Yip Yip Yip Yow!

Not only are they playing together and behaving well together, but they are singing together as well...right in the middle of the living room at work!

Whatta pair

I can't believe I am looking at Celeste and Porter actually playing together. He adores her and wants to play. She tolerates him and distains his company. She adopted a queenly, queenly attitude, became very snotty, and Porter did what any self-respecting all-American Joe would have done: he peed on her. Her queenly attitude remained intact, but her crown is askew and a little soggy.

The country life isn't really making much of an impression on Celeste. Her major thing is that Porter is running free and taunting her to play, and she doesn't know how to respond to him without loosing her prima donna coolness. And...she doesn't know how to run. Life on a leash and inside didn't teach her to run and play like the dog she is. She's clumbsy and gangly-looking when she gallumphs around the backyard, with a short, plump Porter literally running circles around her. She was delighted, though, by the little snowstorm that shot through here earlier in the week.

A husky finally in her element.

And now, back in Wyoming

We're back in Wyoming. Celeste had been staying with people who didn't want to be the "bad guys", so her behavior is a lot like it was when she was about 6 months old - peeing on the floor, screaming like she's being skinned alive when she doesn't get her way, and being generally obnoxious. We have our work cut out for us. reality is setting in for her, though, as she finds herself in her crate when we go out, because she isn't reliable to leave loose in the house anymore. What a pity that all that training went down the drain. At the moment, she's not welcome in anyone else's home because of her street dog attitude and because she feels totally free to pee in the house, anywhere she pleases. I'm hoping that with a little time, Celeste will make a return to being a mannerly girl. She was once a reliable, charming dog that everyone admired and enjoyed being with. I say this just after I clean up her crate mess. It wasn't so terrible that I lost all enthusiasm for having her with us, and I think she will come around.

Porter, however, has been collecting admirers from here to Texas and back. He's not a striking beauty like Celeste is, but he's an outstanding boy. He's a good watch dog, a good friend, and behaves well in just about every situation. He does best when he knows he is someone's personal best friend. And right now, he's my personal best friend. And he's so insecure that he might lose his spot in the house that he slept on my stomach last night. He normally doesn't do that. O thinks it could be that HE is the threat to Porter. I'm not sure, but today, Porter made great strides in showing his trust in O by jumping up on the bed beside him.

It snowed yesterday, and it was O's first experience in a snow storm. He thought he had come late enough in the year that the cold would be over, but - heh - he was wrong. It snowed through the day and put a damper on our plans, so we just stayed home.

And, I have been busy spinning and knitting a bit. I finished a knitted teddy bear for my coming grandson, have a Spud sheep in progress, and have been spinning on my big supported Rose spindle. I have 4 ounces of wensleydale fiber to spin up. All on my camera, ready to post! But, since my camera ONCE AGAIN has a dead battery, I'll have to post this picture instead:


(My daughter and her husband at the Downtown Aquarium in Houston. Taken by O on his camera, which does have good batteries)

A walk in the neighborhood

Despite a slow start...


...Porter and I went out walking this afternoon around the neighborhood. We took pictures, enjoyed the sun, and walked along the bike path.
Decorative kales
The urban jungle
my magical windchimes that lift my spirits whenever I listen to the wind playing them
the tour guide takes a sit-down break
okay, and another break...
fall foliage in Cheyenne
more colors flying!
Pretty!

Oh my gosh! The sun is SOOO bright!
The cookie jar
The homestead

Ranch, Knit, Dog

So I'm full time now at the ranch. There are only two guys in my house, but there is a third that could possibly move in. This guy is not retarded (he had a traumatic head injury) as the other two are, and he doesn't want to admit that he is disabled. Consequently, he is nasty and short tempered nearly all the time. according to his parents, he was kind of a bad guy before his accident, and now he is much less of that. Wow. I can't imagine. So, I'm not really looking forward to him moving into the house I work in. I'm hoping that someone else will come onto the ranch, if that is to be an all-guys house.

In other news, I've just about finished my first ever super-chunky sweater project. It's done in Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn on size 17 knitting needles...giant ones! It's gone realy fast, though, and I'm at the stage where I have to sew the pieces together, then do some finishing work. Yeay! I should have a new sweater by this afternoon!

The more I get to know Porter, the more I think he was abused by someone. He has begun barking at people when they come to the house, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the other day, when the maintenance man, Larry, came to check the fire extinguishers at the ranch house, Porter had a little problem. When Larry picked up a fire extinguisher in both hands, and came walking over to where we were, Porter came unglued. When Larry backed off and put the fire extinguisher down by his side, it was ok, but Porter still kept his eye on Larry and did a few little "grr woof" grumblings under his breath. So I'm not sure what's going on there, but I think something bad happened to Mr. P. in the past. I'm going to continue to do some detective work and figure out what sets him off, at least.

