How much is that doggie in the window?

I’m singing the same song and second verse this week. Not much gets accomplished craft wise because of a certain little four pounder that has taken over our house! How could I not have remembered how much work puppies are? Would we give her back? Absolutely not. She has wormed her way into our hearts. She is a biter. I know her teeth are hurting her and that’s why she’s chewing on anything she can including our hands and toes.  Every morning Dennis puts her in the bed with me after he takes her outside and I wake up to her smothering me with kisses. I love it!

I had to go to the dentist this afternoon and while I was gone Dennis put her bed up onto his desk so she could take a nap in the sunshine. Guess who has her daddy wrapped around her little paw? Her brown spots are getting darker by the day.

Piper got her school pictures back already. Her grandpa doesn’t like it because he says it makes her look about 16. I think she has a beautiful smile and I love her hair.

Three days in a row these two were able to play together. Friday I brought Lizzie to our house while Mandy worked at the schools fundraiser all day. Saturday was our obedience lesson so they were together all afternoon.

On Sunday Mandy had a memorial service so after church we went out to their house and stayed with Piper and Lizzie. These two were exhausted at the end of all three days.

I finally started working on some Christmas things this week. In the move, four a pairs of hand knit socks were lost. I kept hoping they would show up somewhere, but we have never found them and we’ve been through every unpacked box at least twice, most four or five times!

I have started the ornaments for the grandkids. Mandy, you can’t let Piper see this.😍 Obviously this one is for Piper and all I have completed is the cross stitch portion. I still have to finish it.

This one is for Kyleigh and I just started it last night. It is the same design.

I did finish Lizzy‘s doggy sweater and gave that to Mandy and I also made two baby hats that I have put away to take to the hospital.

Honestly it’s all I can do to keep the house halfway presentable with this puppy. I don’t remember housebreaking taking quite this long before. She’s doing very well, but only if we remember to take her out. She’s not really letting us know. If any of you have tips or tricks for housebreaking puppies feel free to let me know. I’ve had a few comments from past posts and we’ve tried everything that’s been suggested.

Dennis and I got our first shingles Shingrix shots last Wednesday. (I have no idea if I spelled that right.) Thankfully it didn’t bother him at all, but I ran a low-grade temperature for two nights and my arm was swollen, red and hot until today. Since I have had shingles in the past, the doctor wanted to make sure that I had the shot. Since our insurance covered it we figured we better get the shots now while we had the coverage. I have had more vaccinations this year than I have since grade school. We have to get the second shot sometime after November 22. Then, unless we get the Covid booster, I think we’ll be done with shots for a while.

I hope you’re all doing well. I’m enjoying reading about fall in all of the various areas you live in. And of course it’s spring down south. I’m praying that you all have a great week.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

Fall!

Fall has arrived and I couldn’t be happier. We had our windows open again last night and it was wonderful. It seems like it has been months since we’ve been able to open our windows and leave them open. The sky is bright blue today and from where I’m sitting I can see the flag flying outside our front door. It’s a beautiful day.

Last Saturday we decided to take a drive with Mandy and Piper and the two puppies. Have any of you watched “Heartland Docs” on the Disney Channel? We absolutely love that show. There are three seasons and we’ve watched them all several times. The fourth season is being filmed now. Anyway, the show is about a husband and wife veterinarian team, Ben and Erin. They live in Hartington Nebraska with their teenage sons Charlie and Chase. The show is about the animals that they help in their veterinary practice. Saturday was a beautiful day so we loaded up the truck and drove two hours to Hartington. We stopped at the vet clinic for a photo and then visited the store and hotel that the family have remodeled and re-opened. The store is called Chase n Charlie’s. It has lots of unusual things along with the typical touristy items.

There is a beautiful city park where we went to let the dogs run and get some of their energy out before we started the drive back home. The park was huge and very well-kept. If it weren’t so far away from family, I think Hartington would be a lovely place to live.

Piper and I rode together in the backseat with the puppies. Lizzie is sound asleep in Piper‘s arms and you can just see Zoey‘s paw hanging down on my lap.

Here we are in front of the Cedar County veterinary office.

Nebraska farmland is just beautiful. The rolling hills are changing color into its fall covering.

The girls just love to play with each other. Here they are in Lizzie‘s bed at Mandy‘s house. When I tried to take the picture, of course they both woke up. They love to sleep together all cuddled up.

I made Zoey a purple sweater because she is so tiny the vet actually told me I would want to put something on her with the chilly evenings and the cold winter that will be in coming before we know it.

This is a better picture of the sweater.

This one is for Lizzie. It’s inside out as I’m sewing the neck seam together.

