My Chitlins – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

Freebie Doggie Toybox

Published on June 29, 2018June 27, 2018 by JennaLeave a comment

Today’s post is another DIY container, but this time instead of holding flowers it’s purpose is to corral the numerous dog toys that are always around our yard. It started with this free crate I picked up at a work event. The vendor said they had a huge stash of them and wanted to eliminate some so I could keep it.

I first thought about putting cedar boards around it but I couldn’t find a quick and easy way to keep them attached so I moved on to a free covering option I already had in my fabric stash – burlap. I dug out a large scrap piece left over from previous projects and cut did a quick dry ‘test’ fit. Then I trimmed it down and grabbed some twine to secure it to the crate. I pulled apart some of the fibers and threaded the twine through so I could tie it.

The cats decided now was a good time to ‘help’ even though this project wasn’t for them. Apparently burlap is a good spot for a kitty nap…

I conferred with the Hubs about the best way to wrap the box and secure the liner inside. He made a few suggestions and then just told me to hand it over so he could work on it while he watched a movie and I edited client images. Knowing his vast knowledge of knot tying and securing loads from almost 20 years in the Coast Guard I happily accepted the offer. About an hour later he presented me with this.

He wove the twine through the top edge of the fabric and the holes on the crate pulling it taunt as he went so everything stayed smooth on the outside. This will keep the fabric from pulling up every time the dogs pull out a toy.

Meanwhile, Stella was still hard at work on that nap…

I took a break from editing photos and placed the box in the backyard. I was able to fit the toys we had in two smaller baskets into this one container so I went with the spot next to the firewood storage where it’s more out of sight and helps cover the electrical conduit.

It sits under the eave of the house so it’s mostly protected from rain, but because we didn’t cover the bottom any water that does get in it will be able to drain out easily.

Seeing it in place, I’m glad I went with the burlap instead of the cedar. It blends in more, even when it’s filled with the dog’s brightly colored toys. I showed the dogs where their new toys and they didn’t waste any time rooting through the pile to find their favorites and head off into the yard with them. Now if only I could train them to pick up the toys and put them back in the box!

It’s a pretty nice upgrade for spending nada and it keeps the yard a little cleaner. 🙂

Catching Up

Published on June 20, 2018June 20, 2018 by Jenna2 Comments

My lady slipper orchids are blooming in the rain garden!

It’s been a while since my last post because we’ve been pretty darn busy around here the past several weeks. So here’s a quick run-down of what’s been going on.

The yard is in bloom finally, after a long wet spring.

At the beginning of the year I moved into a new position at work, which requires learning several new software platforms and skills. It took a while for my old position to be filled so for a while I was basically doing both jobs. The gal who filled my previous position has been with the company for a few years and worked in our department, but she too had a lot of learning to do in her new role. When she needed to be out for a bit due to emergency surgery over the spring, I had to help out by stepping back into that role while also continuing to do my new job. It was a bit chaotic and didn’t leave much time or energy for other things. Luckily it was only for a few weeks and now she’s recovered and back without restriction so we can both settle into our usual duties.

The new pillows we picked up on our trip look great around the fire pit!

We took a quick trip to visit my Mother-In-Law in Portland, where we did some shopping for the house, attended a beekeeping class (something we’re planning to try next year) and I organized a styled photo shoot. The Hubs and I also took care of a couple small projects around Mom’s house while we were there. Since we still had snow on the ground when we left and returned to a snow storm – it was a nice break to enjoy some spring weather and blooms!

The new chicks have traded fluff for feathers and recently moved out to the big yard with the older chickens. It seems like everyone is adjusting well.

When we returned from our trip we added to our chicken flock with two batches of baby chicks! These little fluff balls have been living in the garage in a large brooder we made from a stock tank planter I had. In addition to multiple feedings a day we worked hard to make sure they were handled often as well so they will be friendly when they are adults. To make room for them outside, the Hubs made a massive addition to the coop, doubling their indoor space and tripling the number of nest boxes. We’re still putting the finishing touches on that project but I’ll share it soon.

Still buried in snow, this is how the green house looked when we got back from our trip.

I spent many hours getting the green house cleared out and prepped for the season after our trip. I attended the annual VIP plant sale at my favorite nursery toward the end of April, but the blooms had to hide out in the green house for a few more weeks before it was safe for them to be outside. While I waited on the weather, the edible crops were all started in the green house and the Hubs revamped the hydroponic system for the tomatoes with bigger tubing so it’s more efficient. Now everything is growing and we’re already enjoying some of the bounty from our lettuce, spinach and dill plants!

And here’s how it looked after the plant sale – at least until I could plant everything in the yard.

The yard is coming together – here’s a sneak peek at the updates the Hubs made to the egg table and another project I’ll share soon.

