Walking with friends

This week we've been working at acclimating George to walking with the puppy our neighbor is fostering. We've only been on three walks so far (it poured rain on Tuesday afternoon) and we haven't dared let George get too close to the pup. He gets overly excited and barks and lunges, trying to get over to her, and we're being very careful to make sure nothing bad happens. For the most part, George has done okay. I handle him while Gregg follows behind us with the little girl. As young as she is, she already walks nicely on a leash, and seems very curious about George. Our neighbor reports she gets along great with the other dogs at her house, and loves to play with bigger dogs and other puppies and everyone, really. She's going to be a great dog for somebody--whether or not that will be us is the question!

Today Gregg works late, so Martina is stopping by on her way home from work (at the vet's office) to help me take the dogs out. As long as George stays calm, I'm going to try to let the dogs get a little closer together this time. He's securely attached to his leash via a harness, so I have control of him in case he starts to act aggressively. I don't think he will; honestly, I think his barking and pulling when he sees the puppy is pure excitement. I can tell him calmly to hush and to sit, and he'll do it, so I'm pretty sure we can reduce the distance a bit more than Gregg is comfortable with. Also, Martina is experienced with handling big dogs, and George loves Martina, so I think having her helping out will be a good thing. I'll report back later, but I'll say this:

I think this puppy will be a good fit for our family if George will accept her. It's obvious she's smart, well socialized for her age, and most of all....spunky! She's sweet and playful and curious about everything. I can tell Gregg really likes her. He hasn't said much, but I keep seeing him stopping briefly to pet her and rub her soft ears. For the time being we're calling her "Laylay" but last night he said we'd have to pick a better name for her if we decide to keep her. Again, it's all up to George. Wish us luck!

Saturday odds and ends

Another long week at work finally came to an end. This has seemed like the longest school year ever. It's as though the two years of Covid have just bled into one another and combined to form one long, crappy year. 

Things are not going well at our school. There's a huge exodus happening in which more than a dozen teachers and other staff are either transferring to better schools in the district or else are fed up and retiring (those who have enough years in to retire). Little P.'s mom has been so mistreated and bullied by some of the same people that used to cause me problems that I'm afraid she's going to be the next to go. No one likes to work hard, try hard, and then be at the mercy of petty, backstabbing, lazy people with no scruples. I feel so bad for her. Then just a couple of days ago yet another of my favorite teachers told me she's leaving. She said the stress is starting to negatively impact her health and she's had enough. It's the best teachers and staff who are leaving, naturally.

It all makes me sad. Morale is so low that a feeling of gloom pervades the halls. We keep hearing that the principal will be leaving at the end of the year, either by quitting or else being sent somewhere else (I've even heard a rumor that a specific woman who's currently at another school will be replacing him) and honestly.....it would probably be for the best. I hate to say that. I like him a lot as a person but as a principal, well....the buck stops with him, so to speak. I'm just laying low, doing my job, and hoping for better things. What I want is to feel pride in my school again, not to mention a promotion to a better paying position. I'm finishing up my 5th year and I think I've earned it.

At home, though, things are really good. My garden is coming along nicely. Today I harvested the first radishes and soon there will be lettuce and carrots to go along with them. My tomato and pepper seedlings are ready to be potted up and by the end of the month I'll be planting them in the raised bed. The bluebird box we put up last month has a pair of Carolina chickadees nesting inside! They're such cute, sweet little birds that I'm not sorry to have them instead of bluebirds. 

Last night I went to a community theater play with Martina, her husband Will, and one of the veterinarians that she works for. We had so much fun! Gregg isn't a fan of community theater, nor musicals, which is what this was, so he didn't care to go. He was amused to find out that our family doctor was part of the ensemble cast, though, and I took a photo of her after the performance to show him. At one point she was tap-dancing in an egg costume, which made him laugh when I told him about it. He said he would have liked to have seen that!

Florence Little Theatre

This is no joke!!! It’s OPENING NIGHT of Something Rotten!! Join us for a night of laughter, big-hit musical numbers, and of course, those tap dancing eggs!!!

Tickets are still available for tonight’s performance and can be purchased at the door starting at 6:30pm!

Doctor Shelton after the show! The guy with dark curly hair behind her was another local physician who played William Shakespeare. It was lots of fun.

One other thing of note this weekend is that this morning I met a sweet little puppy that my neighbor (the dog rescue person) is fostering until a good home can be found for her. Gregg is going to meet her either tonight or tomorrow, and we might consider trying to introduce her to George. She's right next door so it should be easy to take her on a trial basis if we decide to. I put her on a leash this morning and walked her around our property (George was in the house). She acted right at home and didn't seem to want to go back to Heather's house. We're not going to rush into anything, though. And George may not allow it anyway. 

