Sunday, January 29, 2012

fun things to do...


For a Birthday present to Ed, Kas and Nate thought it might be fun to take in a hockey game. We have a team here that is connected with a pro team, so the level of playing is quite high. To be honest, I don't know much about hockey, when I was growing up it was a "boy's game" and I only remember that when ever we wanted to skate on the local pond, we "hated" it when the boys showed up to play hockey.











But, I am always up for an adventure and so I thought, "lets' give this a try". Well, all I can say is, I am now a fan of hockey and I have some "studying" to do, because I want to know about this game. What I liked so much about it is, is the action... I have to admit that I find football and baseball sometimes hard to watch, because it seems kind of slow at times.... but that doesn't seem to be the case with hockey.










The other part that was great fun, was we happened to be sitting in front of some die hard fans.... it was almost as much fun watching and listening to them as the game itself. I was also very pleased that the tickets weren't too high, and there were lots of families there enjoying the game too. Overall, it was a very fun and exciting night...












Sunday morning, Norton had his first visit to church. Everyone was quite surprised when he walked threw the door... I had told them that we more than likely wouldn't be getting another puppy for a while.....

















and the fact that he isn't a golden!!!! but everyone loves him and they are always so supportive of this "service dog thing that we do"....




















He is a bigger dog than Ginger, but really buddy... you're going to have to learn how to curl up and get under the pew better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Friday, January 27, 2012

Hello........ Norton!!!!

Well.. here he is... my "newest project"... service puppy in training ... Norton!!!! When we were at NEADS, Dave asked if I might be interested in working with a young Labradoodle. I had met him last month when his raiser, Lorna, joined our group. She was (has) done such a great job with him, but he is "a lot" of dog.. and she was saying that she was hoping to have a break. She is usually a short time raiser, so having him for so long was a bit more than she had planned.











I took him over for the session, and as you can see, he is so agreeable about everything. He came right along with me on the train and other than looking to see where Lorna was once in awhile, he worked beautifully for me. He does has a ton of energy, but it's all fun energy and I am looking forward to challenging him with work....















"poor" Lorna, she wasn't expecting that Norton would be heading out so soon... but as she said, (and we all agree) it's all about raising strong, confident puppies so they can go on and do the work that they are meant to do.....
















When we arrived home, Norton came in, gave the house a once over and said "OK.. what's next"... he's pretty wonderful. Ed said it's going to take him a little time to think of "this bundle of curls" as a service dog.... but doodles can be great dogs, and their coats are suppose to be easier for anyone who might have allergies to typical dog hair...











Here we go again.... Hello....Norton!!!!



happy Birthday, Dave..

If you have read the blog from Sunday... you know that we (the Maine puppy raisers) had a "birthday party for Dave"... that Dave wasn't invited to. Actually, what it was all about was, we wanted to get Dave a few lobsters as a birthday gift, but not getting to NEADS for our check in until late in the week, meant the lobsters would have be cooked and then kept. Keeping lobster meat isn't a good idea (unless you freeze it) and we wanted to have it as fresh as we could. So... the lobster bake on Sunday, picking our some lobsters for Dave, and (sadly) freezing the meat until today, when we could bring it to him. So, we arrived at NEADS, and you just know that we had to dress for the occasion. The gals from New York were there as well (hi Lee!!!) and they brought a cake....










And what Dave thought would be just a plain old "training check in day" turned out to be quite the party. We totally surprised him, which was our goal.....


















Here's the cake that Lee brought......























Now, we didn't want Dave to miss his party from Sunday, so we took lots of pictures and put them in a small album so he could see what his party was like. I don't think he knows quite what to do with this group of ours!!!!! We're always surprising him.....
















Nice new coffee cup... a trainer always needs coffee on hand.....
























Kelli took the day off from work, and Ed joined us as well.....Sadly, Bernice, Linda and Randi couldn't make this trip with us.....
















And because of "turn in" Maine is down to just two puppies - Otis and Stoney. Stoney had to see the vet for his "operation"... so brother Edgar joined the group today... they don't seem as excited about the birthday party as the humans do....

















Now, I don't want you to think that we played all day.... we went over to the big hospital and to the train station... (that's me.. but that's also another story).....

















And this is Vicki... she is with a nice lady who is puppy raising in Mass (but I forgot her name)... anywho, Vicki and her raiser will probably be joining us in the months ahead....















At the train station today, we "caught" a train just coming in... the really cool part was it was on a slight lay over and the conductor told us we could bring the puppies on board. That was a good training session, because the train continued to "run" while we walked up and down the isles, sat in the seats, etc.... Dave was pleased to have such a good experience.




The only other "better" thing, which I wished I had gotten a picture of... was us heading for home. Because there were "only" five of us going down this month, we all figured we could squeeze into one car. The trip down was actually a lot of fun.... it's nice to talk and laugh together... and the three dogs - Otis, Stoney and Edgar - all rode in the back. Coming home however, our dog count went from three to four!!! (next blog).... and we had 100 lbs of dog food to bring back... and it was snowing..... quite the trip to say the least, and probably looked like the circus coming to town. But, such a fun, fun day.... and Dave said it really made his birthday....













This is Lorna... and Norton...



it's also my next blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

lobsta, football or birthday????


