I'm tuckered

So Mom and I went to see Aunt Jo and Uncle Dale. Mom felt kind of bad 'cause they're moving away and she thought they had at least another week but it turned out the packers were starting on Friday. We scooted home Friday morning 'cause Mom really felt like we were imposing.

I had lots of fun, though! Aunt Jo takes their dog, Katie, for this ridiculously long walking route (5 km/3 mi.) but for Katie, that's OK 'cause she's a Big Dog (100 lbs.) and can handle it. Yours truly, on the other hand, has these wee little stubby legs and gets tuckered out a little earlier than dear Katie.

So off we went for this amazing walk - Mom challenged me to keep up with Katie and for the most part I did ~ oh, sure there were times when I had to stop and sniff, pee, and sniff some more, but Mom caught on and realized I was cheating and taking a mini-rest. I secretly think Mom took advantage of my little cheat to cheat a little herself. She would look at Aunt Jo and say, "Wait up a sec. Kira is peeing!" And we would pause for a (sneaky) rest.

I feel so used...exhausted and well-walked, but used nonetheless.

We stopped by the lake and Mom threw sticks for Katie - *I* am much too sophisticated and lady-like to chase after a silly stick, so I took my time to explore the nooks and crannies by the shore. I swear I wasn't chicken to go in, but it was getting dark, and Katie got everyone wet every time she shook anyway, and the rocks were slippery, and I couldn't see the bottom, and...and...BWOK-bok-bok-bok-BWOK....

A good time was had by all, and I LOVED the ferry ride(s) - Mom didn't fight with anyone this time, but we did stay out of the Pet Area and just walked around (and around and around) the car deck.

I did get a mini-snorgle from a handsome ferry worker, though :wink:

I'm a pretty girl...again

I had my Spa Day early - Mom got a call from the Spa and they had a cancellation so I was able to get in Friday instead of waiting until today.

I'm NEKKID!!!

Mom asked that I be shaved right down 'cause I was so hairy and they did, but not as bad as it sounded when Mom was telling the lady what to do. I gotta admit, when Mom said, "shave her down, military style!!" I inwardly freaked out.

Now my coat is fuzzy but very short. Today we went for a walk and I hardly panted until we got closer to home, but by then it wasn't 'cause I was hot, but gee, Mom really made me work tonight! Apparently my Good Girl skills have been slacking of late so Mom brought ham treats and made me sit at every intersection, wouldn't let me pee wherever I wanted, and kept the flex leash pretty gosh darn short!

I feel like I'm back in school and I KNOW it's almost Summer Break so I really don't think it's very fair at all. Mom says if I practice my Good Girl skills I will be a happy girl 'cause Mom won't be (as) concerned when we meet people or go visit folks.

I s'pose that really means if I practice my skills, Mom won't need to watch me as closely.....Heeeeeyyy, that could work in my favour! Hmmmm...

Going to the Spa!!

Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy! Mom made an appointment for me at the Spa! I surely need it too - as Mom keeps saying, I'm a Dirty Girl.

I found some mud. Mom let it dry then tried brushing the worst of it off me. I kinda like how I smell, though, so I told Mom to knock it off and let me enjoy my Eau De Pooch.

But the long hair hanging into my eyes and dragging down my tail has Got To GO!

So it seems I need a Mani-Pedi, a bath (mudbath, I hope!) and a haircut. Mom is taking me on Saturday. I kinda like going to the Spa (and really, what girl doesn't?) and I have a reputation for being a Good Girl when having a 'treatment' but I really wish I could keep my wonderful, aromatic essence ;-D

I may strike a pose for Mom when I get back.

Lazy day

Today it's only +19C (66F) so it's nice and cool. I'm having a lazy day, just lounging around, catching up on my sleep (it's HARD sleeping when it's so hot out!) then Mom gave me a Pig's Ear treat! I loves Pigs Ears!

Now I'm feeling up to going for a walk - Mom hasn't even showered yet today so I'm trying to encourage her to get her arse in gear. Every time she gets up, I trot over towards the front door, look back over my shoulder, and when Mom ignores me, I let out a heavy sigh and go back into the living room.

She rolls her eyes at me.

At least now she has the email working on the new computer :-D Only took three days of following instructions before she gave up and called the internet tech support for help.

I rolled my eyes at her.

Going on a holiday at the end of June

Mom is taking me to visit Aunt Jo and the clan at the end of June; it will be the last time we get to see Aunt Jo over on Vancouver Island.

Aunt Jo and Uncle Dale are moving to Manitoba this summer. Uncle Dale's job is making him go. Aunt Jo wants to stay, though, and doesn't know if she going to be able to live here again any time soon.

I'm going to miss going over on the ferry to visit them :-(( Guess I'll have to make the most of it for this one last trip.

Mom says maybe next summer we could visit them in Manitoba - when I asked Mom how I was going to be able to do that, she said we can drive for three days, through Mom's old town (Edmonton, AB) and I can meet some more of her friends, then maybe meet Jamie and Vance in Saskatchewan, then Jo and Dale in Manitoba!!

Sounds like FUN! Good thing I like car rides and never, ever get sick :-D

It's very hot out...

...and I'm wearing a fur coat.

Oh, please don't get me wrong, unlike those radical anti-fur folks, I actually like my fur coat and I wear it proudly.

