Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: Katie


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6 Things I like, by Katie the sheltie

We were tagged by 4 Dog Craziness, thanks!

Six things I like, by Katie

1.  Sleeping on a huge pile of pillows.  The more pillows the better; after all I’m a PRINCESS!

2.  Playing fetch with my little tennis ball…or my froggie..or my frisbee…or just about anything!

3.  Eating. .. just about anything I can find.  Especially freshly cooked chicken during school!

4.  Barking at all the scary people, cars, birds, cats, other dogs, deer, horses or anything else out there on MY road!

5.  Going for car rides.  Anywhere except the vet.  Well.  Maybe the vet is OK, if I get treats.

6.  Getting my picture taken, so everyone can see how BEAUTIFUL I am!


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Living with a crazy princess

So Katie has become even more crazy.  She has started to ask to go outside constantly, last night in the driving rain turned to sleet over and over again out we went.  Each time I was thinking that her incessent whining and barking at me must mean she has to go out “RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE AND CAN’T HOLD IT A SECOND LONGER!”  But when we get out there (I don’t have a fenced yard so we have to go out together) we end up wandering around the yard sniffing stuff.  She seems especially interested in the #2 deposits of previous trips.  So I am constantly saying “NO!” and pulling her away.  This is new behavior for her, and it’s wearing on me.  This morning after being outside in the freezing cold four times in a couple of hours, with no apparent reason I left her with my husband for the day and went shopping!  When I got home he said “She’s crazy!”  We can’t decide if it’s a reaction to me being gone a lot, to having less practice time, and thus less treats, or just less fun, so she’s bored.

The good news is that to my surprise she was pretty good tonight in week 7 of advanced dog obedience.  She even stayed down when I left the room during one exercise.  So I guess any fairy tale about a princess that ends on a happy note is a good story.  Right?  Now I have to go.  She wants to go out.  Again.


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Ceramic Christmas trees revisited

When I was a teenager my mother owned a ceramics store where people came in and finished ceramic pieces.  At this time of the year we’d be firing hundreds of Christmas trees in our kilns.  Most of them were finished with assorted green glazes, some had a type of glaze on the ends of the boughs that resembled snow after they were fired.  We did so many of them that I vowed I never wanted to see another ceramic Christmas tree.  Ever.  As it turned out my husband and I inherited one from his mother, and  I put it out every year, smiling  as I remember.

On my way home from work last night, driving slowly through driving snow I realized that almost all the huge pine trees along the roads were covered in great big wads of sticky snow.  And they looked just like the ceramic trees of my youth!  They were everywhere!  Guess you just can’t escape your past.  That’s OK.  They’re beautiful and I didn’t have to load a kiln, or pack them in a box with shredded paper for our customers!

Katie and I wish all of you out there a very happy holiday, whether you have a ceramic Christmas tree or not!


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Last agility class

Saturday Katie went to her last (for now) agility class.  Husband and I got to go along as well.  She wasn’t scared at all on the way, maybe because her Dad was in the car with us, or maybe because the longer driver didn’t worry her anymore.  She ran right into the building, all eager to get going.  And of course, while the instructor talked at the beginning of the class she barked at us all to HURRY UP!  This week’s obstacle was the A-frame.  Katie had never seen such a thing before and at first she didn’t want anything to do with climbing it.  Even with chicken placed up the slope!  No way!  Not going up there!  Then the instructor told me to pick her up and put her on the top.  Well!  She took one look at the chicken leading the way down the other side, and she scrambled down, gulping treats all the way.  We tried it again right away and Katie was up and over that A-frame before we even put any chicken down.  The third try was the same.  Success!  When it came time to run all the obstacles Katie just flew up and over the A-frame and through the tunnel, had no trouble with the jumps and sort of made it through the weaves, following my fingers.  But she really doesn’t like the beginning of the dog walk, and the tire is still confusing.  She balked at the chute every time, until someone held up the other end so she could see me.  But then every dog in the class balked at the chute.  And she was moving so fast when she landed on the table that she nearly slid off the other side, but she was laughing all the way.  She had a wonderful time!  Too bad it’s the last class until January.  Hopfully I’ll be able to enroll her again for more fun then.


