Play Time at Outback Kennels

The puppies are 8 1/2 weeks old and are sweet bundles of fur that are growing a little each day. 

 And even though they woke me up at 2:30 last night and ended up being kenneled in the backroom to ensure the entire neighbourhood didn't share in my sleepless night, they are growing on my heart.

An Afternoon of Puppy Play

Elly is so delicate and tiny but a tough little critter able to stand up to her brother.... she is wondering why I'm not getting in the kennel with her.

Rigby a tough little guy who is a lot bigger than his sister but the biggest suck of 'em all. He craves human connection and will 'scream' if you walk away from his kennel... "come on!! are you coming in already??"

Penny LOVES the puppies and has been in the kennel with them.  She treats them like they are her own babies and will lay right beside the fence.

Rocky... well I'm undecided about Rocky.  He is so curious about these little dudes, but seems a tad rough through the fence.  He is so funny, he will collect all the bones and chewies (raw hides) and bring them right up to the fence beside the puppies and pretend to ignore them while chewing away.

Hubba pretty much ignores the little guys, however he has had a good sniff and gave them his backside so they could 'try' and have a sniff too.  It is pretty exhausting keeping the little ones entertained... oh just you wait until they are free to roam the yard with you guys... you know nothing of exhaustion yet!!

It's a good thing they tucker out quickly, I'm not sure any of us would be able to keep up!



As for the kennel name, we are always asked "where do you keep your dogs?" and we always answer out back... hence the name.. Outback Kennels

Lack of Sleep

I've been very sleep deprived lately.... and here is the reason.... naughty little devil dogs these puppies are.... but they are soooo cute, how can one hate a little puppy?
Not me, which is why we have two!

Java, java, java mmmmm java!

I have not really liked Tuesdays for the last 6 or 7 years... all work related of course, but Tuesdays have seriously been a bad day for me.

However there is one glimmer of 'pretty darn good' on my Tuesday mornings, and that is my stop at a favorite coffee shop in Cochrane called Java Jamboree.
They seriously have the best Americanos I have ever had.  Yes, even better than the ones I used to make.  They are really the cherry on the whip cream on top of the best cake you've ever had.

Creamy thick espresso with crema the colour of dark caramel poured slowly over hot water... I always have to look into my cup before adding a dash of cream (I know, blasphemy to some, but delight to me).  And then the smell...

Oh the smell.  I close my eyes and have been transported to heaven.  The smell of rich dark coffee transports me back to a time of good friends and terrific conversations, leaving me feeling a little melancholic yet also brings a smile to my face. The smell wraps itself around me like a satin ribbon that is brought alive by the gentle evening breeze, caressing me, enveloping me.

Then the taste.  I like to wait until it cools down a little to bring out the true flavour of this incredible bean. 
Smooth, sweet and rich as it slides across my tongue and down my throat awakening my taste buds into a frenzy of need and want.
The after taste lingers like great memories from the past, leaving with me a sense of pleasure that can be enjoyed again and again.

I finish my wonderful cup of coffee and since there is no garbage handy I place the empty cup into my purse... forgetting about it.
That is until on my way home I feel a wet patch on my left buttock, I reach back realizing my purse is also wet as the scent of my morning bliss meets my nose.

Guess my coffee wasn't completely gone as it cools in the late afternoon breeze..... what a waste of the last drop!

Oh the Memories

I could have written this... any parent I think could have... absolutely brilliant.

Who Doesn't Love Puppies?

There may be those who will think we are nuts to add 2 more pups to our 'little' kennel.
And I must say there are moments when that thought crosses my mind also.

This last few days we have done some serious thinking, soul searching and hard shakes on that magic 8 ball to come up with the solution that is right for us.

Yes, it will cost a little more... but it is do able for us...
We are not rolling in the paper or coin 'stuff' and at times feel as though we scrape the bottom of the barrel more times than we should be at this stage in our lives. 
But in the scheme of things it seriously isn't that much extra to what we spend already.
The vet bills are spread out over the year which would be our biggest expense.

Time isn't a huge issue as I already spend the time with the existing pups.
Walkies in the morning will take on a new meaning when the pups are old enough to join the elders...