But when it's +30 C, suddenly wearing a fur coat isn't such a great idea.  Mom is taking me to the groomer for a haircut next week.  She tried hard to get me in this week, you know, during this heat wave, but seems all the other dogparents thought the same thing and there are no open appointments.

Now, there is one teeny-tiny salvation in all this:  Our new house has CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!  Mom is a little worried about how much it will cost so she only has it set at 26C (80F) from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.  Today she got a little daring and dropped it to 24 (75F) 'cause she had a really bad headache and upset tummy due to the heat.  The previous owners installed a non-metric thermostat as they preferred the F scale to the C scale.  Mom knows metric better so she had to write out a whole bunch of temperature conversions and tape them to the box.  Which is kinda good for me 'cause now I can tell you the temperature is both scales :-D

Mom's computer is dying a slow and rather painful death.  It's a Dell laptop she bought almost 5 years ago but now can't run half her programs 'cause even though it was kick-ass computer when she bought it, seems 512 MB of RAM isn't cutting it anymore.  She bought a co-workers' MacBook (2006 version) as a filler/travel laptop and is suddenly very much becoming an Apple fan!

I don't care which computer we use, so long as she doesn't forget to upload my posts!!!!

Has it really been four months?

I coulda sworn I've written more posts since January!!

Maybe Mom should check her documents folder 'cause all I can think of she's been hording my posts in there instead of publishing them.

In a nut-shell:

Winter: I hate snow. Mom had to shovel a path for me to go potty 'cause I refused to make my own path.
Spring: I discovered mud puddles are fun! So are baths so that's OK.
Now that summer is here: I get to go swimming! But not at Aunt Jo's place. She's moving "back East" and Mom isn't too happy about it.

Now I'm going to lecture Mom on hording posts and maybe she'll actually publish them.

Still here,
Kira

Get 'em off me, GET 'EM OFF ME!!!

MOOOOOOOmmmmmm....I have FLEAS!!!! Get them off me, will ya? They're making me scratch my skin until it bleeds. And no, I'm not scratching 'cause I found some WillyTreats, I really do have a problem here!

So for about two weeks I've been scratching like mad and mom discovered I found some WillyTreats (his bag o' treats fell behind the dresser and I found a trail of foil bits that lead to the main piece of evidence) so she figured, like every other time I find WillyFood (YUM!!), I'd scratch for a few days, chew on my feet a bit, then I'd be fine. Not this time.

Mom finally took a closer look at one patch of darkened fur near my butt and realized I had FLEAS LIVING ON ME!!! Yuck. Yuck-yuck-yuckity-yuck. Little hoppity creatures living on ME!

Today mom took me to a new doggy-wash centre, called Diggity-Dog, which is right along our walking route so it's really close to home, AND it's very reasonably priced. I was shaking a bit when we first got there 'cause it was a new place but mom said it would be OK so I settled down a little bit. The lady took at look at that dark patch near my butt and said, "Yup, she's got FLEAS!!!" So I had a bath with a good scrubbing using the flea shampoo. Meanwhile mom went to a local vet store and bought Advantage. Mom used to buy Advantage but ran out in November, thinking with the colder weather and all the snow, the fleas wouldn't be out in full force and I'd be OK for a little while.

Silly mom, what was she thinking? Fleas are like cockroaches, they'll still survive long after the human race are extinct, or a nuclear bomb wipes everyone out.

So I'm back on the Advantage, had a flea bath, and now I can finally have a decent, scratch-free, painless nap.

In other news, since my last post I went on a vacation! Not a fake 'Vegas' vacation, a real vacation with travelling and everything! Mom took me to Vancouver Island to visit Aunt Jo, et al. for New Years. Oh boy, they have LOTS of snow over there! Uncle Dale was lamenting having to shovel all the snow so he ordered a snow-blower from a store. He had the catalogue open (and wouldn't you know, it was open so long to the snow blower page, the magazine wouldn't close even!) and at one point he called it 'snow-blower porn.' Mom laughed. I don't get it. We stayed a few days then came home.

Had a moment of excitement on the ferry ride home, though! Mom took me to the pet room on the car deck and a lady started screaming at mom that I wasn't allowed to potty in the pet room (actually, that's where I'm supposed to potty on the boat!) and I got a little scared but darn it, I had to protect mom from this screaming banshee! I pressed myself against mom in-between her and the lady when the lady pushed mom!!! That's right, she physically PUSHED MY MOM! Mom, being mom, pushed back (to get her away, not to hurt her) then the ferry worker came into the room to find out what the yelling was about - one ferry worker walked with me and mom back to our car and the other ferry worker explained to the screaming banshee the rules about the pet room. I was really confused with all the commotion and mom was 'rattled' about what happened, then the ferry worker said those magic words, "Ma'am, you are correct - the pet room IS for potty-ing and the car deck itself is not." I got a pat on the head by the nice man and soon mom and him were chuckling about the weird lady.

The woman started yelling that Kira wasn't allowed to pee in the pet room. I looked at her and said they have a hose, poop bags, and a sealed garbage bin exactly for that purpose. Then I got up to leave. The doorway is awkward in that you have to wedge between the end of the bench and the door then swing around the door itself as it opens inward. As we opened the door, did a half-turn to get around it to go out, the lady stood up, walked towards me (knowing I'm now trapped between the door itself and the bench, and shoved me with her hand on my shoulders. I was so stunned, I reacted by swinging my arms up the middle, fanning out to push her arms off me. she fell back onto the bench and started screaming at me that I assaulted her. By then the ferry worker arrived and asked what the hell was going on. Another guy came and said he would escort me and Kira to our car while first guy talked to the lady.

