My Neighbor is Leaving

Do you remember my neighbor, Marianne? She was unemployed and then she fell and hurt her leg and had to have surgery. Well, things have turned around for her a bit.

Marianne is a social worker and before she fell, she had applied for a job in Nunavut and had been accepted if she could meet certain conditions by providing references and paperwork. Well, even though she had the surgery, she met her obligations. Last weekend she let me know she had been accepted for the job.

Yesterday she phoned and told me she is leaving February 18th. She will keep her house and possibly return when she has leave. She will be in the Baffin Island area. What a great opportunity for her. She will be making good money, possibly come home for visits and get to enjoy the beauty of Canada's North.

Congratulations, Marianne. Though I will miss your company, I wish you all the best on your new adventure.

What will this mean for my blogging friends? I'm hoping she will send lots of photos through email that I can share with you. Possibly she will be able to tell a few tales as well. She has worked in Nunavut before and so she knows what she's up against. I think this is a marvelous opportunity and almost wish that I was going with her, but then I couldn't bear to leave here because of family and my new little Dakota.

Enjoy the weekend, my friends. We are to have warmer weather and I'm hoping that we can get out with the grandsons and Dakota for some fresh air and sunshine. If we do, I will be sure to take along the camera. ~Blessings, Mary~

PS. For those who aren't aware, Nunavut (pronounced noon-a-voot) is Canada's newest territory. You can find Baffin Island just above the red lettering at Hudson's Bay that says Canada. Look up and just a little to the right. Hope this helps.

A Better Day with Dakota

I went to bed right after posting last night and put Dakota in his box in our bedroom. It told him, "Bed time." He seems to get this and went to sleep. However, just after hubby left for work, I heard him whine and get out of the box. By the time I got to the kitchen, he was wetting on the newspaper by the back door.

When he had finished his business, I put him back in his box and once again said, "Bed time." I never heard another sound out of him until hubby got home this morning, though there was evidence that he had used the newspaper earlier, as it was wet.

Immediately, hubby took Dakota outside and he actually did BIG business outside. That is great. I am hoping not to pick up too much puppy poop and it's great he went outside.

Here he is coming back up the sidewalk. You can tell his approximate size by hubby's feet. He wears a size 9, so he doesn't have a large foot.
Dakota sitting in the living room. He will sit when I tell him most of the time, and now he is starting to respond to his name. I called his name while poising the camera and he looked right at me.

Hubby and I decided to surprise Brandon and Jordan and take Dakota to pick them up from school. They were dying to see him again. Above, hubby has Dakota wrapped in a towel so he won't widdle in the van.

The boys were delighted that we picked them up and then took Dakota back to their place to meet Michelle and their dog, Buddy. Here the boys are holding him on the couch.

Jordan has a time holding Dakota as sometimes he's a bit wiggly. Here he's trying to get away.

Then they played the game of running around the table. Dakota got a little excited and widdled on the floor. Brandon got some paper towel and cleaned it up. That really surprised me.

Dakota got to meet the boys' dog, Buddy. I was surprised at how well Buddy accepted Dakota because he was infringing on Buddy's territory and Buddy doesn't usually like others of his species. However, he seemed to like Dakota and he wasn't at all afraid. Hopefully this means Dakota will be easy to socialize. We like to take our dogs to the dog park and of course there are all different breeds of dogs there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm happy with the way he reacted.

Buddy was getting a little excited near the end, so Michelle held Dakota while I got my coat on. He is watching Buddy like a hawk. Michelle thinks he's cute and Barry came home while we were there and he even held Dakota for a while.

There isn't much in my life right now except Dakota. When he sleeps I either work on my writing or do chores. Not much of either getting done but today was a much better day and he's learning, so that is a plus.

On another note, Brandon handed in his choices for his high school courses today. He chose welding, horticulture, life studies and a few others that he thinks he will be interested in. I think he chose wisely. Originally, he had chosen gym over life studies, but when he found out he would learn to cook and that they have a restaurant at the high school, he changed gym to life studies. I think that course will be good for him and he will learn to wait on tables, cook, clean up and other things that go with working in a restaurant. Gym is not something that he always enjoys, so I think he made a good decision with that.

