Unexpected Thanksgiving

We were meant to be in Phoenix right now, celebrating my aunt's 70th birthday on T'giving day with all our family. The airlines had other ideas, and as we watched our flight get delayed yet again and learned we would miss our connecting flight and there were no others available at all, I was really bummed about the holiday. I really wanted to be with them all, to go around the table sharing what we're thankful for, and have the chance to catch up with everyone. Instead I was on the phone with the airline confirming our tickets would be refunded and trying to decide what to do about dinner on Thursday. But it's turned out to be a really delightful holiday.

It was only 9:30am when we left the airport (although being up for 6 hours already made it feel much later). D needed a new coat, so we headed over to the stores and enjoyed having fully stocked racks and shelves everywhere we turned. We decided that rather than try to create a traditional turkey dinner at home, I'd grill steaks with mushrooms and onions, grilled asparagus, and mashed potatoes. We stopped at Fresh Market and they had chanterelle mushrooms - so far my favorite fungus and not one you see fresh in stores this time of year. I picked some up and sauteed them with cippolini onions from our garden, a nice holiday-level treat.

I had thought about running a Turkey Trot 5k out in Phoenix, I figured it'd be warm enough I could do it barefoot. I decided the night before T'giving to head to town and run in our local one. Although it was cold enough I did wear shoes:

It was a fun event, and the race organizers said over 14,000 people and 700 dogs had registered! The shirts had big turkeys on them, and the dogs got matching bandannas with bones on them. I have no idea what my time was. With that many people the start was really sluggish and for some reason I'm not listed in the chip timing results :(. Not that it really matters. I ran at an even pace the whole time and had fun doing it.

The weather warmed up in the afternoon and we went outside for a game of catch. We were a bit rusty, including our outfielder Kayla, who kept losing the ball in the leaves. Kayla was a riot. She kept running back and forth between us each throw, rather than stand still and wait to see where the ball was headed. When one of us missed a catch she'd crank into high gear and chase after the ball no matter how tired she was.

So overall, despite the change in plans, it turned into a very nice holiday with a lot of the features I had hoped for. And since it seems incorrect to end a T'giving post without a mention of thankfulness - my heart overflows with gratitude at the life I have and the people I get to share it with. I love you all!

Gullywasher

Thunderstorm doesn't begin to describe the amount of rain coming down right now. The gutters are literally overflowing and rain is blowing sideways off the trees. There was a long period of thunder before the rains started, and it's been raining at flood-levels for a while now. I can't believe there was this much water in the clouds, given how freakin dry it's been lately. The thunder is deep enough I swear I feel the house shaking. Or maybe that's just Kayla the dog hiding under my desk.

I love playing in the rain, always have. I wonder if my mom still thinks back on those times whenever there's a good storm. In my memory we were always out in the rain except when forced into the basement by tornado warnings. I think we even had rainclothes that were easy to peel out of when drenched. I still love the rain just as much, although one of my favorite things to do now is go running. If I'd known how long this storm was going to last I think I would've played hookie and gone out in it. I told myself it wouldn't last long, then I'd be wet and still have to get back to work. Now I'm regretting it, this is such an awesomely heavy rain.[peeking outside] oh, it's just about finished now. Actually, other than responsibly working, it's probably good I stayed home. Poor Kayla is so thunder-shy she would've been a right mess when I got back. Oh but it would've been FUN! [peeking out again] Dang, the rain is starting up again, teasing me. But the sky is lighter, so maybe it really is ending. Definitely too late now. I'll just sit at my desk and stare out the window wistfully...

Waking up

I am asleep.  I know subconsciously the alarm has given its first battle cry and been rebuffed.  An extra 10 minutes of sleep is definitely anticipated.  My youngest dog Kayla sits at my head straining forward to reach me.  She flicks out her tongue, peppering me with fast light test licks.  There is a long hesitancy between each lick, but the touch itself is the briefest possible.  Almost as if she's testing the waters and doesn't want to go too far too fast.