We did several projects around the yard as we prepared for the summer season. I revamped a serving cart for the deck, upcycled an old milk can into a planter and created planters out of old conveyor belt scoops for the new chicken coop expansion. The Hubs extended his egg table with a spot to store his new smoker and built me potato crates which will double our crop this year. We sold the old patio furniture to make way for a new dining table and a set of loungers for the deck we installed last summer. We also started installing a gazebo style covering over the hot tub on that deck. We hope to have that completed soon – but need to arrange some extra helpers to get the roof on. Out front, I styled the vintage cart on the front porch for spring and then for summer with patriotic colors.

The new table is a perfect fit for our deck and it expands if we have a big group over.

The firepit is cleaned out and ready for use.

The new lounge chairs (with a hiding kitty) and partially installed gazebo on the big deck. I’ll be landscaping around this deck later this summer and plan to mirror the rock bed around the other deck.

I updated the wood storage for the fire pit with some cinder blocks that we took out when the Hubs expanded the chicken coop. It was an easy, and free upgrade that also hides the electrical conduit for the hot tub.

I white washed terra-cotta pots to decorate the whiskey barrel tables and filled them with marigolds to ward off the bugs. I also placed small tiki torches on each table as a backup.

I’ve had this thermometer since last summer and we finally found a spot for it right next to the door.

Inside, I changed up a few things, including curtains in all the bedrooms, the rugs in our master bath, swapping Brinley’s kennel for a new entry bench. Last weekend we took advantage of the neighborhood traffic for a neighbor’s estate sale and had a yard sale to clear out some extra clutter that accumulated around the house over the winter. We were mildly successful in that goal, but there’s still lots to purge, which is why I only picked up a few small décor items when I attended the spring Alaska Chicks Vintage Market.

I picked up these vintage bells at the market and think they pair well with my wreath on the front door.

Whew – seeing it all written out makes me realize just how much we crammed into a few weeks! As my Mother-in-Law says “No grass grows under our feet!” And now that summer is in full swing we’ve got a whole new round of projects and activities planned. Stay tuned over the next few weeks to see the projects I mentioned plus others that are still in the works! Hopefully I’ll be able to keep you updated more regularly now. In the meantime I’ll leave you with more pictures of those silly chicks, who just moved out to the big yard. 🙂

Snack time at the feeder with the fluffy butt club.

We have several Novogens in this batch that will be great egg layers.

And there are a couple Dominiques for some variety.

My favorites are the Easter eggers who will lay greenish blue eggs and have fun little feather beards!

The dogs act as constant security for the cluckers.

They are quite used to us and often come running to meet us at the gate, or investigate our feet to see if they are edible. 🙂

Our flock is now up to 20 chickens so it’s a good thing the Hubs got that expansion completed!

Introducing Stella

Published on February 12, 2018February 11, 2018 by JennaLeave a comment

Over the weekend our little family grew by four paws and a set of whiskers! The Hubs and I had been talking about getting a kitten for a while and had looked at several online but nothing had lined up just right. Then he spotted an ad online for someone rehoming kittens from an “opps” litter and one was an adorable grey tiger female.

We called and confirmed she was still available and made arrangements to see her later that day. She purred while I held her, cuddled, was talkative and seemed interested in both me and the Hubs. Just like our other fur babies it just felt right and she came home with us that evening.

Her previous home had several large dogs and other cats so we figured she would adapt well to our pack quickly. For the dogs it was love at first sight. Tequila follows her around just hoping she will play with her. Brinley enjoys her sprints up and down the hallway and even a playful swat on the nose when she gets too close. Stoli has been a bit more reserved usual, letting Stella come to him as she pleases. She’s got them all wrapped around her little paw. In fact, she can walk right up to any of them and rub her face against them anytime she likes.

Luna on the other hand is not impressed with her new sibling, voicing her thoughts with several hisses and grows. Stella has respected the message by keeping her distance. She’s got plenty of interaction with the dogs and a whole new house of things to investigate instead, while Mom follows her around with a camera. Luckily she quickly got used to that too.

Her previous home called her “Miss Thing” just as a way to distinguish her from her almost identical brother but we decided to rename her Stella. It’s the perfect bridge between our alcoholic doggie names and the Latin roots of Luna’s name which means Moon. Stella is Latin for Star, so the cats have celestial names, but it also can be short for the Belgin beer, Stella Artois which continues our alcohol theme on that side.

Since she’s arrived it’s been cuteness overload. From the perfect kitty pose & stare to that adorable little tongue.

All that play and investigating makes for a tired kitty. So little cat naps are frequent and just as adorable.

She likes to cuddle and has snuggled with both of us quite a bit, purring all the while. While the Hubs was watching the Olypmics, she discovered the corner of the couch is the perfect spot size for her to curl up and still be close to Daddy while also providing a great view of the tv.

