Kitchen nest

Remember the hole in our kitchen floor?

We put a rug over it to keep stuff from falling down there, and our kitty has decided it's a prime little nesting spot to take a nap. She never liked it before the vent was removed, so we were a bit puzzled.


Of course, it's gone now. Our floors are 100% complete, and I just need to get myself organized enough (and the counters presentable enough for photos!) to take some photos and share them! :)

Pet Randomness

I.Don't.Ask.Questions.


This is as close and peaceful as they get. No hissing.

In the dog house / patio/fence debacle

We installed a gate to our patio/backyard to contain the dog. Right? Right.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

She's contained, see?

Well, she WAS contained.

One day, she squeezed through the neighbor's wabbly fence. We took care of that and patted ourselves on the back. All done!

Not quite.

About a week later, she was out. I couldn't figure out how. Until I saw ... THIS ....



STINKIN' DOG broke through the lattice and wiggled out.

THIS IS WAR, I declared.


I went and selected this from the home improvement store. Our buddy had to help get rid of the loops/attachments on the side, but once he did, it fit into the space PERFECTLY.

I, in my typical (Polish) fashion came up with all sorts of complex ways to affix the fence piece to the post. We were walking down the aisle and Erik said 'what about a zip tie?' .... and holy cow, they make zip ties in 2-foot lengths! Genius. I love it when Erik has fabulous yet simple solutions to the issue I'm trying to solve.


Notice how the 'tails/ends' of the zip ties are pointing into the backyard area? This will be important later.

So I put the fence length in and put on just 2 of the ties to see how I liked it. I'd show Erik when he awoke from his nap.

I put the dog outside, and patted myself on the back. I HAD WON.

Then, there was the most awful noise from outside. I'm not sure what exactly was going on, but I go out and someone must have taken the tails/ends and started pulling on them. That or pulling on the fence. AND BROKE THEM. :( :( :(

Let's not talk about how livid I was.


I readjusted and did the zip ties again ... but left the extra on the OUTSIDE of the fence, so the do had nothing to pull on. And I secured it with a tie on the top/bottom of each side. This thing was FAR more stable.


Plus, it covers the hole.

Since the zip-tie mishap, things have been better. Sure, she cries/whines some, but it's actually decreased significantly. I suspect one of the neighbor dogs made fun of her for crying like a baby in the backyard. She will still occasionally whine, but sometimes, she will just sit by the back door and stare at me until I let her out, and then not want to come back in. So I shut the gate and let her roam around.

Everyone *seems* happy with this arrangement.

Lazing around the house

I don't get my cat. Seriously. She gets herself at an angle to sleep COMPLETELY on my purse-like-bag. Um ... strange.


And the dog. Well, she likewise wants to be on something soft. So when I cover myself with a blanket and put my feet up, if there's a corner, she'll find it. And when I toss the blanket off? All the better. :)

#123 — Install a gate on patio to contain the dog

When we were installing our patio, there wasn't a dog in our future. Sure, Erik wanted to get a dog 'someday,' but we didn't think too much about it. Until we brought Bailey home. And she wouldn't stay in the backyard because that's where my mind WANTED her to stay.

We came up with this elementary solution:


Of course, she eventually figured out how to stick her nose between the side and garage and open the divider. Drat.

During the summer, I like to work in the backyard, but sometimes she'll see a rabbit or someone walking down the street and take off after it/them. And I wont' know until there are shrieks from the front yard. Oops.

We needed a containment solution.

I searched high and low for options that didn't involved digging anything up. Oh, did I mention our opening was about 5 feet wide? Right.

After serious searching and measuring and several trips to return the incorrect posts to the store, we were ready to go.


Thankfully, my dad was willing to come and help.

(Erik is thinking "Am I REALLY missing the Chiefs game? They are beating the Packers right now, and I'm doing a home project.")


We (read: Karen) decided the best solution for our opening was to hang the gate on the existing post. We'd have to put in another post to the right for a latch.


Since we have concrete, and I didn't want to tear anything up, we had to rent a 'hammer drill' and Erik showed it who was boss.


FINISHED!!!!! :) :) :)

Well, not TOTALLY finished. I have yet to attach the latch. But this solution works fairly well for now. When puppy got nutty during Christmas Eve, we were able to put her out back and know she'd stay there. :) When spring rolls around, I can know she'll still be in the backyard with me if I'm gardening -- looking forward to that! :)

In the dog house

Ahem.

From time to time, Erik and I will have epic battles over food. I might take home leftovers from a restaurant, thinking I'll eat it for lunch the next day, only to find someone ate it over night. :( Early into our marriage, Erik learned this was NOT the way to win his wife's affection. He's much better at this now.

