Barking Dogs

Barking dogs. That’s what I have in my house. Two dogs, one who barks a lot, and one who is in a rare mood to bark. Of course, it could be that his rare bout of barking is in reaction to my blowing in his face.

Bottom Shelf Heaven

All right, how in the heck did my dogs, Duke and Spencer, manage to open the refrigerator door? Please tell me that it wasn’t closed all the way. The thought that they are learning to open it scares me. This happened once before. I’m just hoping it’s due to the door not being securely closed.

Oh, and they enjoyed the meat selection, all stored on the bottom shelf. This included my planned dinner, a salmon fillet. Hmph. Bottom shelf goodies galore. Dang dogs.

One Clean Cat

HOW in the heck did a cat learn this kind of behavior? Cute, funny, and pretty darn amazing:

via DailyKos.

BBQing

This afternoon our office closed shop early and headed to Bushmaster Park for a BBQ. I think a good time was had by all. The little kids had the playground to romp in, the adults had good food and great company, and the dogs, including my new dog Duke, got to do plenty of wrestling and roughhousing with each other.

Making it Through the Week

What a crazy week. The start of the semester at NAU always throws me for a loop. I work in a tech support department that assists NAU faculty. It’s been insane this week. Due to our budget cuts we’ve lost some of our student worker help and that means a lot more work for us full-time folks. Thus, a crazy week. We made it though.

I stayed in bed until noon today — a well-deserved sleeping in, if you ask me. I only had one thing to deal with today and that was cleaning the house. I was having visitors. Paw Placement was coming over for a home visit. I’m adopting a dog named Duke and this was the first visit to see how Duke got along with my dog Spencer. It went well — no fights, no growling, and no unseemly behavior. Spencer wasn’t a love puppy, but he wasn’t obnoxious. That’s a victory to me.

Now I’m just sitting back in my clean house, watching some of season seven West Wing episodes. Hey, I made it through the week, I’m allowed to relax.

Lonely Dog

Spencer is standing on the back deck and barking out at the world. The world isn’t answering back.

I think he needs another dog for company.

Wrapped Up and in the Dark

The landlord has hired painters to paint my place’s exterior. There’s nothing like having the windows and doors covered to make it even darker than my place already is. Lulu kitty and Spencer are freaking out at the activity outside. I’m just happy that the weather is cool today so it’s nice and comfortable sitting inside.

It should be interesting to see the place painted. It’s been looking like a hillbilly shack for way too long.

Dang Dog and Damn Road Construction

The road I live on is going through major road construction. It’s an adventure every morning on what barriers I have to get through to get onto the main road from the dirt road that I park on. It hasn’t been pleasant. Shoot, it has sucked.

My mail does not get picked up or dropped off, as the mail carrier has no way to pull up to drop it off. All those ditches and ropes make for a hard time for a little mail vehicle (jeep? truck? cart?).

Even worse, is the lack of garbage pick up. The last two weeks we were ignored. Those big cans are full, especially as the downstairs renters have moved out. They put lots of garbage in those cans while cleaning up. Some bags didn’t get into the can as it they both were full. I called the garbage department and they’re going to try to get the garbage picked up on my stretch of the road (I imagine I’m not the only person dealing with this situation along Lake Mary road) either tomorrow  — the regular pick up day  — or make a special trip on Friday.

So how does my dog fit into this tale of woe? My kitchen garbage can is packed full. Because Spencer enjoys rooting around in the garbage I keep it under the kitchen sink with a bungee cord holding the doors shut. I have also had to tie up the other side kitchen cabinet doors, as that offers the long way around to the can. Yep, my cat and dog both have opened that and made it to the trash can.

They got into it today. They managed to open the tied up cabinet and sneak into the under-sink area. The bad news, besides the mess and need to clean it all up, is that some cooked chicken bones were in that can. Yikes. I normally empty those out within a day or so, but with no room in the outside cans I’ve waited.

I get to play the “watch Spencer like a hawk” the next few days to make sure the bones don’t mess up his innards. Dang dog.

Slow Sunday

A nice, quiet Sunday here in Flagstaff. Once again, I didn’t make it to the farmer’s market. I think it’s something to do with not wanting to take a shower any earlier than I have to.

