The Hex Files

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Absolutely agree. Tax it, regulate it, fine for DUI...just like booze and tobacco.

And for Gods' sake...let me have the only medication that actually WORKS for me.

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It's a toss up between my go-to comfort food: Grilled cheese

and my super-NOMinous invention:

Avocado, lettuce, tomato, roasted peppers and goat cheese on a baguette. Drizzle a little of the oil from the roasted peppers on it and NOM!

I haven't done one of these in a while.


If you wish, try to answer each of the following with one word only.

Where is your cell phone? table
Your significant other? hobbit
Your hair? growing
Your mother? dead
Your father? crazy
Your favorite thing? love
Your dream last night? puppies
Your favorite drink? cachaca
What room are you in? living
Your hobby? knitting
Your fear? insecurity
Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
Where were you last night? bed
Something that you aren't? healthy
Muffins? chocolate
Wish list item? tattoo
Last thing you did? comment
TV? Lost
Your pets? puppies
Friends? adored
Your life? meh
Your mood? tired
Missing someone? yes
Drinking? soda
Smoking? unfortunately
Your car? Kia
Something you're not wearing? shoes
Your favorite store? Pier
Your favorite color? green
When is the last time you cried? Navarre

( Rainy Friday )

Will be clicking like a ninja.

Wednesday Caniners

Stylish 20-something woman to overweight pug breathing heavily: Well, Winifred, you're out of breath because you're out of shape. (pause) No, you're not fat. You're voluminous. (pause) Yes, I am aware it's not all your fault. Mummy likes to watch you eat powder doughnuts. (pause) Pugs that look like they have a coke habit are very funny for mummy, yes they are.

--Central Park

Young hipster to Labrador, as people approach: Come on! Come on! Say hello! (dog remains seated, doing nothing) God! I've been training him for months to talk to couples and it just isn't working!

--Williamsburg

Woman to her dog: Don't be an insult to your species! Act like a dog!

--10th St & Broadway

Lady to little barking dog: Shut up. This is not your sidewalk.

--Brooklyn

via Overheard in New York, Jan 27, 2010

Wherein Harley and Joker are tussling over a rope bone. The higher pitched growl is Harley...such a diva!

I love these guys, I really do but DAMN I miss Navarre. He was my source of sanity most days. When I needed to rest, he rested with me. When I was more active, he played with me. I do think we made a mistake adopting these two so quickly after Navarre's death - I didn't give myself time to grieve. But, I don't think I'd have done very well without them either -- it would be extremely lonely here during the week. Plus, we HAD to get Joker out of the pound before he was euthanized. So all in all, I have my bitches but I love these puppies.

House training is the hardest part. We've taken up all the rugs since I'd rather mop up wet spots on the wood floors than have to keep steam cleaning them. Joker can hold it, he's certainly old enough to do so. Even if he doesn't have to go, when we take them out, he'll squeeze out a few drops. Harley, on the other hand, can't hold it. She's learning to go to the door when she needs to go, but if we don't see her go down the hall, we don't know. She'll also forget and piddle wherever she is if she's playing. So, the work continues...we put a hanging bell on the door and I hope to be able to teach them to touch it when they're at the door so we know to take them out.

Oh, and Harley doesn't really like to go out in the rain. So, she'll go into the sun porch to do her business. It's outside, right? (Sort of). *sigh*

On a positive note: Both pups are learning "Sit" and "Come". Harley is pretty smart for a little one, she got "Sit" even before Joker did. Until I decipher which dog needs what commands reinforced, they can be trained together. The only ones I'll need to do separately will be "Heel" and "Stay". "Stay" is a tough one to teach, since puppies are so easily distracted. But for the most part, they are both doing well.

Joker needs education about his licking. He licks EVERYONE and EVERYWHERE. I've somewhat managed to get it across that I don't want him to lick me continuously...but that's another behavior that will take time to correct. He's slowly coming to realize that he's not going to starve, but he still gets into scavenger mode. He's counter-surfed and table-surfed already, so that's another issue to tackle.