For Thanksgiving, I made a sweet potato pie. I wasn't buying into some health craze; I am allergic to pumpkin, and it was the closest option. For not being the real thing, I thought it was an adequate sub. My youngest bro isn't convinced, but you eat the real thing and leave this to me, OK Paul?

We had 2 tiny pieces of pie left. It was covered on the counter, and I ran to the craft store to get ribbon to decorate for Christmas.

Upon returning home, this is what I see. Empty pie plate, crumbs.


Hmm.

As I've said, Erik learned this is not agreeable behavior. Besides, he was at work. Did he come home, eat BOTH pieces of pie, leave crumbs and go back to work? Not very sneaky. I called him anyway to ask.

Then I looked at the dog. Who wouldn't look anywhere near my direction.

Seriously. The dog? THE DOG. She had somehow stood on her hind legs, peeled back the wrapping and gobbled up the pie. STINKER. I was stunned. STUNNED. Never before had such a transgression occurred in the house. EVER.

I took her outside, pottied her, and then scolded her ferociously. She wouldn't even look at me (one of her most sure signs of extreme guilt).

Of course, I went to google to see if it was 'safe' for a dog to eat sweet potatoes. Evidently, some dog food uses that veggie in the mixture/formulation. Maybe it smelled familiar to her? We'll never know.

What we DO know is that Erik woke up early one day to come into the kitchen and CATCH HER IN THE ACT of having paws on the counter and sniffing at some chicken I was thawing (at the very BACK of the countertop). At least she was caught in the act and given the business about it.


Here she'd pulled some of the ribbon spools from the middle of the recycling bin to disassemble them. As you can see, when being scolded, this is as close as she comes to looking at us. Oh, and Erik thought giving her a 'crown' of spool shame would add to the effect.

Napping

We painted a bedroom a month or so ago, and it's where the 'pack and play' hangs out, waiting for our nephew to visit. Or our friends with little ones to stop by. Napping is encouraged!


Since I took off the door nob/handle to paint the door, and haven't put it back on, the cat frequently will go in and make herself at home. After all, we *of course* painted the room for HER. It's lucky for US that SHE lets us live in the house with her. ;)


I found her hanging out there last week, and picked her up and tossed her into the pack-n-play to see how she'd react. I got some foam and my sis sewed a cover for it. Seems like a prime napping location.

Usually, the cat would hop right out. Primarily because it was MY idea, not HER idea to be in whatever location I placed her (my lap, on the bed, wherever). But she seemed puzzled. Liked it, but din't want to let on.


The next morning I was looking for her, and where did I find her?


You'll notice tape on the wall. I was trying to visualize the size of a book shelf, and oddly enough, the cat seems to like to align herself with the tape. Seriously strange.

Coronado Heights

Bailey likes to ride in the car. No, strike that. Bailey LOVES to ride in the car. Whenever we get our keys or start to put our shoes on, she does happy little circles, then sits very still and hopes her good behavior will get her invited on every trip out.


See how excited she gets? :)


A few months ago, we headed to Coronado Heights. Erik had never been, and we wanted to go. Bailey is always up for an outing where she can sniff a new area.


She's *mostly* obedient.


Until she sees someone new or another animal. Then we have to put her on the leash and pray she doesn't have an epic meltdown.

It was a windy day, and even more windy at the top! I seriously thought we might get blown over the edge!

Queen of the castle

Seriously, cat? On my towel, on my pillow?

This cat will seek out the most cushy, lush material she can find, and then sleep on it (the towels ARE pretty plush).

Oh, and last week ... let's not mention that she slept on my body pillow, then puked all over it.

I discovered this right before bed. *sigh* ... THEN when I was putting cuticle oil on my toenails ... guess what happened? Yup, bottle squirted open, out of control and all over the sheets. :( And mattress protector.

So into the wash it all went. And since we only have one Mat Protector, it was up late for me.

Sheesh.

The upshot? The mattress protector protected the mattress from the oil, and it's still looking great underneath. So, even if you think they're a waste of $$$, I am here to tell you to think again about them.

"New" furniture

Alright ..... be brave here, folks. The first photo I am going to show you is how life is .... which is messy. Not pristine or organized. it's our living room on any given Tuesday.


EEEK.

But this has a purpose. It's to show you that after we moved out Erik's original couches ("original" sounds nicer than "old," right?), we had a lack of seating in our living room. To remedy this, we pulled in some lawn chairs. This was the height of fashion and classiness, let me tell you.