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See? Tomorrow IS OK!

While I was not sleeping apparently it was snowing. This morning Katie and I ventured out late, having slept in after our long night of contemplation. The snow is deep enough in places that her belly drags through it. It’s beautiful, sticky wet snow, and Katie wanted to explore under every tree and shrub, looking for something to pounce on. Soon her fur hung with Christmas ornaments made of snow, which she occasionally tried to shake off.

I had to drag her back in the house; she wanted to stay outside all day! So today the ghosts of last night have receded again, and Katie and I can appreciate how beautiful everything looks in the fresh snow. Thanks for letting me spill all over you, it helps to have a place to store the images.


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Working, working, working

Today was my first shift at the library job. Last Friday was my first shift at the book store job. I have to say that I like both jobs, once I get there and start working. THINKING about going out to work is a different story. On the drive to work I’m wishing I didn’t have to go, and sometimes I watch the clock when I’m there, especially at the beginning of the book store job where I was on my own on a cash register, and there was a continuous line of customers. It felt like about an hour had gone by when really it was only 15 minutes. That was stressful; it had been almost ten days since I had been trained, and at first I couldn’t remember very much! But the other employees were helpful, and eventually I sort of got in a rhythm. As long as no one asked me anything beyond wanting to buy something! The library job this afternoon was fun too, but I had the same problem of not being able to remember just how to get everything done for the patrons, or the right answers to many of their questions. But it will all work out in the end. I hope.

Today we got some pretty significant snow, about 2.5 inches. Katie LOVES snow, so before I went to work we went outside to play. Here she is asking WHY she has to sit still when there are so many snowflakes to chase and catch!

Then we ran around the yard, her chasing my feet and pant leg as well as trying to catch all the falling snow, my shoes kicking up snowballs. We had a great time!

Eventually she looked like this…

…and I had to go to work, so we went inside; she played with her inside toys and her Dad, and I went on to work to make some money to buy dogfood and more toys!

Tomorrow and Wednesday I work 8 hours each, then a day off! YEA! I know I am lucky to have work, so this Thanksgiving I”ll be giving thanks for working again. Even though sometimes I don’t want to leave my warm house and head out. Hope you all have things to be thankful for as well!



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Day 1 in agility

Katie and I went to our first agility class this morning. Katie is still wound up, she had so much fun! The day started out stresfull for me, as our power went out last night and was still off this morning. The house was cold and dark. I couldn’t find her shot record, and I didn’t have enough cash on me for the class. So we left early, stopped at the vet for a shot record and the bank for money. By this time Katie was shaking in fear in the back, because she figured out this wasn’t her normal “school” trip. She loves school and I kept assuring her we were going to school but she wasn’t buying it.

Once she arrived at school, and I carried her across a puddle filled parking lot and into the building where she found other dogs she was fine. We practiced chute a bunch, apparently that was the problem for most of the other dogs last week. Katie and I hadn’t been able to go last week because I had orientation for my new job, so we watched a few dogs try it without much success. Katie wasn’t too excited about it either the first time, till she saw me at the other end with my CHICKEN treat for her. After about 3 times she was willing to run through the chute as long as there was a little bit of daylight at the end. She really didn’t like the dogwalk, at least starting out on it, she was OK once she got going. Jumps were no problem, but she had no idea what that table thing was all about, and she totally refused to jump through the tire. Weaves were ok, she followed my chicken scented fingers, the broad jump was fun, and she likes the tunnel. She thinks. Maybe. We’ll see next week.

Now I have to go and play, she’s WAY wound up! And it’s raining outside.


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You know you've had a bad day when…

Katie and I went to week three of advanced doggie school last night. Many things converged to make this a not so good night for her. With my foot in a boot for the stress fracture, the weather turned cold and windy and me being out of the house more for interviews I’ve spent less time with her working on her homework. So I already figured it wouldn’t be a stellar night. I wasn’t wrong. She was a crazy girl, not wanting to even sit when asked, leaping on people (she used to be shy, that has been fixed!) grabbing for treats, barking at the instructor when he talked too long and kept her waiting, and growling at a dog over in the corner that already has issues and doesn’t need feisty little Katie telling him off.