That is until she falls asleep. 🙂 I’m sure you’ll be seeing lots more of her in the coming weeks as she continues to establish her place in the pack. We plan to keep her inside for a while and will introduce her to the yard when she’s a bit bigger and spring begins to arrive. Then she’ll have a whole new territory to investigate – including meeting the chickens and learning to mouse so she can earn her keep with more than sweet snuggles and purrs.

Christmas Recap

Published on December 28, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Here’s a recap of how our holiday went at the DB&DT house. Christmas eve was Stoli’s 5th birthday so we celebrated by giving the dogs their plaid ‘bling’ from Scotland which included bandanas for the girls and a fancy bow tie collar for Stoli. They looked pretty snazzy as we delivered Christmas gifts to a couple of neighbors during an afternoon walk.

Lucky for the Hubs and I our kiddos aren’t in a big hurry to wake up on Christmas morning, so we slept in a bit and then go to opening presents. Luna was sure this pile was all for her and when I told her it wasn’t she had to investigate each to confirm.

We always get three of everything so the dogs are equal and put them in matching or coordinated bags. Since Luna was pouting that not everything was for her, we started with the dogs’ gifts, letting them take turns ‘opening’ one. Stoli was so polite and kept looking at daddy for the ok to pull out the gift. Tequila on the other hand was ready to dive in and find the goodies.

Daddy tried to help Stoli by bouncing the toys out of the bags, but that just led to Brinley swooping in and snagging them.

He eventually got the hang of things and started reaching in like his sisters, although sometimes he still wanted Daddy to help.

Tequila was ready for another and dove right in as soon as it was ready. Then she supervised her brother doing the same during his turn, albeit a bit more gingerly.

While the dogs were entertained with their first round of toys for a bit Luna got to open a few presents. She wasn’t sure at first, but having seen the dogs open their gifts she decided to investigate. You know that old adage about curiosity and cats… 🙂

Moments later she was pawing her new toy out of the bag with a bit of help from Daddy. This one makes noise which attracted the dogs’ attention so we let her play with it for a bit before moving on to the next gift.

Up next was the biggest gift, which means it was the biggest bag too. Honestly, the bags are kinda her favorite part of presents – at least when opening gifts anyway.

She went right in to check it out while her siblings watched.

Now that the dogs were back to being interested in presents we moved on to the ones I had DIYed for them, with a special yummy surprise at the bottom. Always the gentleman, Stoli again asked Daddy for permission before diving in.

The smell of the bone at the bottom drew him in and he spent several minutes with his head buried in the bag pushing the fleece braid rope out of the way to sniff the bone while his big sister watched.

Apparently he was taking too long for Brinley because she decided to come help so Daddy switched to her gift.

Next Tequila opened a combined gift from their Aunt & Uncle, then assisted Luna with her gift from the same relative.

Daddy opened the dogs bones so they were busy with that, leaving Luna to finish up her gifts uninterrupted.

The dogs had a pretty good haul at this point, and they still had a few gifts to go!

While the fur babies were all busy with their new favorite toys, we opened our gifts and connected with family on the phone. While the spending money I received is quite handy I think these two guys are my favorite gifts this year. The big elf is from my Mother-in-Law and the smaller one is from my sister. There is still one more gift coming from my sister that will be a close second – two new Rae Dunn mugs that say Bark & Woof! They will be perfect for our house! 🙂

We spent the rest of the day snuggling on the couch watching movies while I got caught up on some of my favorite blogs. It was a great way to spend the holiday together, resting and enjoying each other’s company. Hopefully we can do a little more of that this weekend as we celebrate the new year!

Purdy-ing Up the Chicken Yard – Again

Published on August 10, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

Remember when I decided to make the chicken yard pretty last year? Well I’m at it again. This time I went with planters that are up high and out of ‘chicken reach’ so they should be pretty safe.

I didn’t want to spend a lot for this little project since it is just a chicken yard and I am a self-proclaimed bargainista, but I still wanted it to be cute. I’d seen wall planters made of various materials and realized they were just simple pockets of fabric. I’m not a sewer so I brainstormed what might provide an inexpensive, already sewn fabric pocket. Then the light bulb went off – a fabric shoe organizer!

I snagged this one at Fred Meyer for around $10. I only needed 4 pockets but I figured it the idea panned out I could always make more for other spots too. It was an added bonus that it was a cool grey fabric rather than the typical canvas ones I’ve seen that would show dirt immediately.

Luckily each row was exactly 4 pockets! I cut off one row, leaving the seam and trim at the bottom. From there I cut down the center of the stitching on the trim between each pocket to create 4 individual pockets.

