Light Bulb!

Pardon the dust (I'm still working on getting all the panels done and tile board is dusty), but finally I figured out an easy way to add rails to the pen. A light bulb moment. I have been trying to think of all kinds of ways to add rails, all in the spirit of staying with the "foldability" mission. I was really disappointed that at the last minute I was going to have to make a frame type contraption with PVC to set inside the pen. That seemed like a chore to put it together and take it apart. So, all of a sudden this morning, I tought of a solution so easy, I'm embarrassed I didn't think of it before. It's as easy as drilling a hole in the side panels of the tileboard pen. Duh. So first I did the two panels with the L-trim on it, and tested it out. The PVC fits... check!

Then I measured to set the perpendicular rail so that it fits just underneath the first. I will probably use a zip-tie and lash them together to prevent any potential puppy foot squeezing in between and getting pinched. Not likely, but still possible.

And, to finish the project, it was a simple matter of cutting the PVC pieces to fit through each end and pop a PVC cap on the end. The first photo has the end pulled out from the pen to show the cap. But measured to fit, the caps should fit snuggly on either end of the pen. Voila! Problem solved. It did add another $12 to the total price of making my inexpensive pen. But, $6 was an investment in this really fun drill bit to cut out the holes. So that doesn't really count, at least in my own mind!

Somehow, I have this naggins suspicion that neither of the girls will ever appreciate the effort to make their cozy little puppy pens...

Puppy Shower!

Some surprises are really fun. Like, the surprise when you think you are going to a meeting at work, a meeting about a really important and stressful issue, and you arrive to said "meeting" to find the conference room looking like this:and this:Some of my co-workers thought it would be fun to throw a Puppy Shower for the girls. :-) Who knew that an "old towel" shower could be so much fun! Old towels were sometimes wrapped up in other old towels really creatively.

The shower was complete with Pink Puppy Punch, "Puppy Chow" snack mix, a dog bone placemat, paw print napkins, Costco cake with graham cracker Scoobie Snax, bone-shaped mints (painstakingly made, rolled, and cut out by Marla), and even a bottle of hand sanitizer, special for the germaphobe!Marla really got me, I had no idea anything was up (hence the laptop tucked under my arm!).

Costco cake can draw quite a crowd!

Jennifer and Lori, heading up the shower committee. Thanks ladies!

The presents. Mostly old towels that people donated, and a fun basket with dog and human snacks, and then, well, I know everyone is jealous, but Susan R. brought Syd and Bree a giant bag of chicken leg quarters! awww, so thoughtful!!


And a special poem accompanied the gift of towels from Susan G. All in all, a fun afternoon break, and some really sweet and thoughtful co-workers to share it with! Thanks everyone.

In just five days

Breezy has nearly exploded! She has gained five pounds so far, but she's still as active and athletic as ever.

On the other side of the fence, though, is poor, poor sister Syd. Syd has gained 7 1/2 pounds, and she really looks it.

One of these girls is still a threat to the squirrel population in the neighborhood. The other, not so much.

Breezy-Belly

Breezy finally felt like showing her belly today. She's not much on posing for the camera, she'd rather be in motion than laying still! But don't worry, just because she's getting a round belly, it doesn't keep her from her normal mountain goat activities! She's so cat-like, it's impossible to keep her off the back of the sofa. Especially when the weather is so nice (75 in November, really???) and the windows are open. When the new sofa arrives, I think I'm going to have to try to do something about it!

A different side of things

I'm not sure, but I am thinking that my comparison photos of Sydney laying in full frog-dog may be a thing of the past. Perhaps because her legs might not touch the ground anymore? So now I find her most of the time in this position. It's interesting, because I thought her belly would grow down and maybe out to the sides. But she is clearly also growing UP also, and her back has a definite rise. Makes for a really super-pretty topline! Monday she'll go to our favorite Dr. Perkins DVM for chiropractic to help keep her feeling her best.

And Breezy? Well, Bree is forever the supermodel. She has this tight, cute little puffy belly, and she's looking thicker around her ribs and middle, but she still has a waist, and she still looks as fit as ever. I can see that she looks much different than normal, but anyone who doesn't see her usual svelte, thin self might not even notice. I'm hopeful she won't grow as dramatically as Sydney, and she will have fewer miserable fat days!

This weekend I will be finishing up the ceiling-to-floor cleaning of the two puppy rooms. I have been needing to do it for a long time, but just put it off. Nothing like puppies on the way to motivate me! And the local women's shelter and Salvation Army are going to benefit too, because I'm loading up the van with things I really need to just get rid of and donating them this weekend.

