I suppose a pet update is long overdue. In short, we're surviving. I'm surviving, I should say.
Henry is doing well. CJ takes him for a quick jog or walk in the morning if he has time, and then we take him for a long walk each night. He's made friends with this big German Shepherd, Luca. So far, knock on wood, he's really good with kids. And we got him some softer toys, which he seems to really enjoy -- especially this long, ugly, green dog and a cow. He loves that cow, but he's almost torn it apart already, as it's a crate-only toy and keeps him entertained while we're away.
Bridget is doing much better too. She still hangs out in our bedroom, although she will tolerate him being in the bedroom too (he's not actually supposed to be in there though). To us though, she's nearly returned to normal. It's progress, at least.
Now that the dog is worn out for the night, I'm going to close down here and get some reading done. (At least we got a dog that likes to sleep at night ... unlike some other cat we know.)
7.27.2009
7.26.2009
a book finished!
It's my new -- rather, revisited -- goal to finish books I start. I piled up about ten books in our living room that I started, liked, and want to finish before summer is over. I'm always distracted by new and shiny books at the library though, so I haven't even finished one of my own books yet.
Over vacation, I did finish one library book, however -- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. It's a Holocaust story, but told from the perspective of a nine-year old German boy. I think that's what intrigued me the most -- that it was a different perspective than we normally get. A week after finishing the book though, I'm still mulling over this one. The kid drove me crazy, to say the least, mispronouncing "Fuhrer" and "Auschwitz," and just being plain naive. But in the end, I think that was the point -- how clueless we can be, even as adults.
Anyway, I recommend this one -- not because I think it's the best book ever (doesn't make my favorites list) -- but because it's different and thought-provoking. If you do pick it up, let me know what you think.
With that, CJ's working outside and Henry has joined him, so while the house is blissfully quiet, I'm going to go read on the couch (which really means I'm probably going to take a nap).
Over vacation, I did finish one library book, however -- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. It's a Holocaust story, but told from the perspective of a nine-year old German boy. I think that's what intrigued me the most -- that it was a different perspective than we normally get. A week after finishing the book though, I'm still mulling over this one. The kid drove me crazy, to say the least, mispronouncing "Fuhrer" and "Auschwitz," and just being plain naive. But in the end, I think that was the point -- how clueless we can be, even as adults.
Anyway, I recommend this one -- not because I think it's the best book ever (doesn't make my favorites list) -- but because it's different and thought-provoking. If you do pick it up, let me know what you think.
With that, CJ's working outside and Henry has joined him, so while the house is blissfully quiet, I'm going to go read on the couch (which really means I'm probably going to take a nap).
7.21.2009
tennessee vacation: lesson learned
What's that lesson?
Not to ever, ever go back to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
I visited the area nine years ago. I hated it then, and I hated it even more now. I know so many people who love that area, and I think that's great. It's just not for us.
Here's a rundown:
Friday
Departed Indianapolis, drove to Oaktown to drop off Henry at my in-laws'. Drove down to Pigeon Forge from there, and got stuck in approximately one hour's worth of traffic at 7:30 pm. Finally made it to the cabin rental place and received directions to our cabin. Drove through winding Tennessee roads to gravel road in middle of nowhere. It was a road built for one car only. Thought we were lost, so we got turned around, somehow, and found our cabin's drive at the very beginning of the road, and made the steep decline to the actual cabin. Thanked God that we took a four wheel drive vehicle.
Saturday
Against better judgement, we drove to Pigeon Forge to check out some outlet stores. We were pretty excited by the number of As Seen on TV stores we saw, so we picked the biggest. It had about three aisles of As Seen on TV merchandise, some of it items you'd actually see on TV (the topsy turvy, for example), but then knock-off As Seen on TV items too. And then the rest of the store was full of cheap junk. We went to the Lodge store (cast iron cooking pans), but everything there was regular priced. CJ found some deals on some tools at another store, but that was really our only find for the entire trip. And then we went to Christmas Place, this Bavarian-style "village." It consisted of one Christmas store and then other random stores -- kind of a disappointment.