Harley is too young to have any major issues, except bite inhibition. Joker can take a lot of punishment, but I'm sure at some point, he's going to set her straight. Even when he does correct her she just goes back for more. She's learning to be more careful with us, though. AND, she's lost two teeth!! It's so cute...she has holes where her little front teeth once were. Hehe.

When they're playing, you'd swear they were out to kill each other but now that Harley isn't quite so tiny, Joker can play a bit rougher with her. He still overdoes it on occasion, but so far so good.

They both play fetch. It's hysterical to see them running down the hall for the ball and now without the rugs, they don't have any way to stop their momentum. Lots of sliding around...

Suffice it to say, I'm exhausted. These guys keep me on my toes all day. I only get to rest when they're napping, and they often sleep when I'm not sleepy. They're not *quite* as unhappy in their crates as they used to be, but I got a battery for the no-bark collar, just in case (spray, not shock). I asked the neighbors if they heard the dogs and they said no, but...I can hear them outside so I doubt the neighbors were being truthful.

So pretty much, my life is puppy, puppy and more puppy. And pee. Lots of cleaning up pee. I can't WAIT until Harley is potty-trained. I'm just thankful that I'm home to take care of it. For the life of me, I can't remember how I got 'Beau and Navarre trained, it was so long ago. Then again, they were crated for large parts of the day while I was at work...maybe I need to crate them more...hmmmm...

One week into puppy parenthood, and I'm pooped. The last time I had a puppy was when we brought Navarre home 6+ years ago. Before that, it was Isabeau. Each time we adopted a puppy, we had an older dog at home already so we didn't have to housebreak and train them both and the older dog sort of showed them the ropes.

Now, we have TWO puppies at one time. Yes, we're insane. Many of my online groups said so, but I soldiered on. They're doing well enough, though. Harley has learned her name and (mostly) comes when you call her. So does Joker. Both of them are slowly learning to let us know when they need to go out. Joker can hold it, but he seems to either forget or choose not to. Thank heavens for wood floors and the Bissell!!

They rumble around together and although it seems that Harley is totally terrorizing Joker, he seems to like it. When he's had enough, he warns her off. It's a little disconcerting to see his huge maw swallow her entire head, but he's really very gentle with her. She, on the other hand, is a complete prima donna. She bites his ears, lips, cheeks; chews on his tail and feet. And those puppy teeth are vicious! But he just laps it up. They play tug-of-war, and he lifts her off the ground!

I'm tired, though. We've separated their crates into two different bedrooms and at least that makes them quiet through the night. Liana's had to get up a few times during the night to take Harley out to potty, and Joker is mostly quiet all night. It's hard to get anything done around here, since they're both underfoot constantly. We're going to need to put up baby gates at the kitchen entrances so they don't get into things, or into trouble.

Well, at least I don't have to rush home on my lunch hour for puppy duty. I haven't been able to get a picture of Joker alone, since he's never alone. But here are some sleepy puppy faces.

Finally, the two are crated and sleeping after a couple of hours of insanity. Harlequin is trying to attach herself to Joker's neck...and he's so tolerant. He's extremely good-natured, all he wants to do is give us kisses. Thankfully, he's big enough to get up on the couch to escape the onslaught of Harley. I'm amazed at how easily he's adapting, in just a couple of hours. A lot of him reminds me of Navarre, so there have been some happy-sad tears for all of us.

I think this will be good, if crazy for a while. Our place is big enough for the two of them, and having to train and socialize them will force me to be more active. Navarre was content to just lie around with me all day. Having Fibro will mean I'll be aching and tired, but I NEED to move and be more active than I've been. Heck, I'm aching and tired anyway, so it won't be much of a change.

We couldn't get Joker to sit still long enough for a picture, but Will caught a video of the two of them jumping on AJ, Liana's friend.