Newest Addition
On July 16, 2010, I officially became a horse owner!
Introducing Summit/Harley/Boomer. He needs a name. We’re working on that. Today we’re leaning toward Harley. We’ve ruled out Dante and Buca. On the fence with Rocco.
In mid-June, I began to give some serious consideration to purchasing a horse. I had been leasing for a long time and it finally felt right to begin searching for something specifically for me. My criteria were simple. I wanted something safe, sane, and willing to work with me even as I made bumbling mistakes. I knew that my budget wouldn’t allow me to purchase a horse with all the training I wanted, so I was going to have to do that myself. It’s scary going out and looking for something just a bit more than green broke, but I had amazing encouragement from my family and husband, and all my barn friends didn’t react like I’d lost my mind so I began to think that maybe I could actually do this!
Though it’s been 15 years since I’ve owned a horse, I absorbed all those horse buying and selling lessons from years ago, and I was possibly the most prepared horse buyer ever. I had my questions (two pages worth – initial phone calls were more like half-hour interviews), I asked for video and pictures, I called every trainer associated with the horse – anything I could think of to help me. On more than one occasion, at the end of the interview I asked if there was anything else I should know and the owners said they couldn’t possibly think of one more thing!
We were getting close to making an offer on a horse near Delano last weekend. The horse fit my criteria and would have been interesting. However, when we wanted to come back to ride again and make an offer, we were getting stalled! Over a weekend! You know I can’t NOT continue searching with all that time on my hands.
The universe was speaking to me and I listened. On Sunday I found an ad for Summit and I called. Here’s his story:
Summit was trained to be a racehorse in Virginia, however he was never actually raced. Probably because he’s too smart to go out there and get beat up. Also because he’s kind of lazy. So he was sold as a three year old and ended up in some “ole cowboy’s” barn where they were throwing big western saddles on him and taking him out with a big old bit in his mouth. Also, he was stalled next to donkeys! For those who don’t know, donkeys bray and the sound is something like a dinosaur revving up. Poor guy.
In Virginia, there lives a woman by the name of Lisa. Lisa is a horse-matchmaker – she finds horses with amazing temperaments and good confirmation in unusual places, and hooks them up with her students and clients. Lisa feels that if you have a horse with a great work ethic, willingness to please, sane, and has good conformation and soundness, they will try that much more for you and you can form a winning/successful bond. She’s highly recommended by the top eventer, Christan Trainor, which is why Katie (a MN eventer), contacted Lisa. Katie had been looking for an off the track TB in Minnesota but couldn’t find one to her liking, so she asked Lisa to match her up.
Lisa found Summit and was amazed by his maturity, kind eye, and willingness. Pretty much on faith, Katie bought Summit and had him transported to MN in November 2009. Not six weeks later, she was calling Lisa back saying that she didn’t feel that Summit was going to progress to the level of showing that she wants on her two year timeline.
A very unfortunate situation indeed. I feel that Katie’s expectations were rather aggressive considering the horse was so recently off the track he still had his racing shoes on. He needed (and still needs) a lot of work to build the type of muscle needed to perform dressage or jumping. Right now he’s built to race, not to move fluidly, relax his neck and work his (nonexistent) muscles on his topline (back). But, what it boils down to is that he’s not the horse for Katie and everyone is entitled to have the horse they want. I have no aggressive timelines, I think there’s something there I can work with, and I think he’s got a nice personality (and totally sane!). So I snapped him up.
Katie took a completely green horse and got him to the “well started” stage that I was interested in. She was doing mostly jumping with him and he’s quite comfortable jumping a 2’6″ course. However, given his lack of balance and bend, I plan on spending quite a bit of time on the flat to strengthen those areas and muscle groups before we get into jumping. He’s very, very quite. Stands without fidgeting, knows his boundaries, lunges safely, hauls beautifully, and comes up to you in the field (that may have something to do with being a treat-hound though). Several times I’ve found myself treating him like I do older, more mature horses – leading him around with a loose lead rope, walking around a new arena daydreaming, and he’s fine, but I realize I should probably be more aware just because he is only 4. So far though, he definitely acts like a mature boy.