The licks are pushing under my downturned cheek.  I lift my head slightly, releasing its weight but not yet severing its contact with the pillow.  Kayla uses this opportunity to shove her snout under my cheek and flip it up.  Under a hand this move indicates she wants more petting.  Oh, I was petting her.  I hadn't fully noticed.  I reach my hand back up to her head and she renews her licking at an increased speed.  Too much this early.  It stops momentarily and I peel open my eyes.  Kayla's mouth is fully extended in a tooth-baring yawn, so close to my face I can't quite see her front teeth.  Yes, definitely time to get up.  Those last few minutes of my snooze stolen by the shock of mentally processing my first image of the day.

Thirsty dog

It's been hot enough lately that I've avoided taking the dogs on pedestrian adventures.  That's what we say now - they've learned every other euphemism for walk we can think of.  They were really insistent yesterday about wanting to go out in the middle of the day.  I knew it was broiling, and both of them are black.  I wore my runner's Fuel Belt (water bottle belt), hoping if I gave them water during the walk they wouldn't fall over from heat exhaustion.  Windy refused to drink anything, I know she was scouting for open water to swim in to cool off.  I cupped my hand and squirted water into it to see if Kayla would lap it up (she always refuses to drink from travel bowls).  It worked ok, although was somewhat slimy for me.  After a minute like this I put the bottle to the side of her mouth and squeezed, fully expecting her to back away.  She kept up the lapping motion and no water came out of her mouth.  Cool!  My dog can drink from a squirt bottle.  Next water break I just held the bottle to her mouth and squeezed.  She drank 6 oz. of water straight.  The final time I held the bottle to her face and she turned her head so I could squeeze it into the spot she likes.  Hooray!  Now I just have to remember which bottles are hers, and which are mine during outings.

New Year Deer

I woke up fairly early on New Year's Day (can you tell I'm a bit behind in my posting?). Like 7 am, which is roughly when the dogs' desire for me to be mobile overrides my ability to ignore their ear-flapping head shakes just inches from my face. God forbid I burrow under the covers, or a cold probing nose will worm its way in and guarantee I shoot out of bed in an instant. Still, I figured I'd enjoy a nice quiet morning since it's the one day per year you can pretty much guarantee everyone stayed up past their bedtime the night before. I brewed a cup of my awesome Teavana white ayurvedic chai and sat back to appreciate the morning stillness and snowy backyard scene. The deer in the photo was standing next to our fence, still enough I was able to run and get the camera.

The echoing gunshot that sounded next was uncomfortably loud even in our closed house, causing the dogs to whine and bark. No wonder the deer were hiding along our back yard - we all hoped the hunters had the sense not to fire towards the houses. I fully respect the right of someone who wants to kill a deer for food, but not in my damn backyard, and not at 7am on freakin new year's day! Thankfully deer season has ended and I can stop worrying about misfires finding their way into our yard and dogs.

Sign me up!

Reading another blog (CrazyAuntPurl's) she had a post that I just had to share a bit of. She was taking a walk in the evening and met a woman walking a cloudpuff of a dog while carrying a large glass of wine. I, like C.A.P., think this sounds like a fabulous idea that would be best shared with friends. Much better than just sitting at home drinking a glass of wine, and definitely adds a new level of enjoyment to walking the dog. Now I need to find a friend to join me in this endeavor, both for the company, conversation, and a free hand since I have 2 dogs. Hmm...maybe I'm just daydreaming and this can't really be part of my life. Taking my dogs on a walk is a bit of a euphamism, since I always wear my running shoes and tend to let them go at the pace they want rather than continually yanking back to keep them in a sedate stroll. If I tried to carry a glass of wine it'd have to be in a sippy cup.

Update: I decided I was going to get a shoulder/arm workout and truly force the dogs to walk at a briskly sedate pace, NOT running. They both pull with relatively even force, and except for the downhills it works ok. But the real reason for this was to start training them not to pull while we walk, so that one day I can go on the leisurely after-dinner walks I remember as a kid. A bag of treats, the entire length of the neighborhood, and innumerable voice commands, fencepost-stops, and yanks finally got them walking like civilized dogs for a while. And it seemed to tire them out pretty well, which really is the goal.

