Feel Like Complaining

One recent week long stay was with this guy, Luka the 3 y/o Pomeranian. You'd think with as long as I've been sitting I would have spent time with a few, but nope he is my first. He's actually the first one I've ever met. His Mom works from home so he doesn't have a lot of interaction with other people, or left alone much. When I arrived for my stay, he directly ran upstairs and hid under her bed. I usually just let a dog be until they're ready to interact. She said he sleeps with her but I could have him just lay in his bed on the floor. He let me know from day one, that he wasn't going to sleep on the floor like a commoner!  I thought he would be a barker but he isn't really; only when he hears a car door slam or can see something out the window. He loves walks but I don't think he gets a lot because all of his harnesses were too small for him. Once when I went home I grabbed one of ours and it was perfect. I don't walk small dogs that often so...

Soon after Angel passed away, her Mom asked me if I knew anyone that had puppies. To me it would be too soon to get another dog, but they've always had dogs and really missed having one in the home. I told her I didn't, and then said that I don't watch any dogs under a year of age. Not long after, they did get a new boy and he was 11 months at the time. It made me laugh; they snuck in just under the wire to keep their pet sitter.  They needed me the first week of June and then later in August so I went to visit him about a week before. He's a pretty sweet boy and overall pretty well mannered.  He destroys toys like any dog and loves to scoot little ones or his bones under furniture and then have a royal fit until you fish them out. Walking is a must for him and I did a mile every morning; otherwise he gets real squirrely. He starts barking for dinner about 2:00. They key word here is barking, it's all day long. If he wants attention he will bork.....constantly. I ha...

Ian's last day was May 28th; he took some much needed time off to visit his son. He'll be back at some point to do some non-bathroom things for us, but I'm sure he's as glad as we are that it's finished. Abe is especially happy to have an expensive drinking fountain and hidey hole.  There are several jars/bottles my mom painted and rocks that I have done. Check out the new one of San Francisco. If it's not beach themed, it can't come in here! I love the tile but it was not easy because of the wonky walls, it doesn't look great close up but Ian did his best. I really love the flooring and wish I had another room to put it in.

Our Mr. Abelicious is now a year old and weighs in at 10.5! He's doing so well; you wouldn't even know he's got FeLV. His breathing is so much better since his little procedure in February. Maybe between that and getting bigger, whatever may still be there has more room so it doesn't obstruct his nasal passages. He's come a long way since we got him. His middle name is still Mayhem and he is deep into it every minute he's awake. This is when he has the best behavior. Faith bought him an interactive feather toy. He just sort of lays there and doesn't put a lot of effort in, but it does keep him distracted for a few minutes. I bought Tony a back massager, Abe took over the box. I bought groceries, Abe's looking for his stuff. I bought cat food, Abe wants it NOW! He approves of our new bathroom sink and is spending more time outside. He went through a real scaredy cat phase when every noise out there terrified him but now he's doing better. It's sti...

Three days after I got home from SF, I drove to the Valley to pick up Dixie for her stay. She's the only dog I do that for because our house is out of the way whenever they travel. Her and Abe have a love, love, relationship. She loves to bark and chase if he gets too close and in turn he purposely gets too close or swats her on the butt as he flies by. Two days later I started a 23 day long once-a-day drop in for this old boy Roo (18). He mostly sleeps but eats well and is very affectionate. I usually stayed longer than the required 30 minutes just to sit with him on the couch. But then his family came home a week early and didn't tell me. I saw a car when I pulled up and went to the door. The screen door was locked so I knew someone was in the house. I started knocking and could hear noises. I almost messaged them to let them know someone was there, when she opened the door. They could have told me they were on their way or even when they got home. I had to revise the stay so...

There's this area of town called Corbin Park; which is only one of five historical districts in Spokane. It was the first fairgrounds in town, along with an oval racetrack. Now it's a park with many of the original homes around it still proudly standing. We sometimes drive there just to walk around it as it's almost a mile in distance.  I had seen a news story about one of the homes there for sale and the history within. The most recent owner's husband was an artist. He made things mostly for fun and gave a lot of this creations away to neighbors and friends. But what he did to the inside is what's amazing. He literally filled every room with his art, adhering it to the walls. After it was listed for sale it got attention of Zillow Gone Wild, which is a social media site showcasing the most unusual houses. They had an open house in March which drew a lot of attention and the house sold very quickly. An estate sale took place at the end of April and I knew I had to g...

Thursday was my last full day and of course it rained, and then rained some more. Although I was disappointed, I don't think I could have done one more thing. Every part of my body hurt and my feet were rebelling but I still wanted to get out a bit.  In the bus we had driven through Fisherman's Wharf and it was close enough to walk to. Thankfully I had brought my umbrella and off I went. There were a lot more restaurants and tourist traps. Madame Tussauds and Ripley's Believe It Or Not was there but I didn't feel like spending any more money. This was the only actual picture I took, a beautiful mosaic in a quiet courtyard. I wandered around until lunch time trying to figure out where to eat. I sat outside the Boudin Bakery Cafe and read the reviews before I went in. The cafe is downstairs and a more upscale restaurant is upstairs. I guess I felt like treating myself to a nice meal, then had buyers remorse as I left. All I ordered was a bloody mary, ceasar salad and smal...