We were on our way home from Lowe’s the other night, when I saw this big beautiful moon up ahead. I’m sorry it’s a bit blurry but we were driving 45 mph down the street and there were some bumps in the road. Every time I see a big beautiful moon, I think of dear Teresa. I sure miss her and her blog and especially her friendship. 

Dennis and I both got our flu shots yesterday. For the first time in years I didn’t run a fever or even have a sore arm afterwards. It’s been 24 hours now so I think I’m out of danger.😍 We both need to get our shingles vaccinations too. Since I’ve had shingles before and only the old shingles shot, I guess the Singrix is the injection that we both need to get now.  It’s always something.

Thank you all for your patience in my reading your blogs and even posting. I had no idea moving back home and getting a puppy would absorb so much of my time. It seems like I can never sit down and knit or crochet because the puppy is grabbing the yarn and running away with it or I’m taking her outside every hour!  I know that she will soon calm down and become an older dog and that’s what keeps me going on these busy, busy days. 

Blessings and love,

Betsy

Busy Week

Where has the time gone? Who would have ever believed that a puppy could make so much work and exhaust two grown people!? A puppy, a birthday party and a trip. It has been a busy week!

Dennis‘s mom turned 85 on Saturday. We were planning to have just a small get together of immediate family that we knew were all vaccinated. However, several more people came and it end up being about 25 people at various times! I believe everyone was vaccinated except Piper and her two younger cousins. They played outside or downstairs with the puppies most of the time. Most people stayed outside the entire time except when they were fixing their plates and then they came inside two or three people at a time. I think everyone was conscious and was trying to be careful. I think, I hope, I pray, that all is well. It’s been three days and I haven’t heard anything from anyone and we are all fine. We have been so careful for the last year and a half but who knows how many more birthdays will have with her and she was excited to have everyone there.

Dennis and I provided pork chops, sausages, deviled eggs, fruit salad, Wichita potatoes, homemade pickles, drinks, cake and cupcakes. Most other people brought something too, including potato salad, watermelon, macaroni and cheese, lots of chips, and a relish tray. After two years of not seeing anyone it was nice and as I said, all of the adults that were here were vaccinated which eases my mind somewhat.

We bought mom a Keurig coffee maker, a box of her favorite coffee and a carousel to keep the k-cups in. She really likes it and it was nice to get something that we knew she would actually use and enjoy.

In the photo below you see mom, who was completely surprised or she would have been dressed up. She thought she was just coming over to visit us for a while in our backyard. Next to her is her brother Al who came from Minneapolis for the weekend. Al is 89. Behind them you see Al’s son Ron who lives in Reno. He has been visiting his family in Minnesota for two weeks. It was wonderful to see Ron because it had been at least 35 years since either Dennis or I saw him. He looks exactly the same except a few gray hairs!😂 Lots of other family members were also there including Ron’s sister Janet from Minnesota. Five of Mom‘s grandchildren who live in Omaha were here, along with my sister, my niece Chaela and her husband Tim. Alex called as he was walking through Queens Park and sang happy birthday to her over FaceTime. She was thrilled. Honestly, I still don’t know how we pulled off the surprise. I wasn’t at her house much Thursday or Friday because I was cooking most of the time and getting everything ready for the party and since I’m usually there for a big chunk of every day, I was sure she knew something was up.

Mandy and Dennis were deep in conversation.

The puppies were having a wonderful time playing together in the family room. These two sure love each other. I think Lizzie looks like a miniature golden retriever.

The trip I mentioned was that Dennis left Sunday early afternoon for Spokane and is actually on his way back home right now. His flight lands in a couple of hours at about 2:00 here in Omaha. Sunday night he was able to stop and visit with Neal and Jenny. Last night he had dinner at Arby’s with Larry and Nita and then they all went over to Paul and Lori’s to see the puppy. Can you believe that that furball Nita is holding is the same little Lizzie that I showed you a few weeks ago? She has sure grown hasn’t she?

I finally finished the baby blanket. I don’t remember it ever taking me this long to make a baby blanket. I guess that’s what happens when there’s a puppy in the house. It’s like having a two-year-old. I used six skeins of Yarn Bee Fresco Fiber; three each of the colorways eggshell and linen. The fiber content in this yarn is 59% cotton 36% acrylic and 5% other fibers. It is super soft and a joy to work with.  

I haven’t washed it yet because I knew I would have help in trying to photograph it. Look who just had to be in the picture. She kept grabbing the corners and pulling them over on itself. Sorry the picture isn’t any better. The blanket is about 40 in. square and I love it.  You can’t tell very well in this photo, but I did a single round of single crochet around the edge in the darker linen color. Doesn’t Zoey look like she has a surprised ghost face on her back with those three brown spots?

After I finished the blanket last night, I also finished off this dish cloth that I had about 3/4 done.

