Jeff and I found a kitten in our yard yesterday. We took it in, but it keeps escaping our backyard. Then coming back. Then escaping again. And in the middle of my work day today I receive a text from my aunt, who lives in Oregon.
Lyn: Do you have a grey kitten?
Me: Yes… We just found it yesterday. Trying to find its home, but can’t seem to.
Lyn: Diana [her friend who is apparently the principal at the elementary school across the street] just called and said it’s at the school. Want me to have her keep an eye on it?
That’s kind of really hilarious to me. My aunt, 700 miles away, knew where our estranged kitty was, while we hadn’t even realized she’d gone missing. What are the odds?!
A few weeks ago, Jeff finally talked me into getting a dog. As long as I’ve known him, he’s always wanted a wiener dog. And as long as he’s known me, I’ve never wanted a dog. Ever. I’m pretty much a cat lady. I don’t mind dogs, but cats have just always seemed so much easier and more manageable. And they don’t smell. Haha
But after thinking about it, I guess I realized, I don’t like big dogs. Well, I love them in general. They’re just not for me, personally – I could never own one. Just too much energy in large sizes. That and most big dogs I’ve known hurt me. They get too excited and jump up on me and can probably tell I’m scared and feed on it. So, I decided, I could probably tolerate small dogs. And I realized… dachshunds are sort of cat sized!
In all seriousness though, I had been thinking about succumbing for quite some time. I knew it was really important to Jeff, and the more we talked about it, the more excited I got about it. So, I got the go ahead from my mom (she owns the house we’re renting) and we went and picked out a dog… that night!
The breeder we went to lived about 45 minutes away and had three litters to choose from. I don’t know what I expected to see at the house, but it sure wasn’t what we actually saw. We got to the house and were greeted by 12 adult dachshunds that barked and swarmed to the door like bees to a hive. It. Was. Amazing. On top of that, the family had 2 other full sized dogs, some sort of Chao and another that was a very overweight Lab and two cats. Pet City.
The three dachshund litters were born within 3 days of each other. So we had quite a few cuties to choose from. We took our time. I think we were there for over an hour. Held almost every puppy and about 45 minutes in – We were hooked. We picked out a girl and paid for her, in full, right then and there. The breeder told us we could pick her up as soon as July 3rd. By then she was fully weened off her mother.
So we drove home, so excited we couldn’t stop smiling and instantly started brainstorming names. Buttercup, Molly, Chelsea, Pumpkin, Sophie. There was a list of probably 30 contenders. We waited our 3 weeks patiently and every day talked about which names we wanted. We went back and forth. Jeff got really frustrated and wished we would have picked a boy because boy names are easier. Haha
But two days before we went to pick her up, we decided on Penelope. For the most part, we call her Penny.
Penny’s settled in pretty well. We have very sleepless nights, and long playful days. But it’s all worth it. She came into a home with 2 cats, which we assumed would have dominance since they have seniority. But turns out, Penny’s the new head honcho, and we’re all just at her whim.
Not entirely sure how this new trick came about, but at some point of the night, we decided to have the cats try skateboarding. It was fully amusing. Maybe I’m bias because they’re my cats – but I thought it was pretty awesome that Sonny went for it (As usual for Tucker, not so much). The first time it happened. He laid down on the board. Classic. Here’s a (very short) video of one of our successes:
He’s been tolerant of our attempts to teach him how to be like Rob Dyrdek’s dog Meaty, and even tried Sam’s longboard last night. Eventually, maybe we can get him to actually pump it.
Jeff’s moving in next week so we’re starting to get ready for that. Yesterday he was brainstorming things he could start bringing over, so he thought of his turtle, Sherman, since that’s the only thing he doesn’t need/use everyday. I got him Sherman for our anniversary in April, so I’m pretty excited he gets to come be my pet too. Jeff brought him over last night, so we’re all getting used to the new addition, especially Tucker and Sonny.
Tucker, Sherman, and Sonny.
Tucker just sits there and watches him all the time. Sonny kind of acts like he’s scared of him. Whenever Sherman moves (which is rarely) and Sonny notices, he’ll run into another room as fast as possible. It’s kind of really hilarious. I’ve already caught Tucker up on top of Sherman’s tank once… so here’s hoping a) Tucker doesn’t figure out how to get the lid off and b) that Sonny doesn’t follow Tucker’s lead and also gets on top of the tank… because it would probably break through since Sonny’s so tubby.
A strawberry snack for Sherman.
Also on the pet updates note, Tucker and Sonny have begun to regularly have lick-attacking fights. They’ll wrestle each other until one pins the other and starts licking their face as vigorously as possible. Then whoever is being licked will bat their paw at the other one and the fighting will begin all over again. The best is when they do it at the top of the kitty condo. But mostly, it’s just all together adorable.
As told in one of my first blogs, Tucker has a habit of stealing straws and running off with them. I usually found them later. Or so I thought… Really he was just stashing them under the rug. This is what I found when I lifted it up the week I moved:
Arriving in Idaho:
My stuff ended up being delivered really late thanks to the very inconsiderate moving company. So because I had extra time, I decided to try and stay positive and paint while I waited. I decided to go bold. But only in small areas. These photos really don’t do it justice. But it was fun and I think they turned out great.
A little bedroom we're making the office
The Accent Wall
The Bathroom
These pictures were taken, if you couldn’t tell, right after we painted. I’ll post newer ones where my stuff is actually in the house soon.
Oh, and it snowed the first weekend I lived at the new house. A little too early in the season for my taste, but luckily, it didn’t stick.