We'll see.

Saturday morning odds and ends

 ***Pupdate***

The little puppy has found a good home--not with us! He was at the pet store for less than 24 hours when a nice family adopted him. We'll have a new puppy one day, when the time is right and the right one comes along. For now, this was the best outcome for everyone!

Good Saturday morning, blog friends. It's bitterly cold outside today. When we woke up it was 28F (2.22C) with a wind chill of 21F (-6C). We put a little red sweater on George when we went out for our morning walk. A pair of hawks were flying low over the creek, hunting for their breakfast. They're always a pleasure to see early in the morning; we sometimes see a pair of owls at night. It's a good neighborhood for raptors, and all birds, really. The Northern Flickers were also back this morning, congregating on our front lawn. We only ever see those in the winter.

I've finished the two books Martina gave me for Christmas: The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Do any of you remember the movie Fright Night with Chris Sarandon back in the 1980's? The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires sort of reminded me of that--the alluring new neighbor who turns out to be a vampire, some gore, some campy humor. It was a lot of fun!

Piranesi, on the other hand, wasn't a particularly "fun" book. It was so odd and unfathomable at first that I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to read it after all. The writing and the protagonist's observations were so beautiful, though, that I continued until I finally started to get an inkling of what was going on. One review I read said something along the lines of "this book is permeated with a gentle melancholy", but the word "melancholy" doesn't do justice to how sad it made me feel. It's brilliantly done, relatively short (especially compared to the absolute tome that was Clarke's first book, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell) and I'm glad I read it, but it made me want to cry throughout. Even so, it's really good and I see why it won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021. 

Martina did a great job picking books for me! I hope the two I got for her will be as enjoyable when she finally gets time to read them. The veterinarians' office she works for has gotten hit hard by Covid and 2/3 of the staff are out. She's one of the few left who tested negative and she's working long days right now. 

Speaking of books, I'm headed over to my friend Paulette's house in a few minutes to borrow our book club selection for January. I hope it's a good one (I can't remember the title) because now that I've finished my Christmas books I'm ready to start something new. These cold January days are perfect for reading by the fireplace, and that's just what I'll be doing this afternoon and tonight! 

Have a great weekend, friends.

A sign?

Thursday is fish shipment day at the pet store. Gregg goes in super early (6am) to prepare for and receive the live animals. This morning when he got there and went to unlock the front door, there was a surprise waiting on him in a plastic box.

A sweet little male puppy somebody "dropped off". I guess they think the pet store is a better choice than the pound. He's already following Gregg around and whining for attention (and licking his hands whenever he pets him). Why do puppies have to be so endearing? And just look at his little tan "eyebrows"! Longtime readers will know exactly who that reminds us of.

 Is the Universe sending us a sign?

The family pack

Thanks for all the nice comments on the last post. It's been a busy week and I've had very little time for blogging over the last few days. When I posted those puppy pictures neither of us had met her in person, but we have now and oh my goodness! What a sweet little baby! She has the softest fur, and she already shows signs of being a very smart dog. We've decided we want her, but there's a problem. George.

George has never been around any other dogs except Ginger. Of course, he adored her and they had a tight bond, but he was a youngster and she was a steady, responsible adult dog when he came to live with us. This situation is different. George can't see an unleashed dog or a cat approaching him without going nuts--barking and growling and lunging at them. He's very excitable and has a high prey drive, and this puppy is little. We'll have to be very careful about introducing them and I hope we can navigate it successfully. Honestly, I have my doubts.

We're going to try to have them meet up this Sunday at the park (neutral ground) and walk them together to see if we can help him make friends with her. I really think that if George can get over the initial meeting and can calm down enough to sniff her and get to know her that she'll be the ideal second dog for us.  I'm afraid to get my hopes up though. I don't want to be disappointed, and when I picked the puppy up for the first time and felt her soft, soft fur (so much like Ginger's!) and saw her serious little face, I was on the verge of falling in love with her. That would be a mistake at this point so I'm trying not to think about it too much just in case it doesn't work out. 

The good thing is that everyone who sees the puppy immediately wants her. She has no shortage of offers to take her if we decide we can't, so I'm confident she'll get a good home either way. The manager of the pet store is keeping her at the moment and takes her to work every day. She's getting well socialized to other animals, other dogs, strange people, and new experiences. After Sunday we should know whether or not we can keep her, so please wish us luck! It's all up to Prince George at the moment. Of course, he comes first and I won't make him miserable for the sake of a new puppy. So, we'll see........please wish us luck!

If you've had any experience introducing new dogs or puppies to a resident adult dog (especially a difficult adult dog) I'd be very grateful for any tips or ideas. 

"How dare you?!" -George