Whew!  It has been a crazy, crazy week. Dennis is working on selling the company and that is the reason for all of these trips to Spokane recently. It sounds like there are some people very interested so it may be over and done with sooner rather than later. I must admit it was nice having this little furball here with me while he was gone these two nights. It’s amazing the difference it makes not being alone in a house. Even when your companion is a measly 2.8 pound ball of fur! Dennis called a little while ago from the airport in Seattle. I had him on speaker phone and when Zoey heard his voice she went crazy and she started licking the phone . She actually hung up on him with her tongue! I called him back and he wondered what it happened. I think he was very pleased when he realized how much she seems to miss him.

I think I’m home for a while anyway. I was hoping maybe to take a trip by myself and meet some blog friends this fall but with so much Covid out there I’m really not comfortable doing that. I have been stressing over the birthday party for the last couple of weeks. At least it’s over and I can’t second-guess myself anymore.

I apologize once again for getting a little bit behind in reading your blogs over the last several days. I think I’m all caught up now and will try to do better now that all of the big events are done with for a while. Take care my dear friends and stay safe.

Blessings and hugs,

Betsy 

Puppy Fever

Oh my goodness! This little puppy of ours consumes every moment of every day. It is like having a newborn or a toddler! We were thrilled when she only woke up twice during the night last night to go outside and then went back to sleep in her crate with no fuss. The crate has been dry every night since we got her. She is definitely one smart little cookie, but that just means we have to be smarter than she is and I’m not sure I have that intellectual capability!

She thinks she’s a big dog, all 2.6 pounds of her. This morning she climbed the concrete stairs in the backyard all by herself. Each stair is almost twice as tall as she is. I don’t know how she did it. But she is a determined little girl.

And there is more news! There are now two puppies! On Friday Miss Piper and I went and picked up Zoey‘s sister Lizzie and now Piper has her own puppy. Oh the happiness of these two puppies when they saw each other and how we love them both so much already! Lizzie spent the day with Dennis and I, both Saturday and Sunday as Mandy had already made plans before getting the puppy. They were going to the lake with Brad’s family. They are camping and she didn’t want to take a new puppy who hasn’t had all of her shots around other dogs and there are also a lot of ticks there.

We didn’t mind a bit. The girls entertained each other, both went outside very well with no accidents in the house. I think it’s going to be great for them to grow up together. Since they are part poodle, they are hypoallergenic and Piper can be around them both.

In the above photo Lizzie is on the left and Zoey is on the right with the spots. Lizzie looks like a miniature golden lab. Her real name is Elizabeth, which is what Piper calls her but that’s such a big mouthful for such a tiny puppy. They are both such sweet puppies.

Plus Brad and Mandy have a friend who used to be a dog trainer before she retired. She is willing to meet with Piper and I and give us some tips for training them. I already have Zoey sitting pretty well when told and she knows her name, just doesn’t always respond to it.😍

All of this doesn’t leave much time for anything else. I have been trying to decorate for fall for almost a week now and the bin is still in the garage! How can one little puppy take up so much time? The only stitching I have gotten done is on the crocheted baby blanket and it’s coming right along and almost completed.

It’s a simple two row repeat and doesn’t take much thought. I can pick it up and put it down without worrying about losing my place in the pattern.

Take care of yourselves. Wear your masks! Keep your distance! This nasty virus isn’t finished with us yet.

Blessings and hugs, 

Betsy

Meet Zoey!

Dennis and I are both in love. Meet Zoey, our new little 10 week old Miniature Poodle/Chihuahua mix puppy. We got her on our anniversary Wednesday instead of going out to dinner! I think it was a great trade. 😍 We said no more dogs after Chloe but we should have known that our house wouldn’t be able to stay empty very long.

I love her little floppy ears and I hope they stay that way. The brown circle around her eye is pretty cute too.

Her favorite place is all snuggled up in her blanket on my lap.

She has snuggled her 2.5 pound self right into our hearts. She sleeps in a little kennel by our bed at night and it has been dry both nights. She hasn’t even had any accidents in the house. I take her outside constantly so I’m probably the one that’s trained!

Daddy is a 5 pound poodle and mommy is an 8 pound Chihuahua. We’re hoping that she doesn’t get very big so she will be easy to take places and won’t take up much room in a trailer when we are able to start camping again.

We needed to get a dog that was hypoallergenic with some poodle in it so Piper could be around it. She is off the charts allergic to cats and is allergic to dogs but not quite as bad. 

Zoey seems to be a pretty smart little puppy so we’re hoping all will continue to go well. It’s been almost 30 years since I have house broke or trained a puppy, so if anyone has any good hints just let me know.

Yarn fun is definitely taking a backseat for a while while we work on potty training. I know you will all understand. Puppy kisses are the best!

Blessings and love,

Betsy