I was able to ride him for a week before taking delivery of him, and that was very beneficial. We worked through getting to know a new person, with a different seat position (why, he wondered, did I have so much leg on him – you can’t even feel a jockey’s legs!). He tried to test me and we learned who was the boss (but, significantly, I learned that he’s not going to do something stupid or unsafe when he’s testing me, and I felt confident and in control the whole time). It was a very successful trial.
Unfortunately I had to leave the barn where I’ve been at since I’ve arrived in MN. The barn is full of amazing, wonderful, helpful, friendly people who I will sorely miss, but I’m excited about the new barn. It’s small and quiet, but the people are friendly. Also, it’s close to a grocery store and gas station so I’ll be able to run errands easier. Score!
We moved him Friday night and I spent all of Saturday morning acclimating him and having a great first ride! And then at 5:30 on Saturday night, the barn owner called and my heart sunk. I’ve had him less than 24 hours and something is wrong!!??!! Turns out the boy pulled a shoe! Good job! Doesn’t he know he’s supposed to pull those during the week and not on the weekend when I want to ride?? We took a trip out to see him on Sunday and Tom fed him lots of carrots and apples. Poor boy is about 50 pounds underweight and Tom’s going to put that back on him in carrots! He’s very, very bothered by flies, even with a sheet and fly mask on. Snagging a few pictures was quite difficult with all the swishing and stomping and moving to get at the flies. Not that the flies are all that bad, I just think he really finds them annoying.
Here’s a profile.
I’ll be using this blog space to capture his progress on a monthly basis. It will do a lot for my peace of mind if I have something to go back to visually when it feels like we’re not making any progress. So every month, we’ll film a dressage test that way we have something consistent to use as a basis of comparison. I hope to have the first test up later this week.
New Duds
I don’t have enough to do, apparently. I have obsessed and agonized over clothing for Lola WAY too much. Spent WAY too many hours looking at different options and cross referencing prices with other websites. I forgot that she’s a DOG and doesn’t really care what she’s wearing. She just needs something to keep her warm in our sub-zero temperatures and something to protect her against all the snow on the ground.
So, this is Lola’s new Winter Ensemble. I’m starting from the outside and working my way down.
Lola’s new fleece coat. I ordered a medium because I needed just a little more room than a small offered so I could layer heavier sweaters underneath it for extra protection. Mom has kindly offered to hem the excess length.
I like the lighter pink side with the coordinating raspberry stripe down the back. But – it’s reversible! This side is solid raspberry.
You can see where I’ve folded the excess up and pinned it into place for the moment. I do like that the larger size hangs a little lower on her body. I think it will keep her warmer.
Speaking of adorable (adorable being the theme of this post)- check out those boots!!! Can you believe how cute they are? I have to say, I was sorely tempted to go with a pair I found that were pink and edged in faux fur, but these boots got better reviews because their design supports a more “upright”, natural position of the paw. I needed a sturdy boot for a couple of reasons. First, she needs the protection because she is too uncomfortable to spend the time needed to relieve herself if she’s not wearing boots. Secondly, I needed a pair that was easier, faster, and more secure than the slide-on sock type booties. And, these provide enough traction that she can navigate the carpeted stairs inside the house so our morning routine is more efficient.
Yes, that is a rubber sole, and a zipper and an extra velcro band. She’s better already about letting me put them on and if I tug pretty hard, I can pull them off quickly when she comes back inside.
Lola also needed a new sweater. Her current ones are pretty worn out. I didn’t find a sweater that I liked, but I did find this sweatshirt that I think really captures Lola’s personality.
It’s a really pretty raspberry color and has a hood. I’m not a big fan of hoods, but this is kind of cute.