Sunday
We decided to spend the afternoon and evening in Gatlinburg. We took a wrong turn out of our cabin drive and ended up halfway lost on one car-length roads. Really, some of these roads were better suited as bike paths, and yet, people had still managed to build houses off some of these roads. I determined that there is no amount of money anyone could ever pay me that would convince me to live in these mountains. We finally ended up in Gatlinburg an hour later than expected, and spent the day browsing through mostly cheap, look-a-like stores. We had dinner at the overpriced Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. As we were driving back to the cabin, we found the places we really wanted to visit -- Paws, Etc., a pet store, and the Museum of Salt & Pepper Shakers (20,000 salt and pepper shakers on display, with thousands to buy! Still much classier than the "24K gold" shops in Gatlinburg.) -- but they were both closed.
Monday
Recalling my last trip to Gatlinburg where my parents decided to drive into the Smokies and got stuck in the park in bumper to bumper traffic, we opted out of the park visit and spent the entire day in the cabin. I didn't get out of my pajamas all day, and I got some good reading and TV watching in. Hands down, this was the best day of the trip.
Today
The drive up was quite nice, until we hit I-64 just west of New Albany, and spent an hour in construction traffic. We picked up Henry, and finally made it home just after 5:30. Apparently Bridget didn't fare so well during our absence, even though we had people in here everyday checking on her.
A Summary
We highly recommend renting a cabin -- just not in that part of Tennessee.
To wrap up, just a quick note of thanks to my in-laws for watching Henry (I don't think they read my blog, but just in case!), to our good friends Eric and Leah for checking in on Bridget, feeding our fish, and watering our garden, and to my mother who checked in on Bridget, cleaned our house, folded laundry, and left us a casserole to eat tonight. THANK YOU!
I took a few pictures, but since it's nothing exciting, I may or may not post those later. For now, I need to do some laundry and get unpacked.
Not to ever, ever go back to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
I visited the area nine years ago. I hated it then, and I hated it even more now. I know so many people who love that area, and I think that's great. It's just not for us.
Here's a rundown:
Friday
Departed Indianapolis, drove to Oaktown to drop off Henry at my in-laws'. Drove down to Pigeon Forge from there, and got stuck in approximately one hour's worth of traffic at 7:30 pm. Finally made it to the cabin rental place and received directions to our cabin. Drove through winding Tennessee roads to gravel road in middle of nowhere. It was a road built for one car only. Thought we were lost, so we got turned around, somehow, and found our cabin's drive at the very beginning of the road, and made the steep decline to the actual cabin. Thanked God that we took a four wheel drive vehicle.
Saturday
Against better judgement, we drove to Pigeon Forge to check out some outlet stores. We were pretty excited by the number of As Seen on TV stores we saw, so we picked the biggest. It had about three aisles of As Seen on TV merchandise, some of it items you'd actually see on TV (the topsy turvy, for example), but then knock-off As Seen on TV items too. And then the rest of the store was full of cheap junk. We went to the Lodge store (cast iron cooking pans), but everything there was regular priced. CJ found some deals on some tools at another store, but that was really our only find for the entire trip. And then we went to Christmas Place, this Bavarian-style "village." It consisted of one Christmas store and then other random stores -- kind of a disappointment.
Sunday
We decided to spend the afternoon and evening in Gatlinburg. We took a wrong turn out of our cabin drive and ended up halfway lost on one car-length roads. Really, some of these roads were better suited as bike paths, and yet, people had still managed to build houses off some of these roads. I determined that there is no amount of money anyone could ever pay me that would convince me to live in these mountains. We finally ended up in Gatlinburg an hour later than expected, and spent the day browsing through mostly cheap, look-a-like stores. We had dinner at the overpriced Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. As we were driving back to the cabin, we found the places we really wanted to visit -- Paws, Etc., a pet store, and the Museum of Salt & Pepper Shakers (20,000 salt and pepper shakers on display, with thousands to buy! Still much classier than the "24K gold" shops in Gatlinburg.) -- but they were both closed.
Monday
Recalling my last trip to Gatlinburg where my parents decided to drive into the Smokies and got stuck in the park in bumper to bumper traffic, we opted out of the park visit and spent the entire day in the cabin. I didn't get out of my pajamas all day, and I got some good reading and TV watching in. Hands down, this was the best day of the trip.
Today
The drive up was quite nice, until we hit I-64 just west of New Albany, and spent an hour in construction traffic. We picked up Henry, and finally made it home just after 5:30. Apparently Bridget didn't fare so well during our absence, even though we had people in here everyday checking on her.
A Summary
We highly recommend renting a cabin -- just not in that part of Tennessee.
To wrap up, just a quick note of thanks to my in-laws for watching Henry (I don't think they read my blog, but just in case!), to our good friends Eric and Leah for checking in on Bridget, feeding our fish, and watering our garden, and to my mother who checked in on Bridget, cleaned our house, folded laundry, and left us a casserole to eat tonight. THANK YOU!
