And The Truck Got Stuck

Honey, who normally makes me coffee in the morning has been out of town.  He's been going to sell his product at trade shows.  What this means is I've been stopping for coffee.  Here in the Great White North there is a popular coffee place called Tim Hortons.  I'll be honest.  I kinda don't like the coffee but it's cheap.  This is motivating.  (I get what I call a cheap girl's latte - 1/2 coffee, 1/2 French Vanilla.) 

Many of you know I drive a truck that I absolutely adore.  It's a beast.  So feeling chipper (NOT!) after time change I decided to try the drive through.  For. The. First. Time.  You see, I always walk in.  But there was no drive through line up.  It was too tempting...

Unfortunately I had already committed when I realized that the truck was not going to fit in the opening...  this was not cool... So there I am.  Vehicles behind me.  Doing the forward, backward, forward, backward, trying to get lined up with the hole so I don't scrap my truck across the bright yellow guard pole.  After successfully ordering I encountered another issue.  The turn was too sharp for my wide turning truck.  Putting my foot into it, I leaped the curb, rolled up and over the snow bank before crashing down back into the driving lane. 

The was awesome.

Seriously.

How embarrassing to look like the girl who has borrowed her boyfriend's truck and is incapable of driving it. 

Yep.  That's right.  The truck got stuck.  In the drive through... 

Country Mouse, City House

Hello??


Hello??

Sorry, I know it's been awhile...

What can I say... I was tapped out.  Tired and over busy.  Creativity dried up...

I can genuinely say that my creativity isn't all back but there is hope.  Glimmers of it popping up unexpectedly.  You could say I've been at a cross roads the last month or so.  My Honey and I have had some pretty intense discussions over the future.  Let me be clear.  Once I dig in and decide on something, nothing and no-one can change my mind.  I am not an easily led individual. 

Ready??

Well, expect the unexpected.  After much thought and weighing of options, I sold my acreage (sold in less than 24 hours and over list price.) and purchased a new house in the nearby town/city.  There are many reasons for the move.  All of them valid.  We did look at other acreages.  Unfortunately I live in a hot and expensive commuter area and anything decent is out of my (our) price range. 

You could say I'm at a cross roads.  What happens when an intensily country oriented person moves to the city?  I have lived in the country for the bulk of my life.  I have no idea how I'll adapt.  The area I'm moving to is full of parks and walking trails.  This is good.  My dad is very supportive and is happy to house Whiskey and the sheep.  In that way I'm blessed.  I have access to land less than 30 minutes from where I'll live.  I'll still drive the dogs out to work sheep.  I'll still drive to the grazing reserve for the dogs to run free.  I'll still love my horse(s).  I'm contemplating a cutting horse with some of my house money.  I still want to compete with the dogs.  And in an unexpected twist... I'm loving taking the agility classes with Ryder.  This is his passion.  I'll continue to take him to class and through the levels.  The joy on his face and his enthusiasm is priceless.  Diva will start the beginner class in May (personal growth for both of us). 

There is one thing for sure.  My animal adventures are going on a major change.  Look out SP.  The country bumpkins are moving in!!

Alive n Kicking

I am still alive and kicking. I have been freakishly busy.  Ryder has been starting agility classes.  I'm very proud of how he's doing.  I'll try to get some pictures of him.  Diva is a fat little porker who isn't getting enough exercise.  Whiskey is looking wonderfully pregnant.  More news to come soon.

Christmas Spirit

We hosted Honey's family Christmas Eve for dinner.  I was a bit anxious about how the dogs would handle the influx of people.  As a precaution they both had on new pheromone collars and I put Ryder in his ThunderShirt.

They were awesome.

They didn't bark when each car load arrived.  They both watched cautiously.  Ryder carried around his beloved toy. And Diva stayed in her favorite spot beside the coach.  While I worked in the kitchen, Ryder followed me around, and Diva (!!!) explored the new people by sniffing them.  Both dogs were tired by the time our company left.

But they behaved appropriately the entire 9 hours we had people in the house.  I was very pleased with them.

And Then...

There we were.  Honey was upstairs watching hockey.  I know.  The Canadian cliche.  J and I were downstairs, snuggled under blankets, watching TV.  The dogs were with us and I was lazily throwing the toy.  Ryder had already had a big play day and was tired.  Diva had taken up the gauntlet ensuring  the dog toy stayed in use.  She would proudly hop up and snuggle into my side.  J pops his hand out reaching towards Diva. She reaches her nose towards him, giving a wag and a quick lick to his fingers.  I'm not going to lie.  Diva is a glutton and he was eating chips...

But then it happened.  He petted her.  And she didn't spaz.  As a reward she may have gotten a tiny bit of chip.  Over the last two nights, while sitting together he has been able to pet her.  The next step is to have him stand by himself and feed her treats with me standing in intervention distance.  Touch wood.  She has been better around him.  I'm ever so hopeful that she becomes more trustworthy around him. The next two weeks will be great for Diva as we have J for a nice long stretch.

Why Not Diva?

You may have noticed that Diva doesn't take a starring role on this blog.  So, why not Diva?  Well, it's simple really.  Diva is the dog I'm currently worried about.  I'm trying to get her to settle in as a "family" dog.  This seems to take one step forward and two back.  The other reason is Diva loves, loves, loves to work.  It is a very snowy winter here with snow well over my knees.  This is not conducive to working dogs.

I had found these pictures of Diva on my laptop.  I had quite forgotten about them.  I'm thinking I haven't posted them, and if I have here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Learning how to drive. 

Fetching the sheep. 

Circle work.  Or "Get OUT!"

It's a Dog's Life

It has been blooming cold here.  Minus Frigid is how I like to describe it.  I had to laugh when I read Liz's post about dressing for weather.  I wear Arctic quality clothing.  And I'm not ashamed to admit it. How cold was it?  It was around the -40s (C).  We've had two weeks of unrelenting cold and a whole lotta snow.  This has been hard on the dogs.  To pass time and keep them mentally fresh I've been playing with them in the house.  Ryder is slated to enter his first series of agility classes in January.  Luke's owner has been giving us some activities to work on.  Ryder loves this stuff.  Today - be proud - be very proud because I managed to haul the camera out.

And viola!  Pictures!

Waiting for Diva... 

Watching for Ryder's "attack". 

The chase is on! 

Playing is soooo much fun! 

"I'm gonna git ya!" 

Must. Catch. Ryder. 

Freeeeedoooommmmm! 

I love my new bed. 

Standing on wobble disk. 

Standing on fireplace. 

Other end on fireplace.