Elders?  Interesting, I have always thought of my dogs as pups, but now they are the mature older dogs... haha.. mature??

So, after a third, or was it the fourth, inquiry from Zoltan the fortune teller we chose to give the two little sweet hearts a home.

Eleanor (Elly) and Rigby will be coming home next Sunday for Fathers Day.

It's gonna take a year but just you wait.. we're gonna finally have ourselves a full team and we're gonna fly!

Of Vice Grips, Breasts and Cucumbers

"Please, just relax.  The more relaxed you are the quicker it can get done"

This was said to me just after I was told to remove everything from the waist up and put a gown on, and then when moved into a small room with a machine that looked like it belonged in Star Wars, I was told to remove the gown completely.

Relax?  Seriously?

"What have you heard about the procedure?"

"Well, something about laying on the garage floor and my father driving over my breasts a couple times.... uh..... that is hurts a bit"

"Doesn't hurt at all... just a little pressure.... so relax"  As she comes toward me with two pieces of tape that hold little iron balls.

"Relax.. it isn't that bad"  I'm told as she takes my breast in her hand and lays it on a table like surface and lowers the plexi glass cover on top and puts pressure on my body part squishing it to look like some obscene pancake made for a young mans Stag.

"Relax.. see it isn't that bad" She says while turning the machine on a strange angle and expecting me to breath easy while she maneuvers me into said position while increasing the pressure to hold 'me' in place.

"You can step back, let me just check the images and see if we're done"

I try to stand there looking relaxed and cool and not at all uncomfortable while bare from the waist up as if this was something I did on a daily basis. 

Cool as a cucumber.

"Awesome, this is great!! There is lots of muscle here.. I don't see this often, excellent!!"

"Really?"  My smile must split my face, I forget that I'm half naked in front of a stranger. 
I've been going to the gym faithfully 3 times a week the last 3 weeks and to hear this sets my resolve to continue going.
I am so going to be in shape for the next race season.... and I will now know that I am perfectly healthy... even though I already know this in my heart.. but I've done my duty for the year (even though it makes me feel old that I 'have' to be doing this now)

I leave feeling pretty darn proud of myself... muscle?  Yes!!

But one question remains.... Cool as a cucumber?  What does that mean really?

Comments Interuptus

This seems like an odd thing to do here on this blog...

However I just wanna let a few of you know (and you will know who you are)...
Blogspot will not allow me to comment on anyone elses blogs.. including my own!!


It re-directs me somewhere else and just will not post any comments I've made.. very frustrating, and strange all the same... so.....
My silence has nothing to do with absence or not caring or any other reasons that can be thought of.
It is all technical and one day I shall figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Just thought I'd say something here..  At least I've got this part figured out... kinda, sorta.

Oh.. have a great day btw!!!  (dontcha just love the new scooter.. my dogs do too!!)

How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

How does one choose???

I think it might have to be both...

and to keep true to my sons dream of a kennel full of dogs with Beatle related names....

                                                          Let me introduce to you....

                                                              Eleanor (Elly for short)

and Rigby

Absent Minded Mind

So, yeah it's been a little while...

I just haven't had the 'drive' to blog lately.
Not even to use the challenges (which I grew so bored of anyway) to get me writing again.

The weather has been wet and dreary... my mind has followed the same pattern.  Wet and dreary.

Wet?

Yet saying that doesn't make sense either... there have been so many positives that are worthy of noting.

My daughter is home for the summer (yay!)
My son got a job close to home so we see him LOTS (yay!)
We are getting a new puppy.. or puppies in 2 weeks (yay!)
I got a new dog scooter that I've run the dogs with 6 times already (yay!)
I just found out that another (this makes 2) old high school 'touble maker' buddy is coming to visit me (yay!)

So... dreary mind?

Yeah, a little... it'll pass... oh but the joys of dealing with depression.. yay me.
I don't feel sorry for myself, not at all.  I know that I can crawl out of this funk, in fact I'm almost there...

The sun is starting to shine, it'll help.

                                    Now I just need the mud to dry up, then all will be perfect.