I took a few pictures, but since it's nothing exciting, I may or may not post those later. For now, I need to do some laundry and get unpacked.
7.13.2009
wind farm tour
Several of us from our office took a tour of the wind farms up in Benton County. The turbines are quite fascinating, even if they weren't all running when we were there. (Did you know it only takes 5 mph to turn one of these big ones?)
7.12.2009
Bridget vs. Henry
Week one with two animals is almost over.
Bridget is doing much better. Solitary confinement didn't last but a day, and it actually put her in a much better mood having her own space and knowing the dog couldn't come in (not that he actually tried). Bridget still likes having her own space, so she spends most of her time in our bedroom (which she did before), or in the other bedroom where we're temporarily keeping her food and water. Whenever she knows Henry is in his crate, she'll come out to sit with us or to play.
I know there has been some concern over Bridget's well-being, so here are some pictures to prove she's okay:
This is her curious, not scared, look.
To Bridget, when I fold clothes, it's always an open invitation to sit right on top.
As for Henry, we can tell he's feeling much better than before. He still acts like a puppy -- plays and whines like one -- but otherwise, he's a very calm. He generally sticks close to us in the house, and if he wonders off (usually to the kitchen for water or to sit underneath the table), he comes right back when we call him. He seems to like Bridget, so I kind of feel bad for him that she doesn't seem interested just yet. When he sees her, he just watches and his tail starts to wag like crazy. Most of all, I'm thankful that he likes to sleep at night -- which is the complete opposite of Bridget.
And here are some more pictures of Henry:
Bridget is doing much better. Solitary confinement didn't last but a day, and it actually put her in a much better mood having her own space and knowing the dog couldn't come in (not that he actually tried). Bridget still likes having her own space, so she spends most of her time in our bedroom (which she did before), or in the other bedroom where we're temporarily keeping her food and water. Whenever she knows Henry is in his crate, she'll come out to sit with us or to play.
I know there has been some concern over Bridget's well-being, so here are some pictures to prove she's okay:
This is her curious, not scared, look.
To Bridget, when I fold clothes, it's always an open invitation to sit right on top.
As for Henry, we can tell he's feeling much better than before. He still acts like a puppy -- plays and whines like one -- but otherwise, he's a very calm. He generally sticks close to us in the house, and if he wonders off (usually to the kitchen for water or to sit underneath the table), he comes right back when we call him. He seems to like Bridget, so I kind of feel bad for him that she doesn't seem interested just yet. When he sees her, he just watches and his tail starts to wag like crazy. Most of all, I'm thankful that he likes to sleep at night -- which is the complete opposite of Bridget.
And here are some more pictures of Henry:
It's kind of difficult to get a puppy to sit still...
7.06.2009
meet henry.
Henry
I knew my time in a non-dog household was limited. I've also found, in six short months of marriage, that you really want to do anything within reason to make your spouse happy. So, meet Henry, our Akita mixed puppy.
We know very few things about Henry's past, but after our complimentary vet visit today, we've learned a few things. First, he's not feeling so well, which is why he looks so sad here. But, we've also learned that he's a pretty quick learner, as he should be for an Akita, which apparently is one of your smarter dogs. He actually understands what no means. And he's a good walker -- walks beside or behind us.
And, he loves CJ. Tonight, when CJ has stood up and walked somewhere, Henry followed. Now they're sitting together watching Jeopardy!
And then there's Bridget, our sweet cat who is incredibly ticked off at us at the moment. I guess I thought they'd be instant best friends. Instead, when we brought Henry in, Bridget turned rigid, her tail poofed out, and she hissed over and over and over. Henry really didn't care, and when he went up to investigate, she threw her paw at him, and he's stayed away ever since. Apparently there's a method to introducing pets -- whether it's a dog and cat, or two dogs, or two cats, whatever. Our vet advised me to keep the pets entirely separate for about a week. Bridget has now taken over our guest bedroom, and we've moved her litter box, food, water, and toys in there. I guess we'll see what happens after the week. As much as Bridget annoys me sometimes, I kind of miss her, so I'm hoping we eventually get our old cat back soon. I guess it's to be expected. (As my mother said, "You'd probably be mad too, if we had brought home another child after you'd been the only one for awhile.")
I suppose I'll make it. And maybe I'll turn out to be a dog person after all.
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