Month: February 2021

It’s pretty wet out there but Ron decided to wake Teddy up. I insisted that he walk him as a consequence, which he did, more or less willingly.

Teddy barked a couple of times last night. I didn’t get up to check on him, and he did settle down. I fell asleep with my clothes on before 8 pm and woke up around 5:30 or 6 this morning. Felt great.

Ron is feeling better, too, now that he has Teddy to walk with on a regular basis.

Teddy’s new harness arrived yesterday and he walked extremely well with it this morning. We like it so much that we checked out the manufacturer’s website for other ideas and found some folding wooden steps that might help him get in and out of the van or onto the couch.

Still waiting for DNAMYDOG to acknowledge receipt of Teddy’s sample. They say it can take up to four weeks, plus two weeks for the analysis. We still have coverage on our homeowners, though, and I just paid another month’s premium.

Started listening to the Great Courses Books That Matter segment “The Federalist Papers” a couple of days ago.

Snow is entirely gone from hard surfaces, including the roof and the solar panels.

I made a heavy soup from frozen turnip (has been in the frig forever), leftover cauliflower parts, onion, garlic, carrot, tomato soup and vegetable broth. Good!

I finally got the driveway completely clear, removed snow from the larger bushes and the bulkhead and cleared some from the solar panels with the Unger pole.

The damnable squeegee got stuck on the pole. It’s held on by pressure rather than a neat screw-type arrangement like the soft head, and it was a nightmare to remove. But we got it with some lube.

Teddy was wild from 3:30 to 4. I gave him his tranq, fed him and was finally able to walk him in the field from our yard to Old Barnstable and back. He misbehaved almost the whole time until we got back to the house. I thought he might even bite me.

Two neighborhood dogs were in a fight yesterday afternoon. It looked like one had “invaded” the yard of an extremely aggressive dog. As far as I can tell, we have at least four rescues in our immediate neighborhood. I wonder how much information and support the other dog owners are getting.

I can’t seem to get Ron to stop doing two things: grabbing stuff away from me when I’m working on it and shouting. I’ve tried to explain to him that I was screamed at for most of my young life, and I turn it off because it scares me. He can rapid-fire multiple demands in a loud voice and in seconds, and it just causes me to shut down.

You’d think he’d “get it”, but in ten years, he hasn’t. Sadism or just plain stupid?

I’m nursing a glass of Malbec upstairs, so having finished blogging and checking email, calling it quits for now.

Yesterday, I made two recipes from “Country Kitchen”, a veg version of Betsy’s mother’s cranberry loaf and The Forge’s Indian pudding.

Watched the rest of the impeachment trial and am wondering if there are consequences for lying and slander and if McConnell really has given up on the Trumpists.

Driveway and road were slick early today. A little later, I took Teddy for a walk and cleared more snow and ice off the deck and stairs.

Ron did laundry. Changed the sheets. Also finished cleaning the frig.

Nothing special for Valentines Day, but we did enjoy episode 20 of LIVE AT THE FLAT IN GREENWICH VILLAGE.

I couldn’t listen to the ambulance-chaser for long yesterday, so picked up my meds at Walmart and caught the Q&A session, which was pretty good.

Teddy and I did the circuit this morning. It was in the mid-twenties and a good deal better than yesterday. I did catch up with Ron and Teddy late yesterday afternoon after my Falmouth run.

Teddy didn’t need a walk after 6:30 yesterday evening. Ron was ready to take him out, but doggo was passed out. I gave him his 100 mg med around 3:30, and that seems to have worked for the last couple of nights. Today I was up at 5 and had time to myself for the first time in a month.

The 30 foot retractable leash arrived yesterday, and it’s a game-changer, especially for training. I am thrilled with it.

I made salad, tofu crumbles, hard boiled eggs and chocolate pudding yesterday, thus assuaging guilt over Moto pizza purchase the day before.

We watched the impeachment trial for most of the day. I did have a long phone conversation with Laney, ARL’s Animal Behavior Manager. Good info and I started to use her “look at me” technique.

Teddy and I have been out a couple of times already today. I enjoyed hanging out with him in the pen just before sunrise. Really like his pen with its bit of woodland character. It’s a quiet time of day and as long as there’s no wind, pleasant, even in the twenties.