Pathetically little time

I still don't have real internet access at home, and with the added commute I don't like staying at work late just to email (although I do sometimes). There's something effed up about our router at home, and until we get it figured out only D's puter has teh internets.

About 5 minutes from our house is a great park with paved walking trails paralleling the river. I took the dogs there for the first time this morning. We went down to the water's edge and I took them off lead to go swimming. There was enough of a rocky shoreline I could easily follow them upstream and we spent about an hour exploring the riverside. If I had been in more swimmable clothes I probably would've joined them. The water wasn't nearly as cold as the high mountain streams I've been accustomed to. We encountered another dog who kept splashing and then biting at the splashed water in the air. Kayla didn't understand what he was doing, but knew it looked fun enough to dash up to him to join in.

I got a bunch of ivy and other groundcover plants including some Stepables to try and start making something of the overgrown disaster of our yard. It's not really that bad, but definitely looks like no one has tended it, except for mowing, for the last 3+ years. I was able to clear away and evil rooty plant and get 7 of the ivy plants in the ground but had to give up before I fainted and ended up buried under a gossamer coating of gnats. Digging in hardpacked dry rocky never-dug dirt is WAY harder than working a garden. I watered the ground well, and hopefully will have an easier time of digging later.

Still loving the house, and happy just to be at home. I don't feel the same urge to be constantly busy that I had at our old place. Now just sitting in the back yard watching the dogs play seems a great way to spend the day. Especially with a nice cold beer in hand. Hmmm...I wonder what the dogs are doing right now?

The end is neigh

We're down to the final days of packing. It's not that we have *that* much stuff (HA!), the boxes just fill up too quickly. I don't see how I'm ever going to get all the dishes & clothes packed since I can't keep up with the laundry and dishwasher. And I just can't bear the thought of packing dirty laundry. I really want everything all boxed up so it's very streamlined when everyone comes over to tote boxes. Plus it's getting hard to find boxes anymore in town. Oh I'm sure I could buy some, but how does that compare to scrounging free ones that say things like "Chocolate Silken Decadence Tofu" on them?

Took Windy for our final run on the high trail yesterday morning. It was a beautiful sunrise and we both really enjoyed being out there. We crossed train tracks in 2 places and were heading up the switchback to a meadow that runs alongside the tracks when we heard the distant rumbling of an approaching train. We stood there a minute, Windy becoming more agitated as the sound grew louder, as I tried to calculate if we could make it back across the tracks before the train came. I knew from experience the 5:55am train is often quite long and that Windy really doesn't like being near it. I decided to go for it, and we broke into a sprint up the hill back towards the first railroad crossing. I focused on my running form and was pleased how good it felt. I turned my head occasionally to catch the sound of the train and could tell it was definitely getting closer but still safely distant when we crossed the tracks. I stopped at the base of the next hill and was walking so we could catch our breath (dogs don't like long unstopping sprints). But if we stopped there we'd be caught by the second set of tracks, and close enough to the train Windy might freak out. The sound of the train changed from the distant thunder rumble to a more distinct rumble-chug. I figured we had enough time to get across the next set of tracks only if we ran full out the entire way. I started running again, Windy keeping pace or lagging a bit behind. I kept calling to her to keep up, the train getting louder but still not visible. My energy was depleted and I would have stopped instantly if I'd had the choice. But we made it across the tracks and ran a bit further to the rise before gasping to a halt. I turned around to wave to the engineer and Windy's fur bristled and she clearly wanted to get away from the noise. My head was pounding and I felt weak from the extended speed work, but the rest of the trip seemed easy by comparison. Wonder if I can use this memory to boost speed work on normal days?

Well, best be off to pack another box!

Puppies in the Spring

Now that the weather's brightening up, I'm spending more time outside with the dogs. I finally remembered to bring my camera with me, so here's a few new pics of the pups. Kayla just turned 6 months old - she's growing like a weed, so scrawny right now. I think she's using all her nutrition to grow fur instead of body mass. She's going to be even furrier than Katie. Egads, it's going to break my vacuum cleaner. At least I'll be able to continue knitting D. winter gear to match his Katie fur hat and scarf.

