two hours just getting between Denver and Colorado Springs. It was a nightmare. A mix of regular traffic, holiday shoppers, and leftover snow issues from the blizzard. Next year we're taking back roads down because that was just ridiculous.
Buddy handled the drive well though. We stopped several times to let him walk around and drink some water and eat (not that he ate much, too many distractions). Got to my mom's around 1:00am. Then had to stay up a bit while Buddy got acclimated a bit. The next morning he got up and started to pee on the xmas tree and my stepfather caught him and stopped him then let him out back. Poor Buddy didn't know it wasn't a tree for peeing on. All we have around home are pine trees. How convenient to have one right there in the living room, right? But being a good boy, he didn't try it again. One no was sufficient.
My parents loved Buddy. And having him there convinced my stepfather that it might be okay to get dogs again. They'd both been resistant after having to put Foxx and Pris down over the summer, but Mom was ready again. They've purchased two Papillon puppies who should be ready to come home with them at the end of January (they're only about 5 weeks old right now). So they went from medium-sized dogs to dogs that will only get to about 6 lbs. They're a brother and sister and will either be named Rocky & Bullwinkle or Boris & Natasha -- both names courtesy of Chris. Mom wanted something cutesy like Sugar & Spice and the rest of us were disgusted. Then Chris came up with those (the puppies' father is named Moose!) and my mom really liked those. So she just has to decide which.
Thanks to Buddy Love, there was no fighting with the mother. Yay! She was even happy to have him there on Sunday while we drove up to Ski Santa Fe and got a few runs in on the slopes. We drove home on xmas day with no traffic and the drive took the appropriate time of 8 hours. Parents gave us a short cut from their place to the north side of Santa Fe so we were ahead of schedule and we were able to take our time with the Buddy stops.
Buddy didn't eat normal the entire time at my mom's and was still off schedule all last week. He seems to be getting back to normal though, which is good. At my mom's we just figured it was the stress of the drive and the different surroundings, but when he was still off at home we got nervous. The vet said to give him a few days before bringing him in so we waited and we think he's good now but I'm still watching him closely.
This weekend we mostly stayed home. Saturday we popped down to Keystone and I dropped my Four Stars at the consignment shop. Hopefully they'll sale quickly and I'll get my full asking price (minus the store's cut, of course). We walked Buddy around the base area of the ski resort for a bit and did a little shopping. He had a good time. Sunday we were going to go ski but I didn't get out of bed then Chris got cranky. Then we watched football and I knitted all day. In the late afternoon the neighbor popped over and invited us to come over around 7 and have some snacks and hang out. So we were there a couple of hours.
While we were gone, Buddy managed to close himself in our bathroom. We came home and couldn't find him at first then Chris found the bathroom door closed and could hear Buddy scratching on the other side. Poor guy was super hot in there and clearly dehydrated. It's a small room with it's own heat vent. Usually the door is open, but with it closed it warms up fast in there. He was panting and went through three bowls of water. He was also extremely agitated and in need of attention. The bathroom was a mess, he'd peed a little on the floor and pulled down towels and stuff from the vanity. We think he tried to drink from the toilet in desperation, and knocked the lid down on himself. *pets Buddy*
So yesterday morning when we went skiing in Winter Park, we made sure to close the doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms. He had the open area of the family/living/dining/kitchen to move around in. Chris dropped some treats for him in his favorite places and we left him plenty of water. When we came home about 5 hours later he was okay -- desperate for a walk and some attention, but certainly not upset or anything. Only one mini blind was damaged and that was the one he'd already destroyed that won't go up anymore, so he just further mauled it. We have to go to Denver to get blinds, so I haven't replaced it yet. We cut off the bottom half today. *g*
That's about it. I've been reading books and fanfic and knitting. And indexing, of course (although it's a little slower right now than summer and fall).