No one was hurt, no one was arrested, and no one was being charged with anything.

Mom figures the lady was a "walk-on" passenger and was confined to the pet room for the whole trip (90 min.) and didn't want to smell potty debris. What mom doesn't understand is that the lady can walk her dog around the car deck while the room airs out, so it's not like she's not allowed to leave the room, just can't take her dog off the car deck. And given mom walks me around the car deck all the time, you can do several laps and get a decent enough walk out of it (the 'super-ferries' are huge enough). Mom says she can laugh about it now...

Last week I had a treat! Mom was sick with a really bad head cold (still have it, but not nearly as bad) so she stayed home for a few days. Yay! We didn't go for a walk for a whole week, though. I wanted to go, but mom said the sun hurt her head and she was tired and icky so we didn't go at all - for a whole week. I was going stir crazy! But mom played the flosser game with me then wouldn't go downstairs to find the flosser when she threw it over the stairway. Kept saying she was too tired. What a bum!

So, there you have it. Fleas, fight on the ferry, and a head cold. Never let it be said I'm living a boring life with my mom!!!

New Post

Hi Everyone!!

I know it’s been for~ever since I’ve written, but what an adventure it’s been!!!!!

We moved into the new house and gosh darn it, I like it! I have tons and tons of room to chase Willy through er, run around in. I love my new backyard, too. Aunt Lorraine says it’s bigger than my old one but I think she needs new glasses ‘cause it’s longer but not as wide. At least, that what mom says what do I care? It has pretty plants, lots of shrubbery, and there are squirrels living in the trees. I’d love to be friends with the big ol’ grey squirrel who lives up there in the cedars, but he just chirps angrily at me when I run up to introduce myself.

I’ve noticed sometimes there are new toys in my yard that I’m sure Mom didn’t buy for me – when she buys me new toys she lets me play with them inside the house first to see if I like ‘em. She thinks that if I don’t play with a toy I must not like it. I’ve tried to tell her just ‘cause I don’t play with my toys all the time doesn’t mean they’re Not Mine anymore. Anyway, I digress…Mom couldn’t figure out where these things were coming from then she realized my yard backs onto a yard owned by kids. Kids. KIDS!! UGH. I don’t like kids much. So instead of letting me play with these newfound treasures, Mom tosses them back over the fence. I really want to play with the new toys so I keep trying to poke my nose under the fence to grab some of the wonderful treasures on The Other Side.

Anyway, when we first moved here Mom found a great route to take me walking. You see, there’s a nice, sparkly creek running behind our new complex but the few times we went there, some people were Up To No Good (teenagers doing what teenagers do when adults are not around – drinking, smoking, acting stupid, basically what *I* did as an unsupervised teen – but they were loud and the girls squealed as only teenaged girls can and scared Kira, though she won’t admit it). Mom didn’t think it was a good idea that we visit the creek much, especially when it gets dark out so early now. We have another route that takes us about 25 minutes (longer if I poop more) so naturally, I poop at least twice, and when Mom has run out of bags to clean up after me, sometimes I poop a little squirt once more for good measure. Mom says that’s just being sarcastic, but I scamper along as though I never heard a word :-D (untying a poop bag to pick up a little squirt then getting most of on your hands when tying the bag up again is Bloody Gross!)

Mom changed up our routine since we moved here. Instead of going out after supper we go out for our walk as soon as Mom comes in the door. Yay! Mom says it’s because as soon as she takes her shoes off, she doesn’t want to put ‘em back on just for a walk. So the other day we were out after her work and as we passed a daycare business a lady called out Mom’s name. Turns out her co-worker uses that day care so I got to meet her, her little boy, and the day care person. Mom is meeting a lot of people in our new neighbourhood!

We met our across-the-street neighbour and her dog Mocha (Mocha is, ready for it – a chocolate lab. Go figure.) We also met our on-the-other-side-of-the-middle-unit neighbour and her little Shi Tzu, Maggie. Maggie seemed as scared to meet me as I was unsure to meet her. I sniffed and she sniffed, then we kept a fairly respectable distance form each other. Mom and the new neighbour chatted for hours and hours (try 30 minutes, little muppethead!) and we both learned a lot about the new ‘hood. Of course, Aunt Diane lives here and I get to visit with her now and again.

Oh! In November Mom bought a new Christmas tree! For years and years she had this little 4’ dinky, pathetic tree but I guess it was OK ‘cause the old place was so small, it fit. Now with the new place she figured it was time to have a grown-up tree! So she left all alone for a whole, entire day (Aunt Lorraine came over to let me out to pee) and went shopping in the USA. She bought a HUGE 6.5’ tree that came with all the pretty lights attached. Now, because in Canada the electrical and fire codes are different, she had to set up the tree and leave it turned on for a whole day to make sure the new house wouldn’t catch on fire. It didn’t.

Mom figured so long as the tree was put together and plugged in, may as well decorate and add some more lights. Silly Mom! That darn tree has been up and fully decorated since the middle of November! Mom says it makes the winter blues go away, which really, I don’t much understand what that’s all about – I tell Mom going for walks, eating, and playing with toys is all she needs in life. Oh, and a soft bed and cuddly blankies. Can’t forget the blankies!! Cuddles always help too, and curling up on the couch with your warm and friendly person helps…a lot. Treats. Can’t forget the treats. I need the treats!

