Snowboards Attack!!

The other night, Rob and Bruce decided to whip out their snowboards to get them ready because I heard someone talk about snowboarding and skiing. Rob hadn't been out on the slopes at all this winter and he was fine-tuning and adjusting the bindings on Bruce's board.

I was pretty nervous about these strange boards. They placed them all over the dining/hall area and I didn't know where to hide. What were these things? Were they going to fall on me? It was a challenge just to be there. Mum said I had to mentally challenge myself to face new things all the time, that included scary snowboards. The humans just ignored me, and let me walk around at my own time.

Bruce and Rob fussed over the boards, and Mum wasn't cooing at me or baby-talking me. (As a matter of fact, Mum never baby-talks me because she expects me to hold myself together at all times). So there she was, snapping away being trigger happy with the camera, and I'm left to my own devices, figuring out that there is nothing too scary at all about snowboards.

After a while, I calmed down because no one was reinforcing my fear, and I even got bold enough to lay down next to a snowboard on the floor. This was really the first time in my life that I was laying down next to a snowboard. There were 4 of them all over the place.

I can safely say that I have mastered my uncertainty of snowboards.
Everyday brings a new lesson.
Everyday, there are new experiences to embrace.
Everyday, I am mentally challenged.
Life is good.
I hope I never stop learning, growing and evolving.

Even a dog has to learn new things, how about you?

Hugs,
Kimi

You Won't Believe it! More Snow!

More Snow.
We woke up one morning and was shocked to see the whole yard full of snow. We had at least half a foot of snow fall overnight out of nowhere. It was so pretty, I dashed out and bounced around the white stuff with all my enthusiasm, and glee was written all over my face.

See my glee?

Hey Mum, are you going to keep taking photos of me, or are we actually gonna play?

So I decided to chew on my cherry tree. Note how I say it is MY cherry tree, and not Rob's. I don't think Rob would be very happy if he saw me doing this... Mum didn't say anything.

On snowy days, I love to dig my face into the holes and grooves, because you never know what you're going to find. I've seen a couple of grey mice running around my yard and I know they're hiding in there. I don't think they like snow too much if you ask me...

Maybe the mice are all sleeping, "Hey mice, come out to play"

Nope, I didn't get to catch any mice. I'm supposed to be a ratter dog, but I suck at it. Even Nanny Lydia thinks I suck at hunting. Not much of a prey drive she says...

Chewing on an old foxglove shoot next to MY apple tree

Who goes there? My job is to survey the grounds of my property and pee on all the trees and shrubs. Just because it snowed doesn't mean I get to slack on the job.

By afternoon, most of the snow had melted with the rain, but something else came and bothered us. WIND!! Yup, we had quite a wind storm for an hour or so, and the trees outside swayed like they were doing the Waltz. It was so windy, that the power got cut. We didn't have power, and Mum got nervous because she's a city girl from Singapore, and back there, the power NEVER went out. So it was a big deal that the power for us got cut.

To calm Mum's nerves, Rob had to go and start the generator. It was this big black box and it made a crazy loud noise. "Poof" out came this huge amount of stinky black smoke and it started running like an engine. I went out and supervised Rob on the job, and made sure everything was in place. I wasn't scared at all that afternoon. Hmm... but I could definitely sense that Mum was a bit nervous. After the power generator worked, Mum felt much better knowing the food wasn't going bad in the fridge and freezers.

Amazing how the snow just disappeared in a matter of hours. The wind died down too.
What an interesting day it was!

Hugs,
Kimi

Moping on a Cloudy Rainy Day

When it rains in Seattle, it RAINS in Seattle.
There isn't much I can do, and I mope around the house when I'm bored.

Can you tell that I'm bored?
There is only so much one can do playing with toys in the house. Mum won't let me frolic in the mud outside, she said it can get so nasty. But I do my zoomies outside and get that energy out, and then return to the house and mope some more.

Big Black Nose of mine...

Sitting next to my newest all time favorite toy. The "Ruffian" branded cat. It makes a loud wheezing sound and I love bouncing it around and biting on it to make the different sounds. "Boing", "Wheeze", "Hee-Hor". I love it very much but it makes such a loud noise that my Mum only lets me have it when it doesn't disturb the other humans in the house.

I hope you're all having better weather than I am.

Hugs,
Kimi

Home Depot

Going to Home Depot is a very neat thing for me, cos I get to go into the store with Mum and Rob, and we find the things we need to work on the house or the property. There are rows and rows of strange things, and the place is huge. So many corners, and so many turns, and so many things to sniff and see.

I do get unsure sometimes when I am there. But I love having a sniff around.
Mum said she had to bring me out more often to stores and other errands, so that I don't forget to be social and well behaved in public. Now that I am a country-living dog, doesn't mean that I must act like a country bumpkin. I love going on tiny errands out and about, because it breaks the monotony of staying at home and the property.

All of a sudden, we bumped into Dean, he's our good friend. I was so happy to see him, I wagged my tail and rubbed myself in between his legs to show him how pleased I was. Then he got this plastic bag out, and I dropped my butt to the floor, thinking he was about to reward me with treaties, but nope, nothing came... he was showing Rob what he was getting. Shucks!

Outside, we checked out some sheds for storage and gardening.

Emmm... Mum, what am I doing here?

Mum said it was good to practice being in weird places, be it small confined sheds or large deserted parking lots. She said it was good to challenge myself to be in different situations and expose myself to different scents. I thought I had a fantastic day, hanging out in Tacoma.

Hugs,
Kimi

Capitol Hill

How many of you have been to Capitol Hill in Seattle?
My Mum likes to go there because that's where the 'freaks' hang out. Well, not really freaks freaks!! Just people who love to challenge the norm and convention. Let's say you have people dressed up in goth walking around when it isn't Halloween. There's the man with the full head of purple hair at the corner, and the woman with so many piercings, it is difficult locating her skin.

I like going to Capitol Hill because there is always something strange to see. There are many more homeless people here, but they're quite friendly. There are many odd shops and strange people in strange clothes, so it's very fascinating for me to observe them.

Rob and I walking along the main st (Broadway) on a cloudy Seattle day.

See if you can spot the Seattle Space Needle in the background. It's very small from where we were standing.

We went to Cap Hill right after the Seattle Dog Show, but so much was happening at the show, that Mum forgot to take any pics of me at the event. We were there to see Ruffian's show handler, and get Ruffian assessed for his coat, and Mum had to be there to go through the coat discussion with him. We were the most handsome Airedales there, and it's a real shame Mum didn't take our picture together.

Hugs,
Kimi