Well.... there was so much going on today, it was hard to even come up with a "title" for this blog.. so, I guess I might as well include everything. This coming Thursday is our monthly check in with Dave - and even though Kathleen, Bernice and I don't have puppies, we'll still go down.. not just because we always have a good time, but also.... it's Dave's birthday that day.






When we heard that last month, we all decided that we wanted to do something fun on his birthday. Now, we know that Dave loves lobster and never really has the chance to get it. So, Rick said he could get some lobsters for Dave from a fishing friend, and then I said, well, if we were getting lobsters for Dave, we should get some for all of us. So, today, the Maine puppy chapter got together for a lobster bake (in the middle of winter).





Rick arrived threw the door... more than ready to begin the party... or feast, which ever you want to call it.......











I guess their Mom's never told them NOT to play with their food!~!!!!!












Abbie still isn't quite so sure that these "things" are really meant to be eaten. But at least this time, she didn't run away in fear!!!!!









Now, it was also an important game for all the football fans. The Patriots are playing for the chance to head to the Super Bowl. I'm not a football fan - but several of the puppy raisers are, so, we had the game on, and our lobster bake/birthday party sort of became a Pre Super Bowl party as well... but, call it what you will.. it was still a fun get together....









"Hey Dave, THIS will be part of your birthday present come Thursday --- and you don't even know".....










The cooking crew had to bundle up well... I do have to say, I think lobster bakes are easier in the summer time....












but, Ed was happy to man the grill ( we had steak and chicken too - because some of "us" aren't lobster eaters!!! ) Can't imagine that......











Rick manned the lobsters......














Not so sure what was "that funny", but this is a great picture of my Ed and Kathleen.......












Oh boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! let's get eating.......











Rick and Bernice are still trying to tell Abbie that "yes, you really can eat them!!!"













Funny how quiet it become when the food is ready......












and the football fans didn't stray too far from the TV......










So.. our lobster bake, football, birthday party was great fun, and very filling.... it was a good way to begin another winter week.


And Thursday, we bring some lobster meat to Dave, and have a training/birthday check-in at NEADS.


(oh ya... the Partriots did win and they're heading to the Super Bowl... another party????)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Happy Birthday!!!!!

We had another birthday around here.... my dear Ed's. On Saturday we went to dinner, but on the actual date, you just have to have a little something as well.










I picked up a small cake (small being the word as Ed is really working on getting some weight off) and we let Abbie do the decorating. That is one thing about having a child in the house... everything is grand and exciting.. she reminds me of many things.








And the more candles the better... and what's with perfection... place them on the cake and celebrate!!!!!











After the decorating of the cake, she had to "dress for the party"... I'm not sure what's up with the Halloween frog costume, but she felt it was fitting!!! (and she looks so cute in it - might as well enjoy if before she outgrows it!!!)









Time to sing ... "happy birthday....."













Abbie and Papa.....life is grand.....













And another happy youngster in the house... our little foster puppy. I think he has missed Ginger so much but this week, we have a visitor. This is Chloe, she belongs to Linda our puppy raiser chapter leader. Some new snow, and two young dogs are having a great time.









Winter days... they're slipping by quickly.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

one tuff bird...

Bitter cold weather has set in. By this time of year, we should be used to it, but it's been so mild.. that it's all the talk right now. I always "worry" about the farm animals when we are in cold snaps like this. If I had my way "everyone" would be inside and cuddled next to the woodstove... but actually the farm animals do just fine in the cold. We make sure that there is plenty of water on hand, and extra feed.. that they can get shelter and everyone does just fine. Even the birds....

However, our little silky rooster has had quite the week... poor fellow......


I went down to do chores one morning last week, and found him stuck in the door of the chicken pen. I am thinking that he flew up to chase the other chickens away and somehow got his foot stuck in the chicken wire. Having five toes, silkies have big feet and his foot got caught, he was hanging upside down by his stuck foot. Because he was so still, I was pretty sure he was dead, and I called Ed down to give me a hand at untangling him. Well, when we went to move him, he was alive... and just had the good sense to hold still (thankfully the other birds did not attack him in this bad situation)....

but, he certainly was "hurt"... and I wasn't sure if the leg was broken, sprained or what. We decided to put him in a dog crate and just give him a few days to rest and see what happened. So far, it looks like he's going to pull threw.. he is beginning to stand on his leg and is eating and drinking. Before he is put back with the others, though, I want to be sure he is strong. One thing about chickens.. they're basically not nice and any sign of weakness in another bird.. makes them a victim for sure. I like this little chap, so I want to be certain he is back in control - or at least take it back when he is ready to join the rest. All I can say, he is one tough little guy....

Saturday, January 14, 2012

thinking about a birthday...


My hunny has a birthday this week... the 17th to be exact.. so tonite we did a last minute supper out with the "kids" and some friends. Any excuse to eat out and be together with the kids is great by me....









Since his procedure last November, things have gone really well. He is feeling absolutely great, is getting his energy back, and has lost 22 pounds... (just by eating a little more carefully and feeling good)... He's excited about the weight loss and is determined to keep this trend going....








Everyone is keeping him encouraged, and I think by the summer... it's going to be hard to keep up with him....


Happy "early" birthday wishes!!!!!