Windy loves the water, and if you ask her if she wants to go swimmin' she'll immediately tear off for the nearest watering hole. If it's not deep enough for honest swimming she enjoys just lounging. Do the strings of drool sheeting down take away from the overall image?

Kayla sometimes comes out with these expressions that make you look around the house to see what she's done. See what I mean? These looks also make me wonder what she's mixed with. We know half is Australian Shepherd, but really are curious about what the other half is.

Windy is sort of doofy, but her attention is unwavering when she sees something interesting. There were flocks of ducks migrating that sparked some deep rooted instinct in her. She'd trot along staring at them until they flew over the treeline. Kayla didn't know what Windy was looking at, but mimiced her anyway.

Baby pictures

Life has been very hectic since we got Kayla. So much busier I rarely have time to do more than check my email on weekdays. I drive home at lunch to let her out and feed her, which gives me about 10 min. to eat before heading back to work. Lunchtimes is when I used to do most of my online stuff, so now I guess it'll be saved up for weekends. In the meantime, here's some photos of Kayla and Windy. She's turning into a great dog already, and Windy couldn't be better dealing with this hyper ball of fur, claws, and teeth. The only thing Windy's spoken up about is Kayla approaching her food dish. Other than that she lets that puppy walk all over her - literally. She seems to have a mother's unending tolerance and patience. A happy surprise.

Here's Kayla in her Gunga Din pose. She's been pretty good so far about not picking up random things in her reach. Katie & Windy used to play a game we call Face Tug. They bare their teeth and bang their heads together, often grabbing cheeks and tugging on them. It can go on for quite a while and they both loved it. Hooray to see Windy & Kayla already playing the same game, although I'm sure it'll be better once Kayla has adult teeth. Windy is coping by chewing on her bones a lot. Kayla often takes a bone right from Windy's mouth and lays down next to her to chew on it. Windy lets her do it, then looks around for another one nearby. Kayla's already chewing on the big nylabone meant for aggressive chewers, so we decided to skip buying the puppy versions. She'd demolish them :) They're also super sweet laying together. I can tell they'll sleep in a pile at night once we trust Kayla enough to let her free at night. I'm so happy for Windy at times like this:

Meet our new baby!

Fresh from a bath, and hasn't left D's lap since we set her there. She's an Australian Shepherd mix we think, which Katie also was (we always thought it was border collie but after looking online we believe she was Aussie). Looks a lot like Katie did but a little thinner faced and WAY fuzzier. Even her forehead has heavy fluff on it. She's super cuddly and chased after Windy a bit. Windy is about 20% weirded out, the rest just curious - including pulling out all her toys in front of the new girl. No name yet, but she's only a couple hours old, so to speak. Hooray!

Best run of the year

Ok, also the first run of 2009, but I think it'll be a while before another tops this one. Beautiful weather. Just cooler than tepid, a light breeze, blue skies, puffy clouds. Barely warm in the sun, slightly cool in the shade. Windy and I ran along the switchback service trails paralleling the railroad tracks. Letting her run off-lead is great, she gets to go exploring, bounding back and forth many times while I run doggedly ahead (ooh is that a pun?). Given my recent slack in running, I was concerned how it would be, given the trails are hilly, and a mix of packed dirt, chunky gravel, and sand. Happy to say it was easier than anticipated, and much more fun than expected.

There were a fair number of mud puddles dotting the trail that I skirted around, not wanting to soak through my white mesh running shoes. Windy crossed a small creek and when I called her to continue up the main path she just looked over her shoulder, clearly daring me to cross and explore the meadow path beyond. After a moment of deliberation and acceptance that there were no stepping stones, I nimbled across as best I could. The cold water on my feet was more refreshing than if I had drank it. After that I stopped avoiding the mud puddles, delighting in splashing through each one. Windy joined in, her speedy gallop sending up an impressive spray. It was terribly fun, and I laughed at how far the mud spatters came up on us. Then we went through an area where the soil was primarily coal dust. Not thinking of the consequences I splashed through a long puddle, and saw my shoes were now jet black. I knew instantly there was no way I was going to be able to clean the coal dust mud from them. I remember when I first got these shoes, I was so proud of the gleaming white and silver-green color. After some outdoor running (and the Coronado Bridge Run mishap) they lost their gleam, but still were sort of white. Heh, I think the best I can hope for now is gray, maybe charcoal? At least they can't get any dirtier than they are now. The weather is cold and rainy now, but I'm counting the days until we can go back. I saw some wild turkey tracks bigger than my splayed fingers, maybe we'll see one :)

