I'm sure I've mentioned here before that Daisy is my crazy dog. Last week, she had to go to the vet because she broke a toenail while freaking out in the bathtub (OHMIGAWD! WATER! I'M GOING TO DIE! RUN AWAY!). Today, my brother came over with his new gigantic truck, and she fearlessly ran under the truck (because there were people on the other side), and then jumped up into the cab (because an open vehicle door is a clear indication that it's time for a ride, even if she's never seen the vehicle before). I'm always amused by the things that do and do not scare her. She'll lovingly lick the vet and the letter carrier on the face, but she's terrified of the Furminator brush.
I've also mentioned that neither dog approves of my zill playing. They'll fold their ears back, look at me with accusing eyes, and slink off to the bedroom to hide. Well, apparently they just hate percussion instruments in general, because Chris was playing a drum tonight and there was Daisy, sitting in the bedroom doorway giving me that sad look that asked "When is the scary drum going to go away?"
That's my Daisy, a dog of extremes.
I had a wonderfully refreshing holiday up in Marana. Five dogs, the quiet of the desert, and plenty of reading material. Not a traditional Christmas by a long shot, but that's how I like it. It was actually pretty easy to forget that it was Christmas, if I had the TV off. It was cool, but not cold, and beautifully clear. Felt like any other perfect winter day.
The dogs had a great time with each other. Chris got some adorable pictures of my girls loving up to their boyfriend, I'll have to get them off of his phone and post them for you all. And Daisy was just deliriously happy about all of the walking and jogging, I don't think her tail stopped wagging for a moment while she was on-leash. We even taught her how to use the doggie door.
Now it's time to start getting ready for my family's holiday celebration on New Year's Day!
Daisy has been getting most of the attention lately, due to her surgery, so here's a picture of little Miss Mags. The look that she's giving me is always accompanied by a little wag of her tail stub. There's something very cute about how she wags, it's a very hopeful gesture. Daisy's wag is more exuberant, like everything else about her.Maggie was very pleased with herself earlier, as in her little puppy mind, the cat was playing with her. Topher was, in fact, giving her a warning "stop licking my face" bop, but since he politely kept his claws in, she thought he wanted to wrestle.
Normally, I am not the sort of person who dresses her pets. I figure, they've got perfectly good fur coats, why should I wrestle them into a garment? However, it's pretty cold (for AZ), and my little Daisy dog has a big shaved spot from her lump removal. So I decided to buy her a doggie sweater to keep her warm until her fur finishes growing back.
Judging from how she and Maggie reacted to the sight of the sweater, I'm thinking they might have worn them before and that they actually liked them. These are the dogs who are not only afraid of nail clippers and baths, but also of doggie hairbrushes. Yet they jumped gleefully when they saw the sweater, and Daisy let me put it on her (though she also hit me in the chin with her head). No attempts have been made to remove the garment, and she's happily going about her evening in it. I may have to buy Maggie one so she doesn't feel left out.
Before I went on my shopping trip, I finished my Queen Anne's Lace bracelet from Marcia DeCoster's class at the retreat. I'll post pictures soon!
Daisy's lab results are already in, and the mysterious lump was benign! They told me exactly what it was, but it was very confusing a wordy. Something like a "Sub-2 mass in the collagen of the nerve something." The important part is that once her incision heals up, she'll be a perfectly healthy girl, no meds or treatments or constant worrying about new growths. She's currently celebrating by snoozing in the sunny spot on the living room floor.
I just wanted to let everyone know that Daisy is out of surgery and we're going to go pick her up from the vet in about half an hour. Now begins the fun of keeping her from worrying her stitches! Better go get the e-collar out of the pet cabinet.
Maggie seems pretty unhappy about Daisy's absence. First we took Daisy on a car ride without her, then we came home sans Daisy! Her puppy mind must be boggled. I've made sure to take several breaks today just to cuddle with her on the couch.
