Surprise!

So my niece arrived, as planned, with her partner plus a tag along …

Unexpected that was!

She surprised me by bringing my sister who I haven’t seen for nine years!

We have been drinking and swimming and laughing and talking and eating since lunch time today and I am exhausted!

She is sleeping in my bed with me but is currently rifling through my ample jewellery collection as I write this.

So this is short and sweet because I need to sleep.

Nite all.

Harley Monster

I’m thinking … now that Harley doesn’t have to contend with his siblings, the monster within is emerging!

There are three very attentive adults living here right now, all of whom have Harley’s best interests at heart, so we are watching his every move 95% of the time.

Yet, in that other 5% of the time, he still:

• Shreds indoor plants.
• Destroys garden ornaments.
• Breaks off orchid plant stems.
• Chews the legs on furniture.
• Pulls the lining off the bottom of the dining chairs.
• Locates the plastic cups we use for propagating and tosses and chases them around the alfresco area.
• Picks pebbles out of the outdoor garden, chews them and then leaves them scattered everywhere.
• Pulls the stickers off planter pots in the garden.

*sigh*

Luckily enough, this was a dead plant in a pot that he pulled out way down in the back yard, dragged it to the back doorstep where he chewed it to oblivion!

My favourite middle niece is visiting overnight tomorrow so BGWLBH drove into The Bay for some new bedding for our single beds.

Adoring Husband and I spent the last couple of weeks clearing out the old art room and discovered that the 15 yr old linen for the single beds was too deteriorated to use anymore. They were stored in vacuum bags on top of the wardrobe.

I purchased light 2 x light doonas, 2 x fitted sheet sets and 2 x doona covers. Choices were limited for single beds. Almost all of them were themed for kids but I found a couple of sneaky sale items and will take pics when the beds are made tomorrow.

Adoring Husband has almost got all the outdoor Christmas lights and decorations up outside.

Now I need sleep because no doubt there will be another 4am start tomorrow with Harley.

Nite all.

Planned Destruction of the Australian Constitution by Jeremy Lee 1991

Planned Destruction of the Australian Constitution but Jeremy Lee 1991

I’m worn out.

With an impressive domino effect that started with Colli barking at 3am and finished with all of us awake, tired and frustrated by 4.30am, I especially am suffering due to lack of sleep

I began to write the story in detail but I’m just too tired so you got the abridged version.

Today we learned:

• Harley can fit the front half of his body between the wrungs of the pool fence, but his hips won’t fit.
• Harley enjoys eating the stems of orchids and pebbles from the landscaped area of our garden.
• Harley is the leader of the pack whose single member is AH.
• Harley is not yet completely toilet trained.
• Harley enjoys running from behind you and plopping on the floor right in front of you - I see broken limbs in our future.

I am now completely exhausted..

Nite all.

Puppy Love

Excess deaths, lack of data

Puppy love.

Harley is pretty amazing.

Adoring Husband left the kitchen light on when he went to bed last night, so when Harley opened his eyes at 1.30am, he thought it was time to get up. He gave a little whine, so I got up, saw the light on, took Harley outside to pee, turned the lights out and put him back to bed.

When I closed my bedroom door, he whimpered so I walked out, pet his head and said “Stay here. It’s still bed time.”

Not another sound.

He woke at 4am but I’m certain he only woke because not so psychotic dog, Colli, was shrieking to be let out for her morning toileting, otherwise I’m sure he’d have slept longer.

We went outside at 4am and he did all of his business, explored the yard for a bit, had a drink and at 5am I gave him some raw mince. He very happily played with his toys outside until I put him back in his bed at 5.15am and I too returned to bed.

We were woken by AH and BGWLBH returning from their morning walk so I got up again at 6am and made myself breakfast and a cup of tea.

Today was coffee morning with the art girls and the first outing for Harley.

Lots of ‘firsts’ - first outing, first meeting with new people, first meeting with other dogs, first time riding in the trike, first time wearing a harness and first time on a leash.

He rode very well in the basket on the back of my trike - not perfect yet - all the way to the Lions Park and back.

While we were at the park, he was very well behaved getting pats and cuddles from all the ladies. He met two other dogs, both poodles and he was a perfect gentleman.

He was very relaxed and happy the whole time. I felt very proud of him.

We were home by 11am but had to go out again to deliver money to the Happy Hippy for eggs that she provided this morning. I forgot to take money to the park.

He was excellent in the car and friendly to everyone who wanted to Pat him.

At home, I cut up a leftover steak for his lunch and made my own lunch.

He plonked himself under the dining table and slept for a solid 2 hours.

When he woke, he took himself outside to toilet and played with his toys both outside and inside.

Whenever he tries to chew something he shouldn’t (like the furniture) I toss one of his toys nearby and he’s immediately distracted and chooses to play and chew on the toy instead.