To make a long story short (I know, too late), I love my new house, found two great walking routes (one ‘summer’ and one ‘winter’ route), met a few new neighbours, and I’m still driving Mom nuts playing with my flosser (Mom gets mad ‘cause I make her play on all three floors at once, not just one level!!) It’s fun watching mom huff and puff up and down the stairs all night long! (Oh yeah, real cute, Kira!)

Now if Mom would only finish painting and unpacking those darn boxes...

New post coming soon!!!

Ducking in briefly

Please vote for Miss Eleni's rescue! Without her I might never have been found...

(ps: I come home to the new house in 8 sleeps - I'll tell you all about the new house then!)

I'm a helper!

So Mom has been frantically trying to keep up with her work and packing up the house. I figured she needed to be encouraged to get a move on the packing (I can't wait to see our new house!) so I'm helping.

Mom taped up a whole bunch of boxes and stacked them in the living room so I got all worried she would forget my toys and blankie so I piled them all up in the living room beside the boxes. Mom saw them and moved all my stuff back to the couch.

So the next day I piled them up by the boxes again.

TODAY SHE PACKED 'EM!! Well, the toys, not my blankie. Mom says I'm going to Vegas again so I'll need my blankie at the "hotel." Apparently I get to go to Vegas for a whole 12 days this time. I was only supposed to go for a week while mom moved all our stuff into the new house (Yay!) but her meany boss said she had to go to some 2 day training course so instead getting to see the new house on the Friday, she said I may as well stay in Vegas a little longer 'cause the training course is out of town and she has to stay in a hotel herself.

Here's a picture of my new backyard, note the solid fence? Mom said she especially picked the place 'cause it's KiraSafe!

It's Over

It's finally over. OVER! I'm leaving this freakin' dump of a house and moving on.

Mom sold our townhouse and she bought a new one! She says the new place is twice a big and has three levels AND A FENCED BACKYARD for Me! (Miss Eleni will be happy to know Mom kept that in mind when she was house shopping). I gotta learn stairs, though...I've been pretty spoiled in our current house, one level, no stairs, but it feels like a one-bedroom apartment 'cause the second bedroom is used mostly for storage. Oh, and it's only 1100 sq. ft. but mom says we really only use about 700 sq. ft. so it feels even smaller.

The new townhouse is 1960 sq. ft., three levels, three bedrooms (apparently Willy gets a 'suite' of two bedrooms and two bathrooms all to himself - Not Fair, if'n you ask me), and it has CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING! The new place is way closer to mom's work (10 min.) so she can come home at lunch to play with me, there's a sushi restaurant about 5 minutes down the road so that makes mom happy (I don't much care for sushi but if it makes mom happy, then I can let this one go.) The complex backs onto a greenbelt with a creek and a path going all the way around and when mom was up there she said lots of people were walking their dogs around the creek path so I know it's gonna be great for me. Mom says she already knows at least one person who lives there, one of her co-workers who she says is a very cool person. I sure hope this very cool person loves muppetheads! She does. She told me so.

On Friday mom called the utility people and made arrangements to transfer accounts, called the 'phone company got a new 'phone number, and made an appointment for me to visit Vegas so I won't be around to help pack, clean, unpack, and paint. I really, really want to help paint and help pack. Y'know, to make sure mom doesn't forget my treats, toys, bed, and blankie...I won't. Her bed, blankie, and one toy will be going with Kira to Vegas, and I've already got her backpack ready to be packed.

Oh, and we're moving in FOUR WEEKS!! Mom says that's lots of time, but she sure doesn't seem to be trying very hard to pack or anything. I think she's being silly by just loafing around, thinking she can just hire movers to do all the hard work. Half my crap is already in a storage locker as I purged to stage the house for sale. I will be packing most of my stuff but will also be hiring movers to take all my crap to the new place.

I just Thank GOD this is finally ending! I hope I love living in the new neighbourhood/town because I certainly don't want to go through this again any time soon. I have never been so stressed out in my life as I have been in the past 4 months. I figured about 25 people viewed my shack, averaging 1-2 a week, but only got one offer. The offer was pretty crappy and I was thisclose to saying 'forget it' and wait for another offer, but then my Agent dropped a Really Great Deal into my lap and I was forced to make a major decision. Jo came over from the Island and we viewed the new townhouse again and it was determined the deal was OK - both me and the sellers took an equal hit on our asking price so I'm no further ahead. The bank did an appraisal and said that came in $6000 over what I paid so while not a Great Deal, it was a fair deal.

I'll take before and after pics once I move!

Oh where to begin...

Well.

It's been a very weird two months. You see, Mom decided we needed to live in a bigger place closer to her work (this way she can come home at lunchtime to play with me!) so she talked to her friend/Real Estate Agent and put our house up for sale. What Mom hadn't counted on was all hell breaking loose at work coupled with the sudden rush of folks wanting to look at our house!

Mom kinda-sorta had a melt down and ran away from home while I went to Vegas, but I digress...

So Mom put an offer on a new place and it was accepted. Then the people got a better offer (same price, no subjects though) so they bumped Mom's and we lost the new place. THEN Mom said "enough of this crap!" and started to take our house off the market (12 viewings, no offers).

