All hail the cone of shame

Today was the day - Miss Abby went to the vet for her spay surgery.  She eagerly ran inside.  She loves to see the girls, they all fuss over her.  She still thinks it's a good place.  They were laughing this morning, wondering if after today she will still run happily inside. Lol  She weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds. I wasn't sure what to expect.  Poor little Millie had a rough experience way back when.  Then handed me a sad little barely conscious puppy wrapped in a blankie.  She had to be rushed back in 2 days later.  So I was prepared for the worst.   However Abby is bigger and stronger.  She ran to me.  I was stunned that she was so perky.  

She's home, and she's ok.  She is tolerating the cone for now.  She has bumped into the stove, coffee table, etc.  She's a bit whiny and clingy but that's ok.  She will get all the cuddles she wants. 

Her pen is now temporarily located in the living room.  But her time in it was about 5 minutes

Momma couldn't stand the whimpering and sad eyes peering out through that cone.  So now she is snoozing on my lap.  

I'll have to be careful with the medications.  She has 2 prescriptions with different schedules and I have 1.  I had my flu shot on Monday and ended up with nasty cellulitis in that arm.   This might be my last flu shot!  So I hope I don't accidentally take the dogs pills.  Lol

Hijinx and Hoarders

I survived Halloween with not a clown in sight.  But just in case my fearless protector stood guard at the window until it got dark.

This is her new favourite spot the last few days.  The beggars  (I mean trick or treaters) started arriving around 3:30pm.  All little ones, some princesses, a few ninja turtles and even a frozen snowman.  There are 6 bags of cheesies left in the box so I guess I had 18 little ones at the door.  Around 7pm I took my hiding spot in the back of the house ;)

Now for the hoarder part.  I have a friend who is a self-confessed hoarder.  Not the kind you see on TV, as her house is immaculate but there are rumours about the attic .....LOL.  It doesn't matter what you mention, she can find it somewhere.  The other day I said I wish I had an old cast iron skillet for cornbread.  "I have 5" she says.   OMG - who has 5 cast iron skillets?    Anyway yesterday she showed up for our coffee date with one of them.  Yay!  Seriously, everyone should have a hoarder friend like her.  And Voila

And what goes with cornbread?  A big pot of chili.

Obviously I'm not a food stylist as that picture is a little sad but it tasted great.  Abby had a bath this morning.  Wow, she does not enjoy it.   The bathroom looks like a crime scene and it took me at least 15 minutes to catch her afterwards.  She had "the zoomies" bad and thought my attempts to chase her with a towel was an act of war.   She is now almost dry and has decided she is too tired from her ordeal to remain mad at me

Happy Sunday and hello November 

The night before

Ok, those of you that have been following along for awhile already know this.  The rest of you newbies might be shocked but I'm just going to say it.......I don't like Halloween.    Kids roaming the streets begging for food. 

But the biggest reason is this........

Here is my confession.  I'm almost 50 and scared of clowns.  Not just "don't like them" but actually scared of clowns.  I was telling friends earlier tonight that a few years ago there was a Shriners Convention in town.  I came back to work from lunch, walked into our lobby and it was FULL of clowns.  A whole bus full.  My worst nightmare.  By the time I got to my office, my hands were shaking.   So what happens if a clown comes to my door tomorrow night??  I'm not doing Halloween.  I will pretend I'm not home until it's over.   My blog pal Alice shared a photo with me on Facebook the other day.  Let me tell you.......no way in hell will I ever be this needy for a hug!

CREEPY!!!!!!

A new "do"

Abby had her 2nd appointment at the groomers last week. It didn't go as smooth as her first visit.  She wasn't really impressed to get a haircut. She was a very wiggly pup on the table.  This is the shaggy pup before 

You couldn't even see her eyes. Lol.   Terri has so much patience with her

I think it's safe to say I left half my dog on the floor.  I wanted her clipped fairly short so I don't have to fuss much in the next few weeks as she is scheduled for her spay next week.

This was the "stink eye" I was getting once we returned home.  Too funny

But at least now we can see her pretty face.  As a treat (and a plea for forgiveness) I bought her a pretty new coat.  I think red really is her color.

Thanks to follower My3kitties for noticing her hair cut.  I posted it on Facebook but forgot to post it here.  

When a boy meets a girl

Now that I have your attention, this post does not refer to me.  Little Miss Abby is the hot young babe of this post.  She had a play date today with a cute little boy Sheltie pup named Beckham.

Beck's owners have a fenced in yard so it was perfect.  We were all curious to see how they would interact with each other.  They were perfect little playmates.  Not one bark or growl.  They just chased each other around and around.  