The topic for the evening was getting the dogs to go DOWN! when we said so, with no hand signals or head motion. Just the word DOWN! Well. Katie will only go down when I motion with my hand. I’ve worked a bit on trying to move her to do it just on a voice command, but I knew darn well she wasn’t going to do it. So we’re in a circle, and the instructor in the middle of the circle is asking each person to have their dog go down. The one just before us went down really slow, and the instructor commented that it was too slow. I told the group that was going to look mighty speedy compared to Katie’s response to my command. And sure enough when I told her to DOWN! she merely looked at me and blinked. Several commands later she was bored and watching the dog in the corner. The instructor says she’s blowing me off. No kidding. So after he finished going around the circle he came over to show me how to train her. He had her treat in one hand, the leash in the other, shouted DOWN! and jerked down on the leash and she went crazy, leaping up, eyes rolling, backing away from him terrified. Great. He felt terrible. He’s used to German Shepherds who aren’t as sensitive as Katie.

Then later in the hour the class of six people and their dogs were split, 3 on each end of a large room. Two by two we put our dogs into a sit/stay and went out to the center of the room. One by one we were asked to call our dogs. Katie does that beautifully. Then he tried it again, with two of us calling our dogs at the same time, from opposite ends of the room. The other dog on our turn is a Mastiff. Biggest dog I’ve ever seen, he is 8 mos old and about 150 pounds. Katie is almost 2 and 17 pounds. So we’re to call our dogs, I have my back to the mastiff, his owner has her back to Katie, we call, and the mastiff races across the room and tackles Katie who had almost made it to me. I never saw it coming. It’s the fastest I’ve ever seen that big dog move. I leapt in between them, (Katie was rolled on her back on the floor, and the mastiff was sniffing her, no dog fight), scooped her up and felt her little heart just pounding away.

So all in all, Katie didn’t have fun at school, though she usually loves it. She still wanted nothing to do with the instructor by the end of the lesson, didn’t even want his roast beef, and was keeping a fair distance away from all the other dogs as well. Today she didn’t want to get in the car when we went to the park, but after about 15 minutes of homework and 30 minutes of walking in the woods she seems fine. I hope next week goes better, I think it will, the instructor was horrified by the mastiff rolling Katie, and very worried about her reaction to him as well. We’ll see.

Meanwhile I go off to my first shift of my first part time job in approximately 20 minutes!


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Watching retirement slip away

A disadvantage of not being at work all day is that I get to watch CNN and CNBC and Headline News…all of which seem to have nothing on but coverage of the economy; the sinking stock market, the housing market in disarray, bailouts, threatened bankruptcy of the entire auto industry and arguments about what is best done to save us from ourselves. As I watch my retirement slip away I am grateful for the work I have been able to find, and I wonder what the future will bring us all.

If the large automakers fall into bankruptcy all bets are off. Since my other half is employed with General Motors, we watch their sinking stock prices, and their shrinking cash reserves with fear. At a time in our lives that we thought we’d be secure we are not. Though we worked hard throughout our lives, we are still unprepared. And we are in better shape than most. We will all have to learn to live leaner and though it won’t be fun, it just might be good for us. Though Katie is still holding out for more dog toys.


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My backyard

I was mowing the yard yesterday for the last time this summer (again…what’s with this warm weather?) when I realized there was still a LOT of fall color, particularly in the shrubs and some of the newer trees. So I stopped right in the middle of the lawn and went inside for the camera. For the rest of the afternoon I mowed slower, stopped more often, and enjoyed the task more as I snapped pictures along the way. As my husband painted the house, and the dog watched from her kennel, I’m sure they were wondering what I was doing. Tonight I had a chance to look at what I shot for the first time. There were so many pretty pictures I couldn’t figure out which to show you. So I put several together below. I really think this will be the last of the fall color blogs. Maybe.

See ya,