Hibernating

I now understand why bears hibernate. Apparently
our first three winters in Idaho were uncommonly
mild and this winter is the norm. Good grief. This
place is cold!!

We had a short break today in the storms that are
lined up to reach us for the next seven days. A
little tease of sunshine before the seven expected
straight days of snow start tonight. Despite my
moaning - I still think white snow and blue skies
are a beautiful site.















The photo below is by Susan Mulvihill taken near Spokane.
















Here's a little advice for those thinking of moving
to Idaho: Don't buy a house on a corner! I spend
an hour shoveling snow every morning. Spring is right
around the corner though .....right?

Seamus

After long and careful consideration, including such fine
dog names as Brady, Grady, Yogi, BooBoo, Finnegan, Newton,
Plato, Bruno, Cosmo, Finbar, Hawkeye, Natty Bumpo and Dermot,
we finally settled on the name Seamus which Mike now answers
to just fine.

Seamus attends Kinderpuppy class on Tuesday nights. At the
end of the class, all the pups get recess- we let them off
their leash and they run around and have fun. It's pretty
cute. Last Tuesday was his third class where he learned
"leave it" very quickly. He can sit and lay down pretty
consistently. He's a pretty sharp little guy. Almost as
sharp as his teeth.




















He is still working on potty training and I think moving
to a colder climate (12 degrees at 9 pm last night) has
caused a few setbacks. He does well during the day though
so I think once things warm up a little he'll be more
consistent.

My life right now consists of dogs and work with occasional
breaks for daughter and reading.

Puppyville

We made the trip home from BC without
too much trouble. Mike (who is considering
a name change) did fine in the car, if you
count chewing on the seat, the door handle,
the gear shift and the steering wheel as
doing fine.

Nosey has adjusted well to his new sibling.
Their favorite game is Run Like Mad Through
the Snow Over and Over which they have down
to perfection.



















The only trouble we're having is with his
new name. Nothing seems perfect yet. We
want a name that will suit now and when he's
older too.

New Year's Day

The next two weeks are going to be busy.
Headin to BC to pick up Mr. Mike for one
thing; visiting clients in Boise for
another. Both necessities, after which
I hope to put my new year's resolution
into effect: S-L-O-W down.

Puppy Found !

Our application to adopt Mr. Mike was
accepted and I'm hoping to pick him up
next weekend! We are very excited!

You can see photos of Mike and his mom
Mona and all his cute siblings at the
Three Woofs and a Woo website.
Most recent photos are in the dec 28th entry.

A Little Like Christmas

I have all my christmas shopping done. All my
packages to family and friends sent. Just have
to wrap up some homemade soaps for co-workers
and pick up one purchased present for my daughter
(which is lying in wait at a secret location
because it is too big to wrap) and I will be done.
We got a little baby Christmas tree this weekend
and put lights up around the front window.

Did not get our lights up around the front fence
due to early and near incessant snow. Next year
I think we'll do it at Thanksgiving.

It's beginning to feel a little like Christmas.
This photo helped:


















Last night I dreamed that Nosey and I were riding
cable cars around SF for more Christmas shopping.
This morning I wanted to talk to him all about our
trip but unfortunately, he didn't have the same
dream.

Nosey Learns to Sign

So I've been using signs with Nosey - getting
ready just in case the puppy I applied to adopt
is deaf though now it appears he may not be deaf
after all. But it's amazing how fast Nosey has
caught on to this signing business. He now knows
"treat" and "Go for a drive". Easy to teach
because they are two of his favorite words / phrases.

Here's a site where an owner of a deaf pup talks
about her experiences teaching him, the adorable
Cricket, his first signs.