We’ve done a couple of circuits around the block and have been practicing loose leash walking.

While Ron was shopping, I made a broccoli/cauliflower casserole with onion, garlic, a parm cheese white sauce and neufchatel. Ron was ravenous, went through three small servings of different entrees, peanut butter and crackers and a haagen dazs ice cream bar.

We are watching the last day of the House managers’ presentation to the Senate. The behavior of the Trumpist fools is a disgrace, but no doubt their constituents don’t care enough to rebuke them. There should be a process to disqualify them from voting on the outcome.

Trump’s pair of ambulance chasers embarrassed themselves yesterday with a worse than poor showing, contrasting with the buttoned up House managers who were well prepared and consistently on point.

39 Republican Senators approved the organizing resolution; six voted that the trial is constitutional and may continue.

One wonders what really scares the rest: loss of money, power and prestige or fear for their safety.

Meanwhile, after I collapsed early, Ron took Teddy out last night. This morning, Teddy and I made the same circuit, in the opposite direction from last night’s human and paw footprints.

Teddy got to meet Norene yesterday and gave Tony a big hello.

Teddy had a good night, slept until about 5:15. We’ve been out for short hops several times already. He’s getting used to trumping in his run, which is a help.

It was 18 degrees or so when we went out the first time. The street is still not completely bare, and we are in for more below freezing temps. No fun for either of us.

I’m looking forward to watching the impeachment trial this week. Will be interesting to see if there’s a new crop of Democratic superstars. Adam Schiff has set a high bar for Jamie Raskin, who lost his son at the end of 2020 to suicide after a battle with depression.

I had three phone conversations yesterday with DVH, Larry and Sunnova. The only other useful thing I did was to help Ron when he locked himself out of his car in the Walgreen’s parking lot. He was trying to return some boots via Fedex.

We are almost done with “Pillars of the Earth”. A bit disappointed.

We got a moderate snowfall yesterday, but the roads are icy and there’s just enough snow in the field to make it difficult, especially for an old person, to walk.

I did go out with Teddy this morning.

Ron was heroic yesterday: shoveled, carried Teddy up the cellar stairs* and took Teddy out for his last walk. Teddy was sundowning last night; Ron gave him an extra “tranq” around 9. It looks like 100 mg is just not enough.

*I brought an armload of Ron’s wet outerwear downstairs after he shoveled and as a result, left the door to the basement open. Teddy, intrepid one, came down the stairs. Of course, he wouldn’t go back up when asked. Poor Ron carried him by himself; the harness helped somewhat, but 46-47 pounds of deadweight up 13 steps is no small task.

At 1:11 am, Teddy started pacing around and whining. I took him outside, gave him some food. We could hear yipping in the distance.

He was still restless and barked once or twice around 2 am. I fed him half a Trazodone.

Ron got up at 2:30 and took him for a walk.

Teddy and I went for a long walk to Ashumet Road and back this morning after his breakfast. He’s been quiet since, listening to classical music in the second bedroom.

Yesterday I barely made it to the Stop & Shop pharmacy (they closed as soon as I paid) to pick up Ron’s Tramadol. Also roasted vegetables and made a salad. Dropped off a bag of batteries for recycling and brought some electronics to a free drop-off at the Commons.

The days are blurring with Teddy here.

It’s been 3 weeks since we brought Teddy home, and he’s true to form: starting to settle in, feeling more comfortable, figured out his environment, behavior issues starting to show up.

Actually, he was anxious last night. Guess we need to give him 200 mg of Trazodone.

Ron posted a request on FB for vet recommendations, and Dr. Leach got a lot of very positive reviews. We made an appointment for Friday morning. The person I spoke to on the phone was extremely pleasant and interested.

I put Teddy in his run a couple of times today so I could do other things, like make lunch (mac and cheese with onions, garlic and roma tomatoes seasoned with smoked paprika, chili and a dash of cumin) and delete damnable Kaspersky and some other unneeded software from my computer.

Teddy and Ron are outside now. Ron did laundry earlier; I’m waiting for the last load to dry.