Nikki, My Little Goof & Callie, My Brave Girl ...

Ah, the Nikkster was in rare form last night. She backed out of her car harness in the Petsmart parking lot and then almost backed out of her collar too! Luckily, a woman helped me get her under control and she tightened Nikki's collar. (See, I took her to Petsmart the day before to be groomed and they put the collar on too loose.) Talk about scary. I had to drop everything and grab her so she wouldn't take off. Again, was I lucky that lady stopped to help me!

Another mistake I made was getting to Petsmart too early last night ... 1/2 hour before training. I thought she'd get there and calm down, but I don't it quite happened that way. I was worn out before training started!!

We worked on Sit with distractions and Come with distractions, also Heel, Leave It and Drop It. I had brought her new Big Mean Kitty toy (really cute!) to class but that didn't distract her enough. Luckily the teacher also had brought toilet paper rolls. Nikki covets paper. I could be reading something and she'll leap up and tear it out of my hand. She did that to the election booklet. Anyway, when we first practiced Come, she stopped to grab the TP rolls but then later, she came when called. I need to work on that one with another person.

Oh, and guess we're no longer going to use Let's Go when we walk, but Heel. Heel is more formal and you start on the same foot as the side she's on. So it's Heel (walk 5 paces or so), then Sit (clicker, treat), OK, Heel. OK is the release command. The clicker is the same as saying Yes. Good idea to click and say yes at the same time as you won't always have a clicker in hand. Nikki tends to sit in front of me and that isn't good enough. So I have to make her sit on my side. Then she gets the clicker and the treat.

Took Callie in for more radiation today. Luckily, we don't have to go back until Saturday. I think she's not eating as much and she keeps blinking and has more eye discharge. I'm sure it's related to the radiation. Again, she lost weight. Callie is happy to be home. Very cute. On the way home, I opened up her cat carrier and petted her with my right hand while I drove. When we were almost home, she rested her head against my hand. What a little love.

Joey Bear still sneezes a little bit. Max and Callie are fine, however, as far as sneezing goes!

It's been threatening rain all day but we've had nothing but a few sprinkles. The gardener hasn't shown up in weeks and Noe (the guy who needs to finish the construction job) hasn't shown up yesterday or today. I may put a sealer on the stone to bring out the color. Guess there are different sealers to choose from ... have to ask if there's pros and cons to applying the sealer.

Went to Dunn Edwards to pick up new paint combo books. Unfortunately, the new ones won't be out for another 2 weeks. But they'll have even more combo books in January. Darn. I think Travertine might be too dark for the body. I might be interested in Cashmere for the Stucco and Coral Clay for the siding. Whisper for the trim. Not sure about the accent ....

Well, how's this? Cashmere for the stucco, Coral Clay for the siding, Swiss Coffee for the trim and Burnt Crimson for the shutters, etc. Also, there's this possible combo: Barley for the stucco, Whisper for the trim, not sure about the siding ... but it would be 2 shades darker than Barley ... and Woodlawn Green for the shutters, etc. I really like the Burnt Crimson but wonder if it's too close to the door color? Woodlawn Green would go with both combos. The Cashmere combo is more subtle, more taupe. The Barley is more on the browns and tan side and is brighter. Barley is darker than Cashmere. But keep in mind that I need to tie in my gray roof with my paint choice. This is vital.

Feedback please!

Trying to start my children's story but am having a hard time deciding if it should be a practical story or a whimsical one. Not easy to decide tone, what "person" to tell the story in - and age group!