Porter

I finally got a picture of Porter. He's not as exuberant as Celeste is, but he's still a happy dog. I'm hoping he'll really open up and show his personality as we get to know each other. Anyway, I really love those big-nosed shots, so I included one here. I love his BBN! (big black nose) And he doesn't give me a mad face when I point the camera at him, just a bored one, so I have to be quick with him and get the shot.

So, I just got a laptop computer on Monday night and am piddling around with it. Me and laptops don't really get along very well, but we're making it work. I found out that I have to learn the American keyboard all over again...uuufff... I'm back in my little House of Rogue Tufts, and the tufts of grass are really such rogues! I need a weed wacker in the worst way...the lawn mower doesn't seem to be able to do as good of a job as I remember.

I remember why I abandoned the automatic sprinkler system years ago and just used a hose and a big sprinkler to water with. It's a great idea to have your lawn watered automatically, especially when you're at work more than you're home, but it's such a false sense of security. This sprinkler system is so high maintenance that I've been collecting short hoses and sprinklers to augment or replace the whole thing - above ground. I'm short a timer, but after I get that, I'll be set.

I've lost about 15 pounds in the last little while, so none of my clothes fit me any more. I just got my first paycheck from the ranch, and WOOHOOO, it's a check! Not a giant one, though, so I've been doing my clothes shopping in the local thrift stores. Who needs Ross or Target when there are flea markets and thrift shops? I now own 6 pairs of shoes, which are new for me but already soft and broken-in. Oh yeah, I know it can be a little gucky to think about putting your feet into someone else's shoes, which is why I carry a can of antiseptic spray in my bag. And I also found a cute little bench, of real wood, which became my coffee table. I'm currently looking for a larger one for a TV stand.

Yup, you guessed it - I have become a thrift shop junkie; a flea market addict.

And Porter. I continue to learn things about little Porter. He is afraid of the sound of plastic bags being shaken or opened, although not, apparently, afraid of the bag itself. He's also afraid of the moving cars, but loves to go for car rides. He hides or runs for the door whenever a car pulls into the driveway or passes by the house. I wonder where he came from and when went on in his life before arriving at the pound. Celeste had no fear of anything that I'm aware of. She was totally confident in everything she did and every where she went, it seemed. Maybe that was just because we went with her wherever she had to go. Porter is pretty much an awesome pup in every other way, aside from the plastic bags and cars, though. He's 3 years old and a speed racer when he's outside. Running is his thing....he does laps around the house when we're at work! And he loves sleeping on the bed at home and being invited to sleep on the sofa with me when we're at work. The novelty of being around animals is wearing off, so the goats and alpacas don't spend so much time confronting him at the fence these days.

So, I'm off to get ready for work. But armed with my laptop now, I can updated and finally post some pictures, and keep up with what you are all doing. Yeay! I think I'm back!!!

Work and The Dog

I'm here at the ranch, and the director graciously lent me a computer to use while I'm here tonight. There is a girl here for respite who has Prader-Wili syndrome, and needs one on one supervision, so I'll be here for a couple of weeks, mostly full time I think. The shifts run in 24 hour periods, so no matter when I'm working, it's going to be at least an over night.

Porter is turning out to be a great guy! He is very gentle with the residents and has so far stayed calm through both tantrum and seizure. He tells me when he's has enough for the moment and goes to the door. Sometimes I'll see him looking in the screen door, but when I open it for him, he just stays on the step and declines to come in. He just watches from the door for a bit, and when he's ready to join the group again, he lets me know. The residents love him and he seems to understand that this is our work now. He's always ready to go home to his own house and yard, though. For me, as well as Porter, this job is a challenge and a learning opportunity that seems to have come along at just the right time.

I now have cable TV, telephone, an internet service, but unfortunately no computer yet. I've gone shopping for one, and was amazed at the desktop computers that are available now. Monitor and CPU all in one unit! Touch screen. ...and everything sold separately. No more of everything in one box. It was a little daunting for me. I didn't have the money to buy one (luckily), so I have more time to figure out what I want and what I need.

Thanks again for thinking of me and for leaving me the great comments! And to the people who leave me comments in Japanese: I'd be happy to publish your comments if they were in English, and of course not spam, but I can't read Japanese. Please leave your comments in English so my friends and I may enjoy them.