Then after Mom came back from her mini-vacation (she ran away for a weekend to meltdown in peace) she scrubbed the house inside and out, hauled out most of our stuff to a storage place, and decided not to even look at another place to live until this place sold.

Well.

Almost worked.

Mom saw another townhouse she just loved and has now put an offer on it. She said they counter-offered but is now verbally negotiating as opposed to writing a counter-counter-offer right away.

Our house is still up for sale and Mom dropped the price twice. Started at $269, then dropped to $267, now it's at $263. Mom said she can't go any lower 'cause otherwise we can't buy the new place.

Auntie Jo says Mom should just buy a house and not a townhouse. Mom said she'd like to but she feels safer living in a townhouse complex and if the roof leaks she only has to make a call and it doesn't cost her thousands of dollars.

*I* just want a fenced yard!!

So between Mom trying to keep the house tidy, keep up with her work, and hoping that someone buys our house so we can buy someone elses house, well...no wonder she briefly went bat-poo crazy!

Mom is home for a whole week now. We were supposed to be moving this week, but we lost the house we were going to buy but Mom kept her leave time and we're going to scrub up the house again and "go hard" selling it.

I like having Mom home all the time! We go for walks and visit with the neighbours and I got to have Ice Cream on Sunday!

Yup. Liking having the Mom home!

I didn't count on there being as soft crash in the market. This time last year my house would have been on the market 5-10 days; no sooner did the sign go up then the sold sign was slapped on. THIS year houses are staying on the market 3-4 MONTHS. Even the place I first offered on was on the market for 57 days and it was under-priced by about $10k so even an under-priced place is staying on the market for quite a while.

I told my Agent if my place doesn't sell by the end of the month, it's coming off the market for sure. I almost took it off in June, but just 'took a break' from accepting viewings. NOW there are stories in the news that BC has the highest % of people not willing to make major purchases because of fears of recession due to high gas prices. Gee. I couldn't tell...

May.

Last post was in MAY!

OK, so I know I've been a naughty muppet-head for being so lax in keeping up my blog, but Mom has been very busy, both with work and keeping the house clean so we can MOVE!!

More later - I'm getting booted off the comfy 'puter chair :-(

Quick update

Oh Boy! I've never seen the house so clean since I moved in last summer! Mom has been going on a rampage scrubbing walls, windows, floors, counters, etc. She said I might have to go to Vegas (!!!) for a few days 'cause there might be a lot of people coming to look at the house next week. Well, she said she hopes a lot of people come to look anyway...

I don't know why I have to go to Vegas for that, though - I think I should stay home to guard the treat cupboard, if not Mom herself.

Mom took me to a new groomer (Miss Natasha is taking a break from the grooming scene for a little while) and she liked Miss Natasha's shave-down so much she asked for it from the new lady. I sure hope Miss Natasha starts grooming again - I miss her :(

(Mom has a picture somewhere on the computer but she can't find it right now...I'm not surprised, what with all the packing boxes and all.)

Oh! I forgot to mention, Mom said she bought a new house!!!! It's a townhouse in Next Town Over, about 10 minutes from her work. That means she can come home at lunch to visit me and doesn't have to worry about staying too late at work 'cause she's so close to home now.

Mom keeps telling me about the new house, it's almost twice the size of our current house, has three levels, three bedrooms, a fenced yard (Mom made sure about that!) and she already knows at least one person who lives there (co-worker). The people living there now agreed to sell Mom the house so now she has to sell ours.

People are weird. I don't understand why they don't just flop down wherever they want to be and just stay. Isn't that what they're always telling us dogs to do, "STAY!"???

Jus' wondering, is all...

People do, Kira. It's called Squatting and it's illegal.

On the move

I can't believe I went a whole month without updating everyone!

I do have a good excuse, though. Y'see, Mom is selling our house and we're moving!!!!!

Mom has to drive to the next town over for her work (it's 25 km's away but takes half and hour) and she decided gas costs so much it makes sense to move to the next town as it will save her at least $200 a month and she can get to work earlier.

Right now I leave around 8 and it can take 45 minutes to drive north on the highway, what with all the commuter traffic. Gas is $1.25 a litre and costs me around $300 a month. The place I'm interested in is 5 km from work, all residential streets so I'm still looking at around 10 minutes, but gas should only cost me $100 a month!

The new town has lots of parks and school yards so maybe if I learn to come when I'm called I can play off-leash - I'm going to try really really hard to learn to come when Mom calls me 'cause I really want to run around without my leash on.

It also has all the amenities I need, major grocery shopping, all the standard stores (Staples, Canadian Tire, Panago Pizza, vet clinic, Sushi restaurant, etc.) in a small town (pop. 35, 000).

Anyway, Mom has been working really late for the past two weeks so she hasn't had much chance to 'stage' the house so this weekend it's been a cleaning frenzy around here. I'm trying to help (mopping the floors, chasing dust bunnies outside, etc.) but Mom keeps trying to step on me. She said if she has an 'open house' I have to go to Vegas for a few days.

Mom said she found a great new house for us, though. She said "It's HUGE, Kira! You're gonna love it!" It's still a townhouse 'cause Mom likes 'townhouse living' and it has a fenced backyard so I won't have to be tethered when I Gotta Go. Mom is putting in an offer today on the new place.