Ah, Daisy. She's my little problem puppy... Totally manic and OCD, always charging into everything, always licking, always desperate for more love, and twice now she's needed her own special trip to the vet.
For the past several months, Miss Daisy-Face has had a little lump on her side. When she had her annual vet check this summer, the doctor said that it might just be a bump from wrestling and to keep an eye on it. Well, it never got better, and it started to get bigger, so back to the vet she went today.
This time the lump got a much closer examination (last time, the doctor could barely feel it). Because it felt unusual and the skin was discolored, she recommended that we have it removed and sent to the lab, and Chris and I quickly agreed. Mysterious lumps are not something you want to mess around with! So Daisy goes back to the vet on the 18th for a little surgery, and will once again have to wear the Cone of Shame (thank you, Up) because she can't be trusted not to lick her wounds.
I don't know how long it will take us to get the lab results after the surgery, but I'll keep everyone updated.
Lest anyone worry too much, let me assure you that Daisy does not seem to be in any pain (though she doesn't like having the lump prodded), she still eats like every meal is her last, and she's always eager to run outside, play, wrestle, or lick our friendly mail carrier. Whatever the lump is, it's not affecting her quality of life one bit.
I didn't do much worth blogging about today, so here's a picture of Maggie, captured mid-bark. It was taken last month not long after her dental cleaning -- hence the bald patch on her leg where they shaved her for the IV! Those are all grown back in now.
Remember! Tomorrow, I'll post a new picture of Cthulhu!
Last year, Chris and I spent the Labor Day weekend driving up to the northwestern corner of New Mexico to adopt Daisy and Maggie. Here's the picture I snapped of them in our hotel in NM -- as you can see by those smiles, they'd already accepted us as cool people, and were clearly prepared to teach us how to spoil them rotten.
Bringing these two cuties into my life is one of the best decisions I've ever made. They cause me so much happiness, with their silly antics, unconditional love, and adorable faces. Here's hoping they'll be with us for many more years!
I decided that since I took a bunch of pictures of the dogs, I'll use them on posts where I don't have any new Cthulhu or other bead-related pictures. So here's Daisy, being cute and happy. For some reason, she puts her ears back when she's happy. I think it makes her look kind of like a seal. This picture was taken between her bouncing up and down excitedly on the couch trying to get me to pet her (which I did) before running over to the other end of the couch to wrestle with Maggie.
Today I had another workout, and I got more advice on how to deal with my ridiculously short Achilles tendons, and I lifted 25lb bars, and I jumped around a lot, and I rowed 500m. Actually, I did that first, but whatever. I don't go back to the gym until the Tuesday after I get back from NY. I will get plenty of exercise while I'm gone though, as I'll spend at least one day walking around NYC and one day walking around a Ren Faire, and I'll probably dance a bit, and practice my squats. I will not be sedentary, that is for sure.
To make up for yesterday's gloomy post, here is a picture of Daisy and Maggie! Awww. I took a bunch of pics of them yesterday before things got lousy, and this was the only pic of both of them in which neither one has a blurry head. I'm telling you, they just don't like to sit still.
As for yesterday's badness, I think things are going to be OK for now. Sorry to be all doom and gloom like that. I usually try to keep that stuff out of my blog, but it was late, I hadn't blogged yet, and I couldn't force myself to be positive.
I think tomorrow will be another Cthulhu post. Today my arms are tired from working out, so I really don't feel like trying to hold my camera steady.
Having a gym class in the morning and a dance class in the evening does not leave me much time for things today! I need to leave for Tempe in 40 minutes, and I have a few things to wrap up before I do.
My gym class taught me more things that I suck at, but I also feel like I got a good workout, so I guess that's the important thing. My quads still hurt from Tuesday. Hopefully class tonight will help me loosen up. At the very least, I don't go back to the gym (not counting Sunday's yoga session) until Tuesday, so I should have time to fully recover and be able to tackle whatever they're throwing at us next. I don't like the fact that I'm already behind schedule.