I thought the hood might flop around and be a nuisance, but it doesn’t. It’s just slightly too big however, because it covers her eyes and then Spice takes advantage and begins her attack, and Lola gets pissed and starts barking but can’t actually see Spice to defend herself. I found it amusing, but that’s just me.
How bad-ass is this though?
Yep, skull, cross-bones, crowns and roses!! It’s totally Lola. Bad-ass and totally not intimidating. Rough, but in pint-size form. And pink, because it’s time she embraced her girly side.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the selection of Lola’s new wardrobe. She got a bath and trim today and now is sparkly white (mostly) in her new clothes and ready to go kick some Labrador ass.
The Dark Seal
Last week we traded the Pathfinder in and bought this:
The picture might be a little small, but that’s a dark green 2006 BMW X3.
We were looking at something that was a little bigger than a sedan and would handle well in the snow. We’d narrowed the choice down to the Subaru Forrester, which I do really like, and this. My only comment was that they apparantly designed the Subaru cockpit for a small woman because everything fit ME so well. I didn’t think it would fit Tom as well. But I have never sat in such a narrow car seat before.
As it turns out, this 2006 BMW and the 2010 Forrester (the one with the new and improved handling) were the excact same amount. Except that the BMW had already lost that 40% depreciation you get when driving off the lot in a new car. When we looked at the ’08 Forresters, they had lost almost half their value and aren’t half the car this is.
I have to say, after a driving for nearly a week and finally figuring out how to get the seat high enough, the BMW is a very, very nice car. The nicest I’ve driven. Loaded with features, as you would expect. The windshield, combined with the side mirrors, feels like you can see forever! Huge, huge sunroof. The best part are all the safety features – the car is meant to drive well in snow, rain, and on dry streets – and will blow up like a balloon with all the airbags should something happen. Also, this car is certified pre-owned by BMW – which means they checked it out from top to bottom then slapped a new warranty – up to 100K miles! It was a lease return, so it only had 30K miles on it.
We were at the point with the Pathfinder that due to the mileage, I would need both a new timing belt and new brakes next month – neither of which are cheap fixes. We were able to trade it in for exactly the loan balance, so I was happy that we weren’t sinking extra money into it (and it’s out of warranty) and we didn’t lose money on the trade.
Tom, as usual, did an exceptional job with the research and dealing. I gave him ideas for cars that I thought might work and he did his due diligence, researched alternatives and found us this great deal. He’s got mad car skillz! But I got to say, it’s killing him that I drive it to the barn three or more times a week because there appears to be NO way to get to the barn without driving down a dirt road or two. He would like to keep it in pristine condition, but sadly, it’s going to show some dirt.
I’m auditioning names for the car. Suggestions?
Pictures
I’ve posted some of the best of the photos from Krysal’s wedding in the Flickr bar on the right. Hopefully you won’t have much trouble viewing them. Should you want copies for yourself, please refer to the Img_ number. If you don’t see something wedding related in the bar, click the More Photos link. That should take you to the Flickr page. On the right, there will be a set called “Wedding”. Click on that set, then look for a link in the top right that says something like “Slideshow”.
When we brought the girls home from the kennel, I happened to look outside in the backyard before letting them out. It seems that in the week that we were gone, in addition to the grass growing wild, the bunny who lives under our deck thought we had moved out. He had gotten supremely comfortable in his new and improved surroundings; no dogs, no lawn mowers, and a fence to keep unwanted critters out. In fact, the bunny was so comfortable he was snoozing, racked out, under the bird feeders! He wasn’t curled up protectively, no, instead he had his soft underbelly exposed to the world, temping fate.
Of course we had to let the dogs out and tell Spice to “Get the bunny.” Poor dog couldn’t spot a bunny if one ran past her and smacked her on the nose. Her bunny hunting skills are atrocious, but after a moment, she found the bunny. I was able to snap this picture.
I don’t think I need to tell you that the bunny made a safe get-away.
Recipe Revisions
I’ve been experimenting with a couple of standard recipes lately and thought I’d give you an update.