Take care. Anytime you get tired of hearing about Dakota, let me know and I will try very hard to find something else to blog about. ~Blessings, Mary~

I'm Tuckered Out

This post will be short and sweet because Dakota has me plum tuckered out. He slept all night, but woke me up this morning at 5:45. Now I don't mind getting up fairly early but I'd like it to be at least an hour later than that. However, he had other plans.

He was frisky all day and you have to keep your eye on him every minute. He can find things I didn't even realize were in this house. Like small pieces of paper and if he can't find one, he uses the newspaper we have by the kitchen door to make his own.

He is a cutey though. I bought him a chicken leg squeeze toy at the grocery store this morning. Watching him carry it around the house is hilarious. He takes it by the small end and carries it until he gets tired and then he drags it.

He slept from 6:30 tonight until about 8pm and then napped until 10pm. Now he is up and a ball of energy. I told hubby he could watch him until he goes to work. I'm going to bed. I'm not sure how long it will be for, so best be getting there.

Though every muscle in our bodies ache from bending down and chasing him around, we wouldn't trade him for anything. He seems to be very intelligent. I showed him where his water bowl was last night and he went straight for it after he had done his business this morning. I did get him to eat canned puppy food but he's having nothing to do with the dry chow.

Good night, my gentle readers. I will try to get more time to visit. ~Blessings, Mary~

Meet Dakota

We hadn't planned on getting a puppy so soon, but when the opportunity arose, we couldn't resist.Meet Dakota. He is 8 weeks old and is cute as a button. We went to pick him up this afternoon. He has two sisters that are still waiting to be adopted.

Brandon and Jordan went with us to have a look. Grandpa thought they would like that and they even got out of school a few minutes early, which was a BIG hit.

We looked at all three puppies in the litter, but this little guy seemed to have the most spunk. They all looked very much alike. Dakota is a lab/shepherd cross.

When it came time to take him to the van, we were given a towel in case he had an accident on the way home. Brandon carried him to the car and gave him to Jordan while he put his seatbelt on. Jordan held him for about ten minutes and then asked Brandon to take him. Brandon was happy to oblige.

Brandon held him for most of the drive home. Dakota looked out the window and finally fell asleep in Brandon's arms. He did wake up and whine a little and Brandon talked to him and cuddled him. He said, "There, Little Fella. I'll wrap you in the towel and get you nice and warm." He did and Dakota was asleep in no time.

When we got home, hubby carried the dog and set him down in the snow. We wanted to see if he would do his business before coming into the house. That didn't happen. I don't think Dakota had ever stood in the snow before, but he was curious about the world around him.

Once in the house, the boys played with him. He chased both boys around the kitchen table a couple of times and then they found one of Meeko's balls and rolled it across the floor. Dakota chased it and jumped and played. The boys laughed and so did I. Hubby had gone to the pet store to get him some puppy chow.


Here is Brandon holding Dakota. He really likes him. He was thrilled that they were having fun together.
Above, Dakota decided that he was going to get hold of Jordan's sweater and pull him. Sorry boy, you aren't that big yet. He did give Jordan a little nip, but I explained that puppies do this and that he has to be corrected. It is unacceptable behavior.

Here, Dakota is feeling very comfortable in Jordan's arms and Jordan is happy to be snuggling him. We had to take up hubby's slippers, as Dakota had his eye on them and was going to try carrying them round. Slippers and puppies just don't mix, so the boys set them on the couch on a newspaper.

After the boys left with hubby to be taken home, Dakota curled up on the floor and drifted off to sleep. He slept all the time hubby was gone and only got up to see who came in. Then he laid down and slept again.

We got him to eat and drink a little, but I think he was plumb tuckered out. We fixed him a box lined with a blanket at one end and newspaper at the other, as this was the way they had the crate set up for the pups. Tomorrow, hubby and I will get Meeko's old crate out of the shed and we will clean it and set it up for Dakota. That way he will have a safe and secure place to go if he wants to be alone and it will keep him safe if hubby and I have to go out at the same time.

Even though we adopted Dakota so soon after Meeko passed, he will never replace him. He will have a new place in our hearts and we will remember Meeko as the beautiful and loving companion that he was.

I hope that you have a pet in your life. They relieve anxiety and stress and bring laughter and love into your life. ~Blessings, Mary~