Christmas Sweaters and A Christmas Book

~~Merry Christmas! The big day is nearly here and everyone is planning gifts for those around them. John and I have pared down our shopping over the years. We really don't need anything and our wants run more along the lines of having each other and love, peace, and calm. But we did go shopping for the puppies. ; ) Their winter sweaters from last year were woefully small, of course. They are now nearly two years old. The weather has been a bear and they needed sweaters for their walks. We found lovely ones in a catalog and are proud to say the boys look smashing. Don't you agree?

~~I received a great gift this morning as well. Spencer Crawford of the Times-Georgian and The Villa Rican asked to interview me about my new book, A Christmas Walk. The article is wonderful! Spencer is a great friend to all the local writers and this is one example. Go HERE to read the article if you don't get the Times-Georgian.

~~And have a wonderful, peaceful Christmas.

Three, Two, One

Three white balls of snow stacked up just so in the classic snowman form.

Two bounding barkers bouncing around in the flakes that nearly rise to their bellies.

One Southern Snow Storm of three and one half inches deep, lovely and white.

~~I know that it's not a lot of snow by northern standards, but it's wonderfully heavy for north Georgia. Of course, it is a strange winter with this second snowfall on Friday, February 12 and another expected late tonight and into tomorrow. Talk about a Valentine's Day Gift! ; ) Our puppies loved it. After an initial caution, they bounced and bounded so fast that we didn't get a photo of them. When you are only ten inches tall, snow of three and one half inches is a bit of a challenge. Add the snowman--the intruder in our midst--and you have a noisy, fun time.
~~John and I have never "rolled" a snowman before. All our past attempts have been the mounded variety. Either we haven't had this type of wet, heavy snow before, or we have waited until the next day when the drier air has stripped it of moisture...But this time, the snowballs rolled into the perfect sections for a lovely snowman. Add a red hat, green towel scarf, carrot nose, and two broccoli floret eyes and you have it.

~~Enjoy the photos of our latest, but not last snow. ; )

Watch Pocket Puppies

~~And they're off! Into the back of the house, standing at the low solarium windows, two puppies watch for the intruders. Barks ring out and we cover our ears. Is it a walker out exercising in the parking lot next door? Or a random squirrel or stray cat? The ever popular errant leaf? This time it's Daddy working in the yard. It certainly doesn't matter to our watch pocket puppies. They are always on patrol. ; )

~~As John said the other day--we thought having two puppies would be good for them, company for each other during long afternoons. They are. But they're also far more than twice the noise and activity of one puppy. All I can say is--Bark On!

Puppy Mystery Solved

~~For the last two months or so, we have had a mystery on our hands. Max has been coming in from outside and dancing about, stiff-legged. He would scrub his feet over the carpet for about a minute each time we went out. We wracked our brains. Just what was he doing--wiping his feet?
~~Well, the mystery was solved today. John had led the two boys in from a wet, soggy walk. As I stood on the mat just outside the door wiping my feet, Max began his dance. He stared me straight in the eyes and I gasped. All this time, Max has been following momma and daddy's example. He has been wiping his feet. Just like we do! ; ) How's that for a fine solution to a funny habit?

The Cothes Make the Puppy

~~How cute is this? The boys are all decked out in their new sweaters. It's definitely sweater weather around here early in the mornings. Low thirties and frost means newly clipped Casey and Max are a little on the shivering side. Of course, a treat is always welcome. ; )

~~And speaking of clothes--the boys got into a little mischief this morning during the laundry. While I had my back turned to fold a load, they were raiding the dirty clothes pile for a few choice pieces to make a bed in the sunshine of the solarium. I had to laugh. I'll be more careful next week. ; )

Tag Team Fetch

~~You didn't know fetch was a tag-team event, did you? It is with Casey and Max. When we throw any of the favorite toys--carrot, bone, or floppy--both puppies go running. It doesn't matter which boy gets there first, the other will meet him coming back. Then a wrestling match breaks out that usually results in both puppies with a month full of toy and they bring it back together. Not your usual game of fetch to say the least.

~~It's very hard to get a good photo of the fast moving pups, but we finally did. They are bringing back bone, one of Casey's favorite toys, but it looks like Max has just as good a grip. ; ) There's never a dull moment here with two wonderful puppies like Casey and Max.

My, How Big You've Grown!

~~The boys are getting big! Well, by their record, at least. When they were eleven weeks old, Casey weighed four pounds four ounces and Max was three pounds two ounces. Now at twenty-four weeks old, they weigh seven pounds eight ounces and five pounds four ounces. What a difference!