In the meantime, the corgis are mostly recovered from yesterday's dental ordeal. For whatever reason, the vet wasn't done with them until 6:15 in the evening. I had to get a ride from my parents to pick them up, so Chris wouldn't be late for krav maga. Of course, my parents are bigger dog people than I am, and Mom's van already had two crates set up in the back with pads and blankets -- ha ha! The girls had a comfy ride home.
Ok, off to put a few more beads on Cthulhu's lumpy head and then get ready for class.
This is my favorite picture of Maggie -- I love that I captured her mid-yawn and managed to get a photo where she's showing her true cuteness, instead of looking sulky.
Today Chris and I took both of the girls down to the vet for their annual check-up and booster shots, in preparation for them being boarded while we're in NY. It was a bit of a stressful ordeal for them -- the vet and vet tech were both very nice, but that only goes so far for a dog when strange objects are being put into their orifices! Maggie especially wanted no part of it, though she still licked the vet's nose while being stethoscoped, and walked up to the vet tech for good-bye petting at the end.
Since then, they've spent most of the day in a post-vet drowsy state, showing the appropriate enthusiasm for food and opportunities to go outside, but otherwise adopting a feline-like system of moving from one nap spot to the next, largely based on where I am. AJ's in the office? Let's sleep on the loveseat or behind her desk chair. AJ's eating dinner? Let's sleep under the table or on the back of the couch, the better to occasionally wake up and make sad, starving eyes at her (they got fed before I did, don't believe them!). AJ's not paying attention? Let's go take a nap on the people bed! Silly dogs.
But when I sat down to write this post, Daisy became suddenly animated, barkingly insisting that she needed attention now, then jumping up to put her paws on my leg and nose her way between my arm and body, so that I'm hugging her. This is a frequent trick of hers, and she seems very pleased with herself for doing it. Now that I've turned down her advances, she's back on the loveseat, wearing her "I'm the saddest puppy ever" face. Guess I should go make it up to her!
By the way, Gossiping Pixies are today's Daily Special. Thought I should tack that on here...
Here to distract you from the fact that I forgot to make a Daily Special today is Maggie! I snapped this picture of her daintily licking her paw in her crate. She used to hate her crate and refused to go to bed every night, until I made her a nice, fluffy fleece blanket. Now she'll go in there randomly during the day to nap or chill -- though half the time, I'm pretty sure she just goes in there so I'll leave her in the bedroom and she can sneak onto the people bed. She's a wily one, that Maggie dog!As a side note, the crates are plenty long enough for them to lie comfortably in, but for some reason, she and Daisy almost always lie like this, crammed into the back. Do they feel more secure that way? I don't know. It doesn't look comfortable to me.Anyway, I spent today hanging out with a friend, who has been keeping me company while Chris was away on a business trip (he gets home tomorrow morning, yay!). She arrived before noon, so I didn't get around to my Etsy shop at all. However, I did dance. A lot. Oh, my aching abs! I always dance more when other people are dancing with me, whether it's one friend coming over to dance in my living room, or if I'm on a dance floor at a party. If I dance alone, I'm more likely to stop when I start to feel a little tired, instead of going on until I can't any more.Tomorrow, life returns to business as usual and I'll have a Special up sometime around noon. But for now, I have a bra to work on!
Gem Show starts in the morning! Here's my schedule for the next week and a half:
Saturday: Go to Gem Mall, stand in line, register, buy crystals that I need, Czech glass that I want, other things that I'm inspired by.
Sunday: Take dogs to class. Take dogs home. Go to To Bead True Blue. Get steampunk bead from Christi Friesen, steampunk beads from Green Girl, and look around for other things of interest. Go grocery shopping.
Monday and Tuesday: Get things done around the house, finish planning out what I'll wear, find insulated lunchbox, put away weekend purchases.
Tuesday evening: Crafting time with Mom, if neither one of us is too tired or busy.