First is the classic Beanie Weenie recipe from the family cookbook. These beans are always, in my opinion, much better the next day when they’ve thickened considerably. Unfortunately, I don’t want to make Beanie Weenies a day ahead and I don’t like eating BBQ soup with some beans and smoked sausage (I substitute for hotdogs). I could either double the amount of beans and sausage and leave the liquid the same, or I could reduce the liquid. Since the quantity is fine, I went with the latter option.
This time, I reduced the BBQ sauce from 1.5 cups to 1 cup, and instead of 1 cup of brown sugar, I reduced to ½ cup. For plain BBQ beans, a sweater bean is fine but for a dinner I could save myself the sugar by halving the amount. Because I’ve made this mistake before, I kept the liquid smoke proportionate to the sugar and started with ½ TBS and added to taste from there.
These Beanie Weenies were more in line with what I like for dinner. They weren’t nearly as runny as previous versions, but neither were they the thickness of cold leftovers. There was definitely less sugar but I don’t think that’s something you really miss in a soup/stew mix. I’ll continue to use two variations depending on how much time I have and what the ultimate purpose will be.
Next I tackled steel-cut oatmeal in a Crockpot. In the past, I’ve generally made the oats on the stove in a big batch on Sundays. As you know, cooking on the stovetop takes at least 30 minutes, and quite honestly, the past few weekends I haven’t wanted to spend any time in the kitchen. And why couldn’t you use a Crockpot? It seems reasonable.
I turned to Google and right away got the answer I was looking for, complete with pictures, from this blog. Use the Crockpot as a water bath! This eliminates the problem Andrea had where the oats formed a crusty shell around the pot.
The method is simple to execute. Combine the oats, water and fruit optional (proportions are the same as the package instructions) in a bowl that will fit inside the Crockpot. Pour water between the oats bowl and the crock, about half-way up the side of the oats bowl. Set the crock on low and walk away for 7-9 hours.
I turned mine off at about the 6.5-7 hour mark and tested. The oats were the softest I’ve ever cooked them, but substantial. The texture was similar to old-fashioned oats and they bordered on creamy. I dished them into individual Tupperware containers and stored in the fridge.
Here is where I need your help. This morning on re-heating, the oats were a bit too gelatinous and gluey. They really didn’t have a spoon-able quality; it was more like eating bread pudding. The texture was mushy yet firm. I know, this is hard to explain. I’m wondering if it would be better if I reheated with some soy milk (or regular cow-juice for some folks) and stirred it around a bit – that might make it too watery but perhaps it would loosen it up a bit more.
The other option would be to cook for less time, even undercook it, since it seems to continue cooking/absorbing water even as it cools in the fridge. I used to do that with the stovetop version as I found with the cooling and reheating process it could actually overcook.
As it stands, the crock method is extremely easy and it seems to make a delicious bowl if you were to set it before bed and eat in the morning. I suppose I could also go with that method – make one bowl at a time overnight. Anyway, if you are one of my steel-cut oats eating, Crockpot using friends or family (and who haven’t I converted at this point?) and you test this method, would you please report back your findings and hopefully, with the power of collective thinking, we can come up with the precise times and methods for this.
Recipe Recap
For our anniversary this week, Tom and I decided to stay home and make a nice dinner together. We were both really looking forward to this – and we ended up saving quite a bit of money and got to eat in our sweats. J
We decided to make and appetizer of bruschetta and Fettuccini Alfredo with seafood for the main course. For dessert, instead of making something elaborate (read: I’ll be eating it for the next 5 days), Tom picked out some individual treats from the bakery counter of our local higher-end grocery store.
With most things Italian, if I don’t have a family recipe I turn to Giada DiLaurentes. I like her food, and I appreciate that her recipes are simple, don’t require too many exotic ingredients, and aren’t time-consuming. I got both recipes from her section of FoodTV. The bruschetta was awesome. The Fettuccini not so much. And honestly, I was very disappointed.