~~They're growing up in other ways, too. We are actually getting some good pack walks without too much pulling. Of course, when the boys pull, Max goes one way and Casey the other. There's nothing like a tug-of-war between two toy poodles when you are the rope! ; )

~~Here's a few photos to show how big they are getting. Compare their first week home with now. Enjoy!

It's Great to Crate!

~~That's right. We finally broke down and did it, and we agree, we should have done it sooner. After the worst day ever on Saturday, we consulted dog-lovers Tina and Trey. They added the last note to the mighty chorus of advisers. "Use the crate!" Casey is taking it easy in the photo above, but Max is not as sure in the one below. ; )

~~Saturday was the clincher. We had started trying puppy pee pads because clean up is so easy. The boys had another idea. When we came back from getting Mother Helen's lunch, a blizzard had hit the back bathroom. No two fibers were still next to their original neighbor and there was not piece of backing larger than two by two inches. Clean up took over half an hour.

~~So, crates here we come. Sunday we crated for forty-five minutes. Each boy had his favorite cow hoof to chew. It wasn't so bad that they wouldn't go back in. In fact, after a nap on the sofa was interrupted, Casey crawled back in his crate to finish sleeping! On Monday, we used it twice during the day--about thirty minutes and nearly three hours when we had to be gone. Guess what? They survived without accident. Afterward, they ripped, romped and played with abandon.

~~Monday night was neither quiet not easy and Max had an accident. Tuesday night was better with no accidents. So we are sure crating will work and the mornings are the reward. No poo or torn, soggy paper to clean up and, best of all, no fluffy pee pad snow!

~~We had been told how well crates work, but seeing is believing. After all, hindsight is 20/20. ; )

Don't Fence Us In!

~~Too late! The boys' play yard is complete and, let's be honest, they love it. Romping around is dear to their puppy hearts. Not to mention, John and I are breathing easier. Being able to potty off leash should help with leash and house training. The two rowdy little boys can run after each other to their hearts' content.

~~We worked the better part of four days and the fence looks marvelous! John quipped that someone would ask us who we hired. I responded, "A-1 Fencing." As in, Alpha (John) and his #1 assistant (me). ; ) It helps when you have an experienced surgical nurse...er...project assistant with construction and tool experience. The job isn't so hard that way. We do know a thing or two about pressure treated wood, concrete, and tools.

~~We are now the proud owners of a fenced play yard that keeps the boys safe. Except for our escape artist--Max found the one spot that he could get through--between the post and the foundation. We plugged the hole and even Little Max has been contained. ; )

~~So wish us luck on house training and all that. The boys are growing and we hope all will resolve itself soon.

Casey and Max Grow Up!

~~Well, a little bit. ; ) They got their third round of shots a week ago on Wednesday and Casey weighed 4.4 pounds, Max weighed 3.2 pounds. Yesterday they got their first clipping. Such a difference! They now weigh 4.6 and 3.6 (in only a week!), but look like they have lost weight. They also look twice as tall. Their hair had grown to three inches and now they are only 5/8 of an inch. It lies in flat waves. We kept their silky ears, some on their heads, and pompom tails. Our fluffy pups are now long, lean, aristocratic poodles.

~~Less hair has to be better outside in the 95 degrees and they aren't parking on the air vent as much. Their energy level is up as if it needed any increase. They have found their tails. Nothing like watching two puppies somersault across the floor or turning like tops. John has upped his estimate of the work two puppies takes compared to one to quadruple. There is no doubt that they are both all boy. ; )

~~The biggest change of all is Max's lovely apricot was changing into a light cream. You can still see his apricot ears. What's really funny is that both boys have a small patch of alternately colored hair high on their left hip. It's like each pup needs a bit of his brother's color to mark that they are siblings.

~~Enjoy our boy's photos. They grow up so fast!

It's a boy--and a boy!

~~When is a Cassie really a Casey? When he is so dark brown that it's hard to tell if he is a boy or a girl. That is until his people observe closely when he is outside doing his business. So our little girl is a little boy and we couldn't care less. I remembered the breeder saying we have a girl and a boy, but John has always been sure we have two boys. Guess who's correct? ; )

~~So we are the proud "parents" of two little boy puppies who are growing fast. The boys are nine weeks old in the photo. Casey is bigger than Max. If you wonder why the smaller of the two is named Max, we weren't too sure at first either. But the longer we observed him, the clearer it became that Max always gives his maximum effort no matter what he's doing--running, wrestling, chewing, or sleeping. Both of the boys are learning two new words--come and sit. Treats are a must, but at least they are starting to get the point.

~~I am still laughing about my being outnumbered by the three males in the house. This big laugh is a great example of the joy we can find everyday in the shade of the cherry tree. ; )