Wednesday: Get up at 8am to get into work (Beyond Beadery at Best Bead) at 9am, so I can be prepared for the opening-day rush this time. Work until 8pm. Come home, eat food, game for a bit, probably be snappish at the group because I'm tired. Make sure to apologize beforehand.
Thursday: Work from 10-6, then head out for a nice dinner with my employers, fellow employees, and interesting bead people who I don't already know but am looking forward to meeting. Chris gets to come along, too, as he is marginally beady ;)
Friday: Work from 10-6, then go to the Swarovski party. Oooh! I hear that it is quite swanky there. I don't normally get to go, but my wonderful boss Betcey wrangled an extra invitation, which she extended to me. A chance to dress up and spend the evening making small talk about beads? Who would turn that down?
Saturday: Another 10-6 day, followed by another dinner, this time with people from my on-line bead forum.
Sunday: Working 10-5, with a break for dog class. May get together with my friend Deb of Bead Indulgences, if her schedule allows.
Monday: No work! Taking a dragonfly class from Christi Friesen in the afternoon. Mom is also taking the class. Much fun will be had. Possible get-together with Deb if Sunday doesn't pan out.
Tuesday: I collapse from sheer exhaustion.
I'm going to go get some sleep now while I still can.
Ah, dogs. They're rarely shy about letting you know what they want. Here, Daisy and Maggie show us how much they'd like to have their fuzzy bellies rubbed. Actually, I think Daisy is sleeping in her picture, but there's never a point when she doesn't want a belly rub (except perhaps when she's eating dinner, which takes her 30 seconds), so it's still accurate.
Tomorrow we get to go down to the park and start obedience lessons. Both puppies desperately need them for various reasons -- Daisy because she won't stop barking and nipping, Maggie because she doesn't listen. Plus it will be good for them to socialize with other dogs and people, and learn important commands like "stay."
Sorry to have been so quiet lately, life has been crazy with cleaning, renovating, and New Year's Day gift-giving. I'm hoping that by this time next week, things will be closer to normal. Of course, then it will be time to start preparing for gem show!
Every now and then I'll forget to shut the bedroom door, and I'll walk in on a scene like this! One or more corgi will have made herself comfortable on the "people bed." And of course, as soon as I walk in, they start acting all cute, because they know they don't belong there, but they just can't help themselves. It's so comfy! And it smells like us!
They also like to help me make the bed. They'll jump up and bounce around on the mattress as I'm trying to straighten out the sheets. It's all very, very cute. (Obviously, I had not made the bed when this picture was taken. I'm a very lazy housekeeper)
Daisy and Maggie turned two a week ago. This is around the time when they should slowly start to calm down, as they're officially adults now. Of course, as herd dogs, they'll always be pretty energetic and bossy. But maybe now they'll start to get the idea that they shouldn't take flying leaps off of the back of the couch onto the floor, and that the kitty doesn't want to play with them, no matter how many times they ask.
I might have another holiday-related essay-length post or two in me. I've been giving it a lot of thought over the past week. However, today I'm going to keep things short.
You may have noticed a general lack of bead and jewelry related talk around this blog lately. The reason for that is that I tweaked my back/shoulders and I can't bead for very long at a time right now. I need to make a doctor's appointment and get it checked out. Hopefully it is a temporary and easy to fix problem, and not some issue caused by my bad beading posture which I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. I tend to worry a lot about these sorts of things, which is why I haven't mentioned it until now... No one wants to hear me going on about how my back hurts and I'll never be able to bead or dance again, oh no, it's the end of the world!
Of course, I did not do myself any favors by taking Daisy up to the park for a craft fair on Sunday. I spent most of my time straining to keep her from constantly pulling ahead and eating popcorn from the ground. Both dogs really enjoyed the fair and got along with everyone they met, human and canine, but they also went along eating every bit of dropped food they found, and tried to get under peoples' tables. I don't think I'll take them to another craft fair until they've had some formal obedience training, but most people didn't seem to mind their slightly bad manners. Corgi cuteness apparently overcomes a number of flaws.