The Fettuccini recipe called for 2.5 cups of heavy cream and 12 TBS of butter – it’s not heart healthy. Also, it called for ½ cup of fresh lemon juice and 2 tsp. of lemon zest. I always read the comments, and overall, this was a highly rated recipe. The commenters seemed to be split over the use of the lemon juice. Some said that the lemon gave it a lighter feeling, not quite so heavy – which I thought was a plus. Some, obviously, commented negatively on the amount of lemon – there seemed to be a rebuttal that you had to use fresh lemon and not lemon concentrate or store juice. But since it was Giada’s recipe, I decided we should go for it.
Tom bought some lovely seafood – and I regret that it met it’s end in such a disappointing dish. In retrospect, I should have started with a much, much smaller amount of lemon juice and added more to taste. One thing I’m not good at is following a new recipe while carrying on a conversation. I get distracted from independent thinking – I follow the recipe to the exact letter without thinking about what I’m doing. I guess that’s better than leaving out a critical component. In the end, Tom said that the lemon actual grew on him, but I feel that your dinner should not have to grow on you. Andrea, with her love of lemon, might really like this. And indeed, the lemon did cut the heavy taste, but it was too overpowering for me. I think Tom will be eating whatever leftovers he wants and then I’ll toss the rest.
While the lemon was the obvious problem, one of almost equal importance was almost ignored. The sauce did not thicken. The recipe says the sauce will thicken when tossed and warmed, but it never happened. And to me, for Alfredo, that’s unacceptable. Even if the lemon flavor was appropriate, the lack of a thick, creamy sauce would have doomed the recipe anyway. This was soupy, didn’t stick to the pasta, and pooled at the bottom of the bowl. Giada’s recipe did call for FRESH pasta and I momentarily wondered if that would have helped thicken it, but I can’t imagine that the recipe would be limited by an ingredient that 80% of the population doesn’t have ready access to.
Now the bruschetta – that was very good. I have leftover mozzarella and may make a dinner of bruschetta this weekend. Extremely simple to prepare – we used a take and bake baguette, a can of whole tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and olive oil. I used my mini-food processor and it all came together in about 8 minutes. If I was to do this again, I would first smash the whole tomatoes with the back of a spoon to release extra juice, and I would pulse the garlic first, separately, so that it’s very fine and integrates better. But otherwise…umm.
I bought some of the Chateau Pinot Gris we had at Christmas, a most excellent mid-price wine in my opinion, and Tom purchased two desserts – a cannoli which was delectable and kept with the Italian theme, and a devil’s food cupcake with chocolate frosting. It was the best cake I’ve ever had from a bakery. Soft and moist, but without that oily moistness you sometimes get from bakeries. The frosting was real butter cream and had a rich chocolate flavor – no shortening in this. The desserts definitely made up for the Alfredo.
To recap – Giada’s Alfredo recipe was a bust not only because of the excessive lemon, but the lack of a thicker, creamier sauce. If you have a good recipe, please send it my way. Her bruschetta was divine, simple to make, and would be an impressive appetizer for a dinner party or to eat alone on a Friday night. Byerly’s has yet to disappoint me with their bakery department. It’s probably a good thing that the closest on is in Eagan, and therefore nowhere near my usual errand route.
A Mid-Week Mild-Up
The Eskimos have a thousand words to describe snow. Seattle-ites know what rain with periodic showers actually means. Here in Minnesota, they have something referred to as a “Mild-up”.
A mild-up is a period of time where the temperature increases and the skies are clear and sunny. When the temperature increases from 1 degree to several days of 24 degrees, it’s still well below freezing so to call it a warm-up would be laughable. But it is, relatively speaking, milder than the week before, hence the term.