Dramatic, as usual

Syd at 30 days post-ov. Syd at 35 days post-ov.

And then, because I was trying to wait and do every 5 days, I noticed THIS last night, talk about a dramatic change in just three days...

Syd, 38 days post-ov. I didn't realize she was going to grow in a triangular shape!

Puppy Pen, Final Version

I finally had a bit of time last night and tonight to finish the touch-up painting to cover the black screws, putting the panel on the door of the ex-pen, and fixing the opening to be gentle on momma-dog bellies. Whew, I'm glad to be done. As usual, click to "biggify" the pix. I used a piece of foam on the door, I think it's intended for pipe insulation. I wrapped a piece of soft terry cloth around and tucked under the slit, and slid the entire tube over the opening.

.

And here's the pen broken down. Voila, virtually flat, and so easy to store! That's the best part of the whole thing! I do have a 3 x 3 flat piece of tileboard to put under the pen as well, but also flat!


Hey, who let this character in here? Uncle, you just have to know everything about everything, he's given the entire thing a good sniffing just to be sure there's no food inside.

The girls checking out the pretty new pen. Sydney, glaring at me. "Excuse me, but isn't this supposed to be my own private space?"

And then Breezy. When I opened the door to let her out, she stayed in and invited her boy toys in to hang with her and clean her ears. Sheesh, I think she's going to have the boys raise her babies for her! Breezy definitely has the boys all charmed. :-)

Puppy Pens? Check!

Hooray! Puppy pens, CHECK! I decided I was going to have to do puppy pens on a budget, but I also needed fold-down-ability. During one of our recent trips to Lowes, The Hawklet and I discovered something called "tileboard." I'm sure all these things are familiar to most people, but I had never had a reason to notice it before. Hmmm, I thought it just might fit the bill. The nice people at Lowes will cut at no charge, so I had them cut the 4 x 8 sheet into strips. I bought some trim that's an "L" shape, and headed home.

Tonight, I imposed upon friends who already do SO much for me and my dogs. I loaded all the pieces and parts in the van and motored over to visit Don and Jacque. Don did all the fine-tuning on cutting the pieces to fit exactly in the xpen and attaching the "L" trim to the two side pieces. Jacque and I, uh, "supervised" the operation. I think Don invited us more than once that we could go back in the house, he'd manage without us. :-P

Now, it'll take a bit more paint and cleaning up, and I have another piece of tileboard to attach to the swinging door to make the wall appear solid where the cut-out is (when the door is closed), but voila, puppy pen for under $25, it fits perfectly inside the small white pen, and it is completely flat for storage. whew! Oh, and with one 4 x 8 sheet of tileboard for each box, I got the 4 sides, plus half of the sheet to put under the entire thing. Shiny white and completely washable.

Some pix of the puppy pen. As Garrett would say, you should be able to click and "biggify" the photos.

More Bouncing Baby News

More Bouncing Baby News from Breezy!

Careful, Bree, we didn't mean bouncing babies literally!

You may have read over at Syd's Blog that Syd (CH Kingsbury's It's My Alias NAC TN-N) is expecting puppies by "Mick," CH Telltail Like a Rolling Stone (WD, BOS at the 2009 CWCCA National Specialty from the Bred-by class!).

Well, more good news to share, Breezy (Kingsbury's Cover Girl) is also expecting babies, this litter sired by CH Telltail T For Two, "Smarty." Smarty has sired some lovely puppies, including the handsome Dickens. We are very anxious to welcome happy, healthy babies from Breezy on or about December 5th! While these puppies will be registered as Cardigan Welsh Corgis, I'm pretty sure they could be part Mountain Goat like their mother, always in the air, bouncing around, climbing, leaping.

It's going to be a busy winter in the Hurrikane household!

Who needs agility classes? This was taken through the back door window. When Bree gets this muddy, I call her the tri-color undercarriage cardigan. She loves to perch at the top of the Aframe and look out on the neighborhood. I think I need to build the dogs a wooden play gym like the kids have. ;-)

More Daddy-dog Pix

Some more photos of Daddy-dog Mick. All photos generously shared and copyright by Emily @ dreameyce. Mick is CH Telltail Like A Rolling Stone. He made quite a splash at the 2009 CWCCA National Specialty. Mick won WD, and then went on to win BOS from the Bred-by Class! Congratulations to Paula O. and Telltail!