Almost 2000 sq. ft., 3 levels, 3 bedrooms/3 baths, huge walk-in closet in mstr. bedroom, dedicated home office space...I damn well hope they accept my strong/fair offer! Other places I looked at only had the partial 'privacy fence' jutting off the sides of each unit and no option to put up a pet fence, so at least this place is fully fenced!

So between the excitement at work the past few weeks, Mom scrubbing the house out, and that we may be moving, I've been too busy to write.

I hope she leaves Willy here, though - I think it would be too unfair to uproot him from his home. Maybe the new people will understand and let him stay here...

Nice try, Kira. Willy comes with us.

Tied a hankerchief to a stick, and waited to return to my hobo ways

So I waited patiently until Mom opened the front door to take out the garbage and when I saw that beautiful yellow shimmer of light peek through the door frame, I took THAT VERY opportunity to act.

Oh yes I did.

I bolted through the door and ran towards the light – Ah Freedom, feeling the fresh air whip through my ears, my tail feathering out, me experiencing the pure and simple joy of not being tethered to Mom’s hand.

Uh oh. What is that blue and yellow blur screeching my name? Oh Look! It’s Mom running (uphill) towards me with my leash and something in her other hand (chicken jerky).

So I took off again, heading towards the bank of mail boxes at the top of the hill where I took a moment to sniff the bushes and have a pee. Oh, looky there, someone is leaving the complex, Mom looks like she’s following with my leash, still screeching my name – so I’ll wait by the smaller people gate after all, that’s the one we always use, not the big car gate. Mom is taking too long; maybe I’ll dart around that van and go for a walk without her.

Oh yes I did.

Mom and I played a new game: It’s called “Chase”. It’s when *I* take myself for a walk and Mom chases me with my leash, screeching my name. I would look back every once in a while to make sure Mom was still chasing me as I darted in and out of the various townhouse complex’s, exploring their parking lots, all the interesting bushes, trees, posts, and various other smells.

Mom doesn’t like playing “Chase”. She told me TWO HOURS LATER (!!!!) when she gave up and let me win.

Y’see, after Mom chased me around the neighbourhood(s) I decided to go on my normal walk. Mom saw what I was going to do and ran back the other way, to ‘head me off at the pass’ as it were. I dodged into another complex to explore their parking lot and bushes instead.

Oh yes I did.

Mom said later she was worried she would run me into the traffic so she decided to quit and go back home, hoping I would follow. After a while I was getting bored and decided to see what Mom was doing. She was sitting on the sidewalk in front of the people gate to home. I grinned and tried to motivate her to chase me again but she held up some chicken jerky and asked if I was hungry yet. I was.

Ah crap! She tricked me by snapping on my leash and walking me back home. And she forgot to give me my chicken jerky! When we got home I didn’t understand why Mom was so upset. I mean, it was a beautiful sunny day and I was so happy to go out romp and play and Mom played “Chase” with me, why was she so anxious and upset? And… um, …why am I being LOCKED UP IN THE BATHROOM FOR HALF AN HOUR???

Oh yes I did.

Just to confuse Ziggy

I'm posting twice in less than a week!

Today I saw Miss Natasha (see Glossary). I wrote a note to her telling her about when Mom tried to give me a bath a few weeks ago she messed up my tail into one huge knot, how I needed a wee tail and ear trim, and a mani-pedi.

Oh yeah. And a bath. 'Cause I stunk!!

Mom took me to see Miss Natasha today and now I smell Dee~Vine! And that clumpy knot in my beautiful tail is gone - mind you, so is all the hair on the base of my tail, but what can I say? That's what happens when amateurs get involved in the dog grooming side of things!

Miss Natasha let me write a note to Mom telling her all about my day, how I was such a good girl, stayed quiet in my pen while I waited to have my nails done, and didn't try to hurt anyone at all. Mom was so happy she bought me a KiraBurger on the way home...Mmmm, Dee~Lish!

(NO! No KiraPorn! I'm not letting Mom take a picture of my butt to show my tail!!)

Mom is sick :-(

Mom has a really bad cold right now. She went to work on Monday (had to attend some training) and got worse and worse with her cough and nose dripping then she called in sick for Tuesday. She stayed home Wednesday too.

Today Mom tried going to work. She said she felt fine after her shower - nose seemed to clear up a bit and her throat wasn't as sore (of course between the Sudafed, Nyquil, Buckleys, cuddles from Yours Truly, she sure thought she was fine!)

Well. By lunchtime she was home. Seems once she got to work her nose filled up again, throat got worse, and her head was aching so she was pretty much asked to/was told to go home. Her boss threatened to put a "Quarantined" sign on her door after hearing her hack up a lung.

I don't mind - *I* got to nap with Mom on the couch this afternoon and that's the best of all.

I still don't understand why we can't go for a walk, though. It's so nice and sunny out and Mom has dark glasses she can wear if her head hurts so much in the sunshine. Maybe I'll bug her some more and she'll give in...

I didn't give in and likely won't tomorrow, either. This cold is hanging on for dear life and just won't let up! First hour in the morning I feel great - nose is dry, head is clear, throat is fine, then WHAMMO! It hits all at once. And of course it's when we are having some beautiful weather - warm, sunny, etc. so I can't even enjoy it 'cause I have to black out the windows 'cause it HURTS!

I hate being sick.

Oh, and for what it's worth, Miss Kira is not giving me any sympathy At All - I've asked my neighbour to please take Kira around the block for me as I'm sure she's getting cabin fever being cooped up in the house with me for four days. Then maybe Kira will leave me the heck alone!!