Mild-ups are something that are relayed by the weathermen with the same sense of excitement Seattle weathermen report a sunny day in January – a bit of awe and a whole lot of eager anticipation, as if they are personally responsible for delivering this welcome gift. Also, there is usually something called a “January Thaw” in Minnesota, where the temperatures will climb all the way to 36 degrees for a couple of days, and combined with the bright winter sun, snow does indeed melt. Today is one of those days, but I think to be a true thaw, it must consist of several days in a row. It is possible that we won’t experience a thaw this January. Many Minnesotans look forward to a mid-winter thaw; it helps them get through the rest of the season. I assume this is similar to the February week in Seattle where the rain stops, the winds pick up, and the area dries out. I suppose it’s mother nature’s way of ensuring you don’t succumb to that building mental breakdown.
Weather is indeed something that you get used to – in Seattle you become accustomed to months of rain. You buy the proper clothing, resign yourself to flat hair, and deal with the standing water, gloomy skies, and pervasive dampness. Here, I can honestly say that in a very short period of time I have become accustomed to the cold. To be sure, it is physically much, much colder than Seattle. But the temperature in Seattle is not quite cold enough to actively discourage outdoor activity. And since there really is no good way to protect yourself from all the wet and damp, the chill is hard to shake and even though you can get outdoors, you’re likely miserable most of the time.
My experience in Minnesota has been different. When it’s very cold – single digits and below – you just stay indoors. It’s that simple; you run errands out of necessity but otherwise, you cuddle up with loved ones and the dogs, make fattening crock-pot dinners, and entertain yourself. But once it’s in the teens, especially when it’s sunny and bright (more than 50% of the time), you can run errands and get outside without having to duck your head and cover the back of your neck to protect your skin from raindrops. Sure, you don’t want to spend tons of time outdoors, but it’s doable. Very doable. And, with all the dry cold, if you do bundle up in snowsuits or Carhartts, non-exposed skin is very toasty. It’s a cold that you can actually layer up and protect against, and you can warm up from.
That’s an important part – being able to warm up from the cold. I remember in Enumclaw that if I got cold and chilled during morning chores, sometimes you just couldn’t warm up all day long. Even in the coldest weather I have ever experienced last week, I was able to quickly warm up from the walk from the parking lot to the building. I even warmed up faster and more completely after that disastrous riding experiment than I expected to.
This winter has been described as exceptional cold and harsh – which hasn’t bothered me. I’d rather experience the worst mother nature can throw my way right up front, and know with certainty that I can survive and even thrive. I like the snow and the sun – I’ve found a place to eat my lunch in the sun. It’s the first time I’ve experienced mid-day, mid-winter sun in 15 years. It’s a real treat.
All that being said – who wants to come visit? J
Not the stupidest thing….
It’s not the stupidest thing I’ve done (lately), but it ranks right up there.
I went to the barn tonight. So what if the entire mid-west is under a wind-chill warning. So what if it didn’t get into positive temperatures today. I’m not going to let this cold weather dictate what I can and cannot do – if I don’t take a stand and push myself to go outside in cold weather, I won’t be outside until April.
I figured that 1.) the cold weather would scare off some lesser people and give me more space and privacy in the arena and 2.) since the arena is indoors, I would be relatively protected from the cold since the wind wouldn’t be a factor.
HA! Dude! Where was my brain?? It was NEGATIVE ten degrees when I left. That’s without the wind. Yeah.
To be honest, I was doing okay with all my layers. I had on a long underwear tank, a performance long-sleeve shirt, a polar fleece and a Brooks jacket, plus my breeches and my full chaps, plus my winter boots and half chaps. All that was fine. But there isn’t any way to layer up my hands and still be able to grip the reins, aside from my insulated gloves. Every five minutes my fingers would go completely numb and hurt! I tried to ride through the pain, I tried switching my whip to give my fingers something to do, but as the pain increased I began to worry about frostbite so I slowed to a walk and stuck my hand under my shirt. Every five minutes I would have to walk and warm up alternating hands.
And this is TMI, but you have to understand how cold it was. Usually, in the first five minutes of riding, I have to stop and blow my nose because it runs when it’s cold. However, tonight I noticed I didn’t have to do this – everything from my face skin to nose hairs and sinus had frozen!! Or so I thought until about 20 minutes into my ride and I realized that a tiny bit of snot had run down my nose and onto my lip. And I didn’t even notice, that’s hold cold it was!! My face was a glacier.