Woolgathering & Rooing

Ok, this post is only halfway about fiber. Read on.

I know woolgathering as collecting fluff from bushes & fences where animals shed. According to the dictionary the main definition is fanciful daydreaming. Whatever. I know rooing as the long echoing howl our hound makes - aaarrrooorooroo, but knew deep down it has some fibery connotation as well. It's the gathering of fiber by plucking the shed parts from an animal directly.

I always gathered Katie's undercoat for spinning. It's so soft it rivals cashmere and is jet black. I spun the fiber and knit D. a hat and scarf from it. That is our special bow that has been reused on every present we give to each other for years. I still have a small bag of gathered fur to be spun. She was shedding a lot from a recent bath, and the house is currently drenched in dog fur. Normally I'd just vacuum it up and be happy with the clear carpet for a day. But I can't get any more fiber, all we have left is what's on the ground and furniture. So now I'm woolgathering. I'm using a comb and gleaning as much as I can from everywhere I see it. Every tuft is a few more inches of yarn. No, this isn't crazy, it's resourceful.

Our Beautiful Katie

You know our sweet baby Katie. She just turned 9, and was looking forward to all the treats and present-opening on xmas. (She loved her pearl necklace and the extra attention it garnered). She'd been a little tired this weekend, but nothing concerning. On Wed. morning she didn't feel well, didn't want to eat or really get up. She was worse when I got home and we took her to the vet. She was so lethargic she barely lifted her head. They found splenic cancer with metastases to her liver and possibly lungs. Sitting there seeing the blood counts and xrays, hearing the options was horrifying - too close to home. Clinging to a hope she might be ok like I was.
Coming to terms that it wasn't an option. We spent 8 hours at the emergency vet, and left without our Katie. There really wasn't any hope to even extend her life without suffering. OMG I can't believe this happened. Until the day before she was perfectly healthy and happy. Chasing Windy and loving life. Once we decided, I went home to get Windy, and stopped to get some french fries, Katie's favorite. She ate a couple, then lay back down. Darin snuggled against her, the vet gave her the injection and Darin pet her and whispered in her ear until her last breath. It was really beautiful, she was so happy and peaceful and content. We should all be so lucky. It was so sudden and unexpected. One lousy day took away our Katie, when we should have had so many more with her. We love her so much, and always will.

Puppy love

Last night we played with a baby boxer puppy who was available for adoption. We called him Fred, and he may be the best temperment puppy I've ever handled. He was boisterous and hopping around playing, living up to the name boxer batting at D's hands. I flipped him on his back and he just lay there, didn't squirm to right himself at all. When I picked him up and held him at arms length he again calmly accepted it. Not like Windy, who hates to even be pushed onto her side. We played with his pudgy cheeks, oh boxers are so adorably meat-headed, you just want to grab their pudge and kiss them. He was really really cute. This isn't him, but gives an idea of their cheeky pudginess and rumply forehead -- look at that chin, oh my goodness (ok I'm talking in baby talk at this point, glad you can't hear it).
Anway, after playing with him at talking a bit about it, we decided to leave -- without Fred. And now I'm so glad we didn't get a puppy. It's so nice to sleep through the night, and trust the dogs off lead, and not walk around every day trying to see what got chewed up when you weren't looking, and carpet cleaning during house breaking, and all that. I've been getting that feeling lately like I'd like another puppy, and I was surprised that when confronted with one I really liked, I easily decided against it right now. Besides, I really don't think Katie would like it.