PlaywithmePlaywithmePlaywith me!!!

Mom took a few days off work to get some chores done in the house. So naturally, when I realized she wasn't going to work, I inferred she decided to spend some time with ME!

Of course, this meant I had to help with the chores...you know, picking up the flosser toy, putting it back down, picking it up and bringing it closer to Mom so she can try and take it away. I told Mom I *was* helping with the chores! You should have seen the size of the dust bunnies I found and made sure Mom saw how hard I was trying to find the rest of 'em for her!!

Between helping with the chores and hunting dust bunnies, I was pooped out. Mom tossed the flosser a couple of times but each time I went and got it, I couldn't quite make it as as close to Mom as the previous run...'til I just flopped down and chewed on the flosser by myself.

Token Willy shot.

We had a hissing /barking contest a few days ago. Mom didn't get involved, saying we had to "work it out" ourselves.

I'll tell you later who won.

TTFN!

Hi everyone!

So Mom is taking a class two nights a week. Her work is paying for it so she has to to well or she has to pay the money back. It's American Sign Language 'cause one of the people she works with is Deaf and it costs too much money to hire an interpreter. Besides, I swear Mom can't hear half the time anyway so maybe it's a good thing she learning for when she gets really really old.

I know some Sign Language, though not necessarily American Sign Language - I know the finger wag means I've gone and done something I'm not supposed to do (like last week when Mom left her work bag open and I found a granola bar inside. Mom wasn't too happy to find a trail of wrapper from her bag allllll the way to the back door. It was raining outside so when I had to go out, Mom had to follow to see if I pooped foil wrapper. So there's Mom standing in the rain, with a flashlight, looking at my poop, then looking at me saying, "so there's my granola bar!") I just grinned :-)

I also know when Mom points to the front door and says, "Let's Go!" means we're going for a walk!!! When the weather was bad two weeks ago (what a little snow?) we hardly went at all. Mom said the sidewalks weren't cleared and it was icy and slippery, but I think it was just an excuse to flop in front of the computer all night long. Or it could have been that I was falling behind at work and needed to spend the evening catching up!!!

This week Mom got two packages in the mail, one from Amazon and one from Barnes and Noble so now she's buried her nose into all her new books - I guess it's OK - what with nothing being on TV 'cause of the writer's strike all we've been watching is Star Trek. I know Mom loves Star Trek but come on! Every night?? With the laptop parked in front of the TV? That's just nuts!

Wait a minute...ohmygod those are STAR TREK BOOKS!!!!!

Why yes, Kira, they in fact ARE Star Trek books and I will sit back and savour each and every word as long as I like, thankyouverymuch! But I might remind you, Miss Kira, *I* took some extra days off this week and next for a total of FIVE days off so just imagine how much fun we're going to have spending all that time together! WE may even take you down to Miss VetLady to see how much you weigh 'cause even though I've been rationing out your food, you have obviously been sneaking some from somewhere (Oh, yes, my work bag!) 'cause I'm not seeing much change in your waist line! And no, bouncing up and down, nipping at my feet, grinning like a she-devil, and trying to trip me won't change that - even in a cast or bound up in traction I. Will. Find. A. Way!!

Chicken Jerky, anyone?

Shave and a haircut - - two pics!

I haven't posted much lately - Mom says it's because we have such a routine and that this place has become my home that she's not surprised I've slowed down my writing. I really want to tell you about Christmas, though!

So Mom had to work over Christmas week but still had Christmas and Boxing Day off (I like Boxing Day - Mom puts on the oven mitt and we boxed darn near all day long! I was so tired at the end of the rounds I almost didn't want to go on my walk, almost...)

Mom took Friday afternoon off work to come home early. We were going over to Shawnigan Lake to visit Aunt Jo, Uncle Dale, Nathan, Anthony, Katie, and Snowball for the New Years weekend. I really should have gone to the Spa and Mom swears she tried to get me an appointment but Miss Natasha was booked up solid. Ah well. I was gonna have fun, regardless.

So I played and played, and tried to beat up both Katie and Wrangler, Aunt Jo's Uncle's dog. Caught that? Jo's Aunt and Uncle were here and they brought their dog Wrangler with them.

I think I've got a little crush on Uncle Dale:

Mom brought my blankie with her and spread it on a chair but I crawled from the chair over to Uncle Dale while he was relaxing on the sofa - I just wanted to cuddle up next to him and he took advantage and gave me a few pats - I think he kinda-sorta likes me too!

This is the chair I was supposed to stay on - please note the exceptional amount of fur I'm sporting. Sure wish Mom took me to the groomer before we went to the Island. I was full of debris, tree bark, leaves, and other unknown ickies by the time we left. Mom got me to Miss Natasha when we got home and I got SHAVED!!!!!!

Me and Katie. Katie is a Belgian Shepherd something-something cross and is such a WUSS! She looks all intimidating and such but my GOD, she'd lick you to death before attacking - Unless she's playing with Uncle Dale (her Dad) and I try to join in the fun - then all bets are off; she flipped out on me and all I wanted was to play with Uncle Dale. This is the closest I got to cuddling with Uncle Dale with Katie there, too.

Of course, I'm sure Uncle Dale got a kick out of having two women fight over him...