They ran and played hard for close to an hour while the humans chatted.  The best part is when we came home she just dropped and crashed.  She slept for 3 hours while I got some work done.   Awesome!

I like this whole play date concept. We will definitely be visiting Beckham again.   As for me this week has been busy.  I am taking a course for work and had a ton of homework to complete.  I'm too old for that crap. It was painful. I hope to get back to my challenge rug this week. 

Trip Part 2 - Abby's Adventure

Since I was out of town Abby had a reservation at the "Duffy Puppy Palace and Spa".  (AKA my friend Sharon's house). While I knew Abby would be extremely well cared for, I was still a little nervous leaving my baby.  And I worried how she would do with the 2 other resident dogs and 2 cats.  Plus I was scared she might destroy my friends house.   But I dropped her off early Tuesday and she immediately was excited to see furry friends.  I can't say the Duffy dogs were as excited. Lol.  When I finally arrived in Halifax I checked for an update and saw this

Napping comfortably in Wayne's arms.  Apparently attempts to woo the other dogs wasn't succeeding so she moved on to the cat.  Here's the little mating dance

And not long after getting this picture I got this one.........

Sleeping with a cat!!  I guess you need to cooperate when there is only one lap and you both want it. 

She did learn one valuable lesson though - when you steal food from others dishes you get diarrhea.  The poor hotel concierge had a poopy bum to clean. 

 To say that Abby was spoiled in those few days would be an understatement. She was pampered like a princess, even sleeping in the bed with them.  And unless they are withholding information, it sounds like she was relatively well behaved.  At least until I arrived....  I was happy to hear she had NO accidents while I was gone. I was shocked but happy.  I was at the house for about 5 minutes chatting and packing up her stuff......and she peed on their carpet!  But we will just chalk that up to being so excited to see me :) I think she misses her furry little playmates but she's making sure I don't get too far out of sight this weekend.

So we both had a great week.  I'm very lucky to have great friends.  

A tale of 2 trips -part 1

My absence this week is due to a business trip.  All week in the big city of Halifax.  I was looking forward to the conference as well as the drive there.  The trees are getting really pretty and the drive to Halifax should have been absolutely gorgeous.  Instead it was a wicked rain storm with fog. I found this photo on Google to give you an  idea of what I saw instead of beautiful fall leaves.  Pea soup!

I was so happy to arrive safe I rewarded myself once I checked into my hotel room :)

The conference was great and the food was fantastic.

One of my coworkers has been raving about this fru-fru fancy cupcake store she discovered on a previous trip.  So one afternoon we walked there.  Good grief!!  One cupcake was $3.75........

It was a good cupcake but not sure it was worth that much!  I was intrigued by this gorgeous cake in the window.  I'm sure based on the price of the cupcake that this cake cost $5,000. Lol. 

I'm happy to be home but tired out.   Stayed tuned for Part 2 tomorrow - Abby's adventure 

Stuffed

The Thanksgiving Feast is over.  Since it was just Auntie and I, the leftovers are at a minimum.  We divided up the leftover turkey so I'll have to get creative tomorrow.  Maybe turkey pot pie?   The pumpkin pie I made from scratch (yes, from scratch) was so good.  I'm officially in a post- thanksgiving food coma

Those stretchy sweatpants earned their keep today :).   I did hook this morning on my challenge rug but intstead I think I'll show you the other piece I finished.  Well, finished hooking.  I think it will end up being a pillow once I find the right fabric for the backing.  It seems timely, as this is thanksgiving

I hope you all had a great weekend and Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends. 

Bless the inventor of elastic

I'm enjoying my long weekend and i'm in some serious training.  It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and I need to prepare for the feast. 

I have my special stretchy pants all washed and ready to go for tomorrow's meal.. I've been prepping my stomach for the extra food.  I baked almond joy cookies

Then a homemade pumpkin pie.  I admit I sneaked a little slice tonight (just to taste).  Tomorrow I'll cover it with foil and no one will be the wiser.  Lol

I found these directions for cooking the turkey tomorrow

Sounds like a plan, don't ya think?

Nobody mess with the stash!

Seems like a small problem is developing.  Little Miss Abby has a new obsession.......my WOOL.   Let's make something clear - you never mess with a hookers stash!! It started innocently enough when yesterday she grabbed a piece of wool off the shelf.  Then again last night.  But this morning it was a full blown obsession. Strike one

Strike two

Strike three

Momma is not a happy camper.  This went on at least 9 or 10 times.   So before supper I had to clear off the bottom shelves.  At the rate she is growing the next shelf up won't be safe for long.

Abby gets away with a lot of little tricks here but messing with my wool crosses the line.