He already recognises my angry sound and when I make it, he immediately stops what he’s doing and moves away. I made it three times today. Once when he was chewing a plant, once when he tried to eat the bark chips from under the compost bin and once when he tried to bounce on poor unsuspecting Colli.

He had another hour long nap this afternoon - as did I while laying on the couch!

While I cooked dinner he ate some plain yoghurt and some kibble, played with his toys outside, sat at the end of the kitchen watching me and wagging his tail and then plonked himself next to the couch to nap some more while we ate dinner.

After dinner we played for a while then he came onto the couch for a while. At 7.30pm I put him to bed and within ten minutes he was sound asleep again - that’s where he still is.

I’m very impressed with my little man. Such a sweetie.

As good as he is, it’s very tiring for me, being alert to where he is at all times and meeting his needs, attempting to train him in the small things and keeping him out of trouble. Still, that IS what I signed up for!

Now I’m very tired and I need to catch up on some sleep.

Nite all.

My Good Boy

 Died Suddenly (A one hour video full of important information that you may not wish to know)

Well, Harley slept well for his first night away from his brothers and sisters. He slept soundly for 6.5 hours.

He slept in a pen on the cold tiles outside my bedroom door.

I wanted him in bed with me, but his body runs hot and he can’t even get comfortable on our couch - he moves every two minutes trying to find a cooler spot.

So tiles it is.

I was awake at 4.15am to deal with Harley. I guess that will be my new normal and there’ll be no more staying in bed till midday now!

Adoring Husband had to babysit this morning because BGWLBH and I had appointments at the nail salon.

Even though he didn’t follow my instructions, Harley was still alive when I returned. That’s gotta be a good thing right?

Harley has been pretty good but we must never leave him to his own devices for I fear that our furniture will be chewed beyond repair! My skin is proof of how sharp those teeth are.

It’s almost 11pm so I’d best sleep if I’m going to be up at sparrow’s fart for Harley again.

Nite all.

He’s Here

Look at this precious little face …

He is so relaxed and happy! And so BIG for an 8 week old pup 😳

It’s almost 10pm and he is asleep outside my bedroom door, in a pen, on the tiles. There is a sheet and his own little blanket on one half of the pen but he loves to lay and sleep on the cool tiles.

I tried to have him beside me on the couch but it was too hot for him and he kept moving every couple of minutes trying to find a cool spot. I figured there’s no point in putting him in my bed as planned because it would be too hot for him there too!

I’m told he sleeps through until about 4.30am so we’ll see if that happens tonight.

Tomorrow I have an appointment in town so Adoring Husband will be in charge for a few hours. That should be interesting.

It was lovely to see Best Cousin in the World and Marco Polo. They came with Harley in their arms and a huge box of goodies including dog food, toys, blankets, feeding mat, slow feeder, food bowl, paperwork to switch ownership and update the microchip details, health insurance details and more which I haven’t looked at or read yet.

Not so psychotic dog Colli is not the slightest bit perturbed and they’ve barely sniffed at each other so that’s one concern crossed off the list.

So far, it’s all good, but I know that having a puppy is not going to be all smooth sailing and I hope I’m mentally and emotionally prepared for what’s to come.

Might be a good idea to attempt some sleep just in case Harley decides to disturb me through the night.

Nite all.

One More

One more sleep until Harley arrives - although by the time you read this, he will be here!

I am feeling nervous anticipation 😳

Discombobulation is how I felt today.

I really wanted to get stuff done today but my brain was struggling to focus on any one thing.

I was out of bed much later than anticipated and I made myself bacon and eggs with toast. As soon as Colli smells the toast, she’s at my feet waiting for her share. It has now become a morning tradition which I quite enjoy.

By the time I’d cleaned up from breakfast, the others were looking for lunch so the best I could offer was a fruit smoothie - pineapple, orange, banana, mango, passionfruit and coconut water.

I spent some time in the art space trying to figure out what to do next. I went into YouTube but was distracted by other videos regarding current world events which took up more than an hour.

I took about 20 minutes clearing some more bits and pieces from the old art room.

Then I sat down to watch more Portrait Artist of the Year until it was time to cook dinner. 

I made chilli chicken potato pie with a shard of crispy chicken skin piercing the top and with a side of buttered green beans and roasted cherry tomatoes. Quite delicious and full of nutritional goodness.

We watched the Lego show and here it is at 9.30pm and I’m in bed.

I need to get up reasonably early to prepare some salads and sweets for our barbecue lunch welcoming Harley. Best Cousin in the World and Marco Polo are delivering him and we haven’t seen them for quite some time so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

We had a short sharp storm tonight that dumped about 3 minutes of heavy rain on top of us. Short and sweet. There is more forecast for tomorrow.

Now I’m off to sleep.

Nite all.