So after all was said and done, I ate too much cat food, played too much, got way too excited most of the time, had attention from two teenage boys, Aunt Jo thinks I'm simply adorable and Uncle Dale rocks my world. Oh, and Mom is too bossy and won't let me do anything.

Speaking of Mom, a few weeks ago she got home from work and there was as 'phone message from a local store (Tom Lee Music) that there was a Christmas Present there for her (!!) So WE go to the store and oh, could you just up and die???? An old friend of Mom's back in Alberta bought Mom a Freakin' PIANO!!!!

After some tense negotiations, Mom finally convinced her friend to let her return the obscene gift for much smaller, cheaper, more reasonable electric keyboard:

Mom practices almost every day and doesn't sound too half bad. She's trying to remember all she learned as a kid, and bought some books to try and teach herself. She said she might take lessons but not until next fall.

Damn nice present to get from an old friend!!!!

Mom has someone at her work (a "client") who's deaf so she signed up for American Sign Language classes that start on Monday night. If she takes all four levels she'll be in school until July, two nights a week, so likely won't be able to afford piano lessons until the fall.

Anyway, back to Me. Mom had to take me to Miss Natasha's when we got back from the Island. Oy, it was BAD!! I was matted, tuffed, dirty, and certainly in need of a Spa day. Mom knew I was in rough shape but she didn't think I was THIS bad:

Mom thinks I'm cold now so she's been turning on the fireplace more often. And at bedtime she tucks an extra blankie around me. What a sucker she is!!!

Ok, here's hoping it's not almost a month again before I post. And if it is, hopefully I'll have some more great pics of Yours Truly to share.

Merry Wha'chamacallit

Merry Christmas

To each and every one of you
(even if not all celebrate, Happy Whatever-You-Wanna-Call-It anyway)

And all the best for 2008!

OMG!! DDC, and Savouring

Mom wrote an email to Miss Eleni and told her a lot of stuff so I kept telling Mom to "just write it in my blog!!!!" Anyway, she said she was feeling lazy tonight (Harumph!) so I may as well do it myself. I tell you, if you want something done right, just do it yourself! My what a fantastic pearl of wisdom! I should quote myself!

"If you want something done right, just do it yourself!"
~Kira, 2007.

Mom won't let me go back to the DDC I was going to. I guess I was coming home all full of piss and vinegar and wasn't very nice to be around (a few times). Then the next week Mom would take me back there and I got scared and started to tremble in the car when we turned up the street to the DDC; this happened about 2 months ago. Mom just knew something wasn't right (Mom's are pretty good about stuff like that) but it was too late to turn back home and still get to work on time - so Mom made me go, explained to the lady something wasn't right and for them to watch out for me. Mom said she had a sick, 'squicky' feeling at work and she didn't like what happened in the car (me scared) and the nonchalant response from the DDC person so she got permission to leave work at lunchtime to come get me and take me home. I haven't been back since. Mom said she's talked to a lot of people (just like when she researched the DDC in the first place) and hasn't heard anything negative about the place, just that it's more busy than most places and has more dogs - but that yeah, perhaps larger dogs would be happier there than us little gaffers. So, no more DDC for me...for now ;-)

Mom talked to Mrs VetLady who said an alternative is a private home day care operated by a lady who has 2 acres of fenced-in yard to romp and play in. Mom called the lady and will set up an interview in January, after the Christmas rush is overwith. The maybe-new-DDC is operated out of the lady's home and she only takes in 6 dogs at a time - and she won't take a dog in every day, at most a maximum of one day a week. She does board dogs so I told Mom to be careful when we go there to look for the boarding area to make sure it's all comfy-cozy and legitimate. I'll keep you up to date, but Mom said the preliminary reports and references are positive so there's hope yet!

I updated the Glossary, dear reader, so you might have noticed there's a new game Mom and I have been playing! I'm calling it OMG!! The Oven Mitt Game: Mom puts on this rank old green oven mitt and shadow boxes with me. Of course, it's my job to grab it from her, but she then makes a fist and won't let me have it. So then I find a different angle and snag her thumb then she brushes my teeth with her thumb! At this rate I'll have pearly whites in no time at all! I love it 'cause I get to climb all over Mom as she tries to keep the mitt away from me but I always manage to win in the end - then we toss the flosser a few times before I'm too pooped to play anymore.

That's right: Too Pooped To Play!

Mom says I can thank her co-worker, Jenny, for this new game. I gots to talk to this Jenny person and get her to tell Mom about some more games we can play. Jenny has two dogs and gets to play a lot with them!

On the Willy front, he has this annoying habit of trying to come into MY livingroom at night to prowl around and be a night watchman. That's MY job now, CAT! And it's night watchWOMAN to to YOU, you little hairball! So naturally I had to bark and kick up a storm when I caught Willy in the hallway - at midnight. Mom was somewhat less than impressed with the both of us and let us know in no uncertain terms, Midnight Attacks are not permitted under any circumstances.

But Mom: No one broke into the house that night so we I must have done the job right!

Anyway, Mom and I are going to Vancouver Island for New Years so there's a chance I may score some extra treats from the teenage boys there - you know, 'cause I'm still on a diet! Though Mom cheated tonight and let me have a whole pizza bone to myself - ah, heaven! I savoured that little strip of doughy goodness with it's hint of ham and tomato sauce until I just couldn't take it any more and had to chomp it down. Savouring=1.27 seconds in real time.

What can I say? I'm just a dog!