What I did do this morning, was take Spencer for a hike in the woods. Got out by 8:30 and it seemed a bit too warm for so early. Still, we both enjoyed the hike. A nice hour out in the woods does start the day quite nicely.

I came back and did my physical therapy knee exercises, plus lots of stretches. My desire to get my hamstrings stretched out on a daily basis seems to help lessen knee issues. I still feel pain, but I can minimize it, and even make it disappear if I stretch and massage trigger points in the thighs.

I’m feeling yesterday’s CrossFit workout. I’m really working on using my glutes and hamstrings and, by god, that’s where I’m feeling it today.

Happy Cat, Happy Me

Lulu Kitty, is purring next to me. She’d rather be purring on me, as my lap invites her, but a laptop computer gets in the way, darn it.

I’m happy. I just finished a nice meal of  sauteed onion, red cabbage, garlic, spinach added to a cheesy omelet. Mighty delish. And before dinner I even managed a workout. Yes, I did the O-Zone version. My pull-ups are improving — my chin is getting into the vicinity of the pull-up bar… sort of.

So, I’d say that I’m feeling good and relaxed right now. I do need to pet Lulu though, she’s not purring. I’m off to give her the attention she knows she deserves.

Taking it Easy

I’m surviving my week off of work. From volunteering to help with the Democratic Party to enjoying lounging the rest of the week, I’ve not only survived my week off, but am enjoying it immensely.

My mom even came up and stayed Thursday night. We had a good time, and surprisingly, my dog Spencer got along with her dog Lady. Even my cat, Lulu, got along with Lady. Her name fits as she is quite ladylike.

So, I haven’t done much else. I’m fighting off a cold, or what feels like one (yeah, my lack of good sleep early in the week may have messed with my immunity). I still plan a trip to Phoenix. Monday night I’m going to the Arizona Cardinals football game. I originally planned to go down to Phoenix on Sunday, but if I’m still feeling run down I’ll just wait to go down on Monday.

I do like taking time off in a chunk like this.

Bassetts for Obama

Tbogg, basset-lover and blogger that he is, brought this video to our attention. There is something about floppy basset lips that makes me laugh. How about you?

Stupid Dog

I come home late tonight and discover that my food cupboard was invaded. I walk in and see a package of dried noodles with sauce all over the floor. How my dog thought that would taste good I have no idea. Then I discovered a package of whole wheat spaghetti spread across the floor. Jeez.

I did notice that Spencer got the package of dried chili peppers open, but didn’t eat much out of that package. I did notice the water dish was also empty. That may have taught him a lesson. Still, I’m more worried about the dried apricots he ate. i know I can’t eat too much dried fruit without having digestive difficulties. I’m afraid how this will hit the dog.

Anyway, I think I’m back to putting the silly bungee cord over the lower cabinets’ handles. Sigh. He is a stupid dog, isn’t he?

Lakeview Trail

I took poor Spencer on another hike today. With my feet feeling much better, I’m going for more distance. Spencer loves going out and walking, but his short little legs do get tired after a distance. This is a benefit to me. I have to stop and rest while Spencer rests (he’s smart, he waits until he finds a shady spot to stop and sit).

Today I took a short drive out to Mormon Lake. I’d done the Lakeview Trail in the past, but it’s been years. With a total of two and a half miles, it would also test how much mileage can my right foot can handle. And, yay! My foot never hurt at all.

It’s a very nice hike — shady, with lots of oak and pine trees. There’s even a little spring that Spencer can romp in at the start of the hike. The leaves on the oaks were beginning to change, which gives this hike a very nice Fall feel.

It’s so exciting to be able to pull out the Flagstaff Hikes book and explore possible hikes. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do this. I just hope Spencer with his short legs can handle it.

Zucchini Pics

I wrote about the very large zucchini that my co-worker gave me. Tonight I finally cut into it and grilled some slices up with some salmon. I promised some photos of what it looked like. Here it is:

Let’s see how it measures up to my cat, Lulu:

I just have to figure out what to fix with what I didn’t eat yet. I’m thinking I might try these Doritos-style chips.