Ok, so they're full grown, but they still act like puppies. Chris and I call them our pups all the time. And I swear, they don't spend ALL of their time on that love seat. It's just that since the seat is catty-corner from my desk, and my camera is on my desk, I'm more likely to get a cute picture of them there. If they're being cute in the living room, they'll probably follow me into the office to get the camera.
I love this pose. It's so adorable when they lie together, in sisterly friendship. It's easy to see why the rescue insisted that they be adopted together. They like to be in the same room as each other, they go outside and back in at the same time, they like to cuddle together on the couch, play together, and walk together. One time when we took them for a walk, I got a leg-cramp and had to stop halfway through, and I kept Mags with me because I didn't think Chris would want to walk both of them (they have a bad habit of criss-crossing the leash around your legs), and Daisy still had a lot of energy to burn. The entire time that we waited for them to come back with the car, Maggie sat there looking in the direction they had gone, occasionally whimpering. And when Chris showed up with the car, she and Daisy were all over each other in the back seat. The next time we walked, Maggie wanted to be right up behind Chris and Daisy. There was no way they were getting away from her again!
I'm of course posting a corgi picture to distract you from the fact that Snowdrop isn't done yet. I will be finishing it tonight, but it's already dark and cold out, so I won't be trekking to the workshop to take pictures.
I mentioned in Friday's post that we were going to take the girls walking at the park. We did, and it was a good time. We met Chris's friend and former co-worker Clinton, introduced him to Daisy and Maggie, and set out. The girls were pretty hyper at first, because they don't go for walks very often and aren't officially leash trained, but after about 10-15 minutes, and a dog swap (Daisy is too much a handful for Chris, especially when he's talking while he walks), they settled down and really enjoyed themselves.
The path around the park is about 4 miles... it took us around an hour to walk it, which is good, because they say corgis should get 30-60 minutes of exercise a day. Because of their short, stubby legs, a comfortably brisk pace for me is also a quick pace for them, so I'm sure it was a good aerobic workout for them. A dog of their size but of a less athletic breed might have been tired out, but these girls were bred to herd sheep, cattle and horses, so they have lots of energy to burn! They were smiling for pretty much the entire walk.
We had a little trouble, in that Daisy barked and lunged at the first dog we passed, but I kept her in hand and we only had minor pulling the two or three other times that we walked by other dog owners. She also shied away from rollerbladers. Being a country dog, I'm sure she'd never seen anyone on skates. Maggie, meanwhile, was just perfectly content to be out and about and didn't seem to have trouble with anyone or anything.
Because it's such a short distance to and from the park (walking distance, really, but walking there, around, and back would be too much with the shape we're currently in), instead of crating them, I took the center seat in the back and held their collars while they sat on either side of me. They were very well-behaved and didn't even try to get up front with Chris. Daisy seemed a little scared or uncomfortable with the car ride, but Maggie loved it.
After we got home and fed the girls their dinner, they slept on the office chair for five hours. Those pups were all tuckered out!
It was such a success that we're hoping to go on similar walks 2-3 times a week. We could all use the exercise, and the girls need to learn how to walk well on a leash. Besides, it's so much fun when someone walks by, smiles, and says "Aw, corgis!"
I'm sure I've mentioned here before that Daisy is my crazy dog. Last week, she had to go to the vet because she broke a toenail while freaking out in the bathtub (OHMIGAWD! WATER! I'M GOING TO DIE! RUN AWAY!). Today, my brother came over with his new gigantic truck, and she fearlessly ran under the truck (because there were people on the other side), and then jumped up into the cab (because an open vehicle door is a clear indication that it's time for a ride, even if she's never seen the vehicle before). I'm always amused by the things that do and do not scare her. She'll lovingly lick the vet and the letter carrier on the face, but she's terrified of the Furminator brush.
