This weather!

This winter has brought nothing but nasty weather so far. When it's not terribly cold, with lows in the teens and wind chills hovering near zero, it's pouring rain. I'd rather have the cold, personally. Days and days of pouring rain make everything damp and nasty and dismal. Our carpet is beginning to look dingy no matter how much we try to clean our shoes. We'll have to shampoo it in the spring, which is one of my most despised household tasks. When we buy our own home (hopefully later this year) we are 100% anti-carpet. When we've had rentals with hardwood and/or tile floors, not only did the house stay cleaner, but my allergies were much better.

This rain also is putting a real damper (ha!) on my efforts to train George. He's coming along great on the days I can give him lots of exercise, but he gets bored and destructive when he can't go out. He's mischievous and will stand up to peer up onto shelves to find things to chew up. I think he might be smart, since he's curious about everything and learns commands easily. But he's also stubborn and will constantly test your boundaries. I've been reading up on Cesar Millan's methods (and watching his show, The Dog Whisperer) and using them to make me (and my husband) the pack leaders. So far, his formula for well behaved dogs (exercise, discipline, and affection in that order) has been working really well with George. Now that we're having days and days of rain, and it's impossible to go walk him, he's been getting in to more trouble. I love the big crazy mutt, but I can't wait for him to mature a bit.

Next week, back to cold weather again, but at least it should be drier. I'm beginning to dream of spring.