snow, snow, snow, snow . . . . .

Snow Day

Even as an adult I still love the feeling of waking up to the suprise of snow. At least for today it was only the dogs and myself that got out to enjoy the winter wonderland. Moira still has near panic attacks about the snow and Nick's home sick. Suki and Kess have been charging around all morning having a blast. I figure I'll get Moira bundled up after her nap and try once again to show her how much fun snow is.

Looks like we found our first remodel project

This morning Nick wanted to take a look behind the shower insert in the guest bathroom upstairs. The seal on it was broken in a couple of spots and mainly we wanted to check/clean up any mold and re-seal it until we were ready for the major remodel. Well once the first panel was removed it became apparent that there was quite a lot of damage. All of the 2x4's and exterior sheeting are rotted through right out to the exterior siding which you can see in the picture. Since this will require actual structural repair it's a bit intimidating for our first project, so we'll have to call in some expert advice. So while it's a little depressing after a project like this we should be comfortable tackling other projects around the house.

Sew busy

Well for whatever reason I launched in to a flurry of sewing activity over the last week and I wanted to show them off.

This is a quilt I've started for Moira's birthday. I still have to cross stitch the four corner panels to complete the top and bottom rows, but I've got enough done that you can get the idea. This will be my first quilt and even though a couple of my seams didn't line up exactly I'm pleased with the outcome so far.

I made these two covers for boppy pillows for my sisters baby.

Last but not least I cranked out 3 baby blankets. One for me, one for my sister, and one for a co-worker of Nick's.

In addition to the quilt I have a couple of other projects I'd like to complete in feb. so lets hope my enthusiasm isn't diminished as the projects go on.

Well at least I can blame it on hormones . . .

Well somehow I convinced Nick we should get another dog. I have been browsing craigslist and petfinder for around a year looking for a smaller dog that likes kids. I really wanted a mix, and I came across border collie/jack russel. I was expecting something smaller, but she had a great temperament and let Moira hug and kiss on her, which was really the most important thing. Her name is suki. She's got a nice light and athletic build, and though we had a few rough days everyone has settled into their routine and we're all getting along now. Kess is still a little jealous, but she's starting to realize that having another dog around can be pretty fun.

Snow and sunshine

Well Moira was really excited about the snow a couple of weeks ago. She kept running to the window and pointing and declaring sno sno sno. So despite it being dark and cold out we bundled her up and headed outside. It was at this point that Moira decided she wanted nothing to do with the snow. she refused to put her legs down at first and eventually conceded to standing right next to us as long as she could pelt Kess with snowballs.

The following day proved to be nice and sunny so we hung out on the stoop for a while and eventually Moira took some tentative steps out into the snow. She still wasn't very keen on the whole thing, but at least she worked through her snow anxiety.

Do you soduku?

Moira loves to copy mom and dad. She'll sit for quite some time carefully making little marks in the soduku book, and of course she has to ham it up a little when the camera comes out.

Kess Herding

Most of you know that Kess and I have taken sheep herding lessons off and on since we got her. This is really a great outlet for her and a chance for me to develop a completely different relationship with my dog. While she's not quite ready for the hills of Scotland we've had about 15 lessons with a new instructor and she's really doing well so I thought I'd post some video. Since I'm very preggo now Brian handles her most of the time, the stick he's holding just has a plastic bag tied to it, and though he gets after her a little for those of you who know Kess hitting her upside the head with a 2x4 would only distract her momentarily. Our focus in training is to get her to work at a calm speed and to be thoughtful about her actions while around the sheep.