When I got off Felix, I noticed that his whiskers and the entire rims of his nostrils were coated in white frost, thick, white frost! He didn’t seem to mind the cold, but I’ve never seen frost on a horse – indoors.
As you can imagine, nothing could warm me up except a long, hot shower and a hot mocha. I’ve decided that the low teens, high singles are my limit. Life is to short to freeze to death on a cold Wednesday night. Thankfully, this cold snap is predicted to end on Friday.
Lola’s Return to her Domain
I know this is a bit late, but I’ve had lots of pictures to sort through before I could get to this post. But I know how much Andrea needs her Lola-fix, so I try to oblige.
We returned late on Saturday night, so we picked up the dogs at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. There were a few families ahead of us and we could hear all the dogs barking behind the doors. They began by bringing out the leftover food and the beds – I busied myself by loading these items in the car while Tom stood at the door, looking through the small window waiting for the first sight of his dog.
While she was checking us out, the owner said that Lola was really friendly and Tom and I exchanged a look of disbelief. I asked if she meant Spice, and when she clarified the size, she agreed that Spice was very friendly. As we figured, once Spice got over her initial apprehension, she viewed this week-long stay as an opportunity to audition for a new home. But the owner did say that Lola was friendly, and that both of the dogs really liked the treats I left, the Salmon Munchies. I feel good that the dogs ate all the treats that I left, and that the owner and workers took the time to feed them the treats.
When Spice walked through the door, she was so happy to see Tom she started crying. Have you ever heard her cry from excitement? It’s kinda cool. Lola was happy to see me, but even happier to just get out of there. As soon as I opened the door to the house, Lola made a bee-line to the food bowl and didn’t resurface for a full 5 minutes. Apparently, she was on a self-imposed hunger strike to protest our Christmas vacation.
Lola would also like to thank Nonno and Nonna for the treats and toys. She was hanging out while I was unpacking the suitcase and it was uncany – she KNEW there was a pookie in there just for her.
Meek Hedgy, the Hedgehog. Lola pulled him out of the suitcase and proceeded to do this.
For some reason, she wasn’t attracted to the duck or the rabbit. I think it’s because they are such faithful, miniature recreations of QuackQuack and Wabitt, both of which are Spice’s Pookies.
She really enjoys having new Pookies, and she really likes the small ones that she can toss around and manipulate better.
She seemed content, so I walked away to throw some clothes in the wash. Not TWO minutes later, this is what I came back to:
What is her damage??? Why must she destroy?? Such a vicious little dog.
Anyway, it’s been a week and no further damage has been done to Hedgy. Mini-Bunny and Duck are still around, unscathed. I see Lola running around with them occasionally, as Spice chases her from room to room. Perhaps they will live a little longer.
Also, we paid to have the groomer bathe Lola and trim her up a bit – in the Puppy-clip. She did as I asked and left fur on, but Lola didn’t really look like she’d been groomed at all. Even Tom commented that the groomer didn’t do a very good job – she’s a bit uneven and a bit too long to have gotten a decent trim. The groomer also did a poor job on her ears – they were even when she went in and now are nearly 1/2 inch off – and she didn’t trim the fur from the inside of the ear. Thankfully, she kept her snout square as I requested. The result of all this is that Tom finally agreed that at $40 for a trim like this – I do a much better job. Go me!!
I hope you all had a love New Year and an enjoyable holiday season. I got a lot accomplished, like finally getting my MN driver’s license, bought some much needed new clothes and *ahem* bras, and ate, a lot. I’m ready to go back to work and am looking forward to seeing what my new job holds.
And I’ve made only one New Year’s Resolution: in 2009, I would like to finally figure out how to correct red-eye and the demon-dog-eye look. I think it’s doable.
Font of Useless Knowledge 
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