I wouldn't call our current setup overly fashionable, but I feel it looks less "college dorm room" than before. Besides, the rocking chair is great for reading the paper in the morning.


Or for cat naps whenever you feel like it. Because clearly we purchased this for the cat, right? ;)

"Sniff that tail"

We've always known the dog likes to sniff the cat's tail, but of course the kitty wants no part of that. Well, over the summer Erik learned that if he lets the kitty outside, she is so focused on going out, that the dog could practically lick her and she wouldn't care. Kitty wants out, and nothing else matters. Of course, sometimes he isn't nice and doesn't let her out. Just lets the dog get a good sniff.




Evidence of a tail fetish.


Every once in awhile we'll see them this close. Which is as close as they will ever get in a peaceful manner.

Ceasefire?

Looks that way.

Bailey and "her" kids

As I mentioned earlier, we adopted Bailey from a family. With 3 kids.

Sometimes I suspect she's bored with us old, married people.

We know her family and keep in touch, and Bailey was invited out for a playdate. It was a BIG hit with all parties involved. :)

She LOVES to swim, so she had a heck of a good time in the pond. I'm hoping at "bark in the park" time (last day of swimming, bring your dog) that Bailey will be able to go and not have a meltdown from the excitement of seeing dozens of other dogs. We'll see.


I honestly think she would have stayed in the pond ALL afternoon if we'd have let her.

Theodore + Bailey II

Theodore is a BIG fan of Bailey, if you can't tell from this photo!


Bailey also happens to be a big fan of kids in general. Sometimes she has a hard time controlling her excitement (impulse control issues), but she does fairly well.

When Theodore was eating dinner, a portion of it ended up on the floor. "We're going to have to get out the vacuum," Robin said. "Nope," I responded, "we've got a dog."

Bailey was sitting by my seat, but she saw morsels start to fall from the table like manna from heaven. And she started to whine and squeal. You would have thought I had a T-bone dangled in front of her nose, not some peas and pork chop bits across the room on the floor. Geez.


This is from Dinner #2. Just Theodore and I. You'll notice how interested Bailey is in what Theo's doing.

Bailey + Popcorn = 4 Ever

We don't allow Bailey much table food. But we eat a lot of popcorn around here, and it's a special treat for her.

Recently, Erik taught her to catch it in her mouth.

She's gotten pretty good at it. We visited "her" kids (the family who we adopted her from) and they were impressed at her ability. GOOD trick to show kids. After awhile I had to tell them she was full ... because they would have fed her popcorn all afternoon. At most, she gets 4-6 pieces once or twice a week.

Theodore + Bailey

My sis, bro-in-law and nephew came to see us over the weekend. Robin was excited for Theodore to play with Bailey. Theo's a bit bigger and can better fend for himself against the beast that is our "puppy."


"We're plaaaayin' ... leave us alone."


Bailey did a good job of not running off with Theodore's toys.


Sometimes, I'm not sure if Theodore knew what to think of Bailey. Not that I can blame him!


Bailey got a bit frisky. She doesn't quite realize Theodore is a fraction of her size.


Fortunately, Theodore sits up well, and didn't do any toppling over.

Doggone adventure

Ahem.

We had a little adventure last week on our walk. We were north of town on the levy (but not in a Chevy), and Bailey decided to make friends. Big friends.


See her butt to the right of the horse?


Bailey thought she was the bee's knees w/ the horses. Perhaps she was. But Erik wasn't particularly amused. I, on the other hand, was at the top of the levy laughing so hard I cried. Bailey, well, she was the queen of the show!

After the adventure:
Erik: "She drug her leash through some water in the pen."
Me: "I don't think that was water, honey."

Niiiiiice.

Pet pix

Bailey is learning to not lunge at and harass the cat too much. In fact, they have learned to "share" the storm door. Sort of.


As it's warming up, even after a short (25 min walk), Bailey will collapse on the kitchen floor. News flash, dog: it's gonna get hotter.


As I am working more, Bailey gives me a lot of the "mournful dog look" ... sorry I'm so boring, pupster! (Although I think Erik actually took THIS photo!).


Esse has found a new favorite place to hang out. She loves to "hide" ... even though we can plainly see her. I guess in her mind, there is something over her so she's "undercover." Whatever.


From time to time we'll give Bailey peanut butter as a treat. We've also found that once we scrape the jar clean for people consumption, Bailey gives it the once over dog cleaning. She loves the treat and we don't have to soak the jar. It's win-win.

But she is always a bit unsure about what to do with the actual jar.


Of course, she eventually figures it out. She likes peanut butter too much!