I filled each with dirt and a plant while on skype with my mom on a sunny afternoon and then recruited the Hubs to help me hang them. We folded over the top section of fabric for a bit more strength and just screwed them into the post using deck screws.

Although the screws are noticeable from the side angle, they blend in when you look at the planters from the front of the yard which is the typical way they will be seen. Plus as the plants grow they should help hide them even more. Hopefully they will have enough time to really fill in and start to trail over before the season wraps.

I also decided to give the block planters at the bottom of the posts another try. The canvas curtains I made last summer didn’t survive well so this time we used scrap clear panels left over from building the green house. It keeps the sight lines open for both the cluckers and the dogs, but prevents the chickens from decimating the plants.

The chickens were not to pleased with this innovation and kept trying to peck at the leaves through the plastic! They eventually gave up and went on about their clucking business elsewhere in the yard. This time around I filled the blocks with mint, transplanted from the rain garden where it ended up after being in the herb container 2 summers ago. Those who have grown mint, know it is super hardy so it can take some tough love, will return year after year and should spread to fill in a bit more. I will have to watch that it doesn’t spread out from the blocks but it’s easy enough to remove if I catch it early so I’m not to worried. Plus it will help keep things smelling pretty – because this is a chicken yard and there is always a constant supply of “fertilizer”!

Because we used scrap panels each is a bit different size so the panels don’t all line up with each other. It doesn’t really bother me in person but looking at this image I really notice it. If it still bugs me in a few weeks I’ll have the hubs cut the two larger ones down to match.

I put another clear panel on the front of the yard and added marigolds there for a bit of color. Now if I could just get that darn walkway covered with gravel like I’ve been planning this space might start to really look complete. Hopefully that will happen before the end of the season, but if not it will be on the list again next summer. 🙂

Snow Day!

Published on February 20, 2017August 4, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

Today is Tequila’s birthday, which coincidentally coincides with National Love Your Pet Day (AKA – everyday in the DBDT household)! Although we didn’t do anything special to celebrate, I did take a break from photography work to play in the snow with the herd.

Here in Alaska we don’t get many “snow days” off from work or school because life continues on no matter how much snow there is in this region. Luckily, President’s Day provided a perfect opportunity to pretend that it was a snow day and stay home – only venturing out as far as the yard for some fun.

Each of the fur babies has a favorite toy to play with outside. Tequila loves her frisbee, Stoli has a stuffed soccer ball with handles and Brinley is ALL ABOUT HER TENNIS BALL! It’s a good thing we have a long driveway where I can use the ball chucker to throw it down the drive way for her.

Today Stoli decided it was more fun to try to steal her ball than play with his own. But try as he might, he just couldn’t seem to beat her to the ball, or get her to drop it by bouncing around her. Eventually he gave up and was content to just run back and forth.

Sometimes I’m not sure he knew where he was running to, but he was having plenty of fun regardless. And all that running keeps him warm despite that short haired coat of his.

Each time I’d angle the chucker back for a throw this is the face I’d see. Complete and total concentration.

Unfortunately that didn’t always translate into finding where the ball went when my aim was a bit off and it landed in a snow bank. She did attempt several methods to find those errant balls. It was quite hysterical to watch her dig and plow her way through the snow in her quest, especially since the snow was as deep as she is tall in most spots!

Then she’d look up in frustration to see if I had guidance to give. I’d point her in one direction or another until she realized this was a lost cause.

A few times big sister attempted to help, snorkeling through the snow and retracing the paths that Brinley had made, carving them a bit wider as she went.

She didn’t have any luck finding the missing balls either and decided to go back to her frisbee.

And while all this was going on Miss Luna decided to come out to the porch and supervise.

That’s as far as she made it since she doesn’t like to get her paws in that cold white stuff and it’s definitely deeper than she’s interested in.

Apparently all that fun wore everyone out because a few minutes after we came inside everyone was out cold.

Including Luna! It’s hard work supervising all that chaos. 🙂

A New Roof for the Chicken Yard

Published on December 28, 2016December 28, 2016 by JennaLeave a comment

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Now that we’re through the big holiday I thought I’d catch you up on several projects that happened around the house in the past few months as we prepared for winter. The first was replacing the netting over the chicken yard with something sturdier. The netting had started to tear in several spots and had actually come loose from where it was attached to the wall of the house, leaving our flock vulnerable to attack from above. The Hubs wanted something more permanent that would stand up to snow, so he found these metal fencing panels at a local fence company.

First he removed the old netting (note the large ball of it on the roost to the right in the photo above). Then he cut the panels to fit the space and zip tied them together where there were seams. He also used zip ties to secure the panels to the support beams of the run.

Over by the run door he had to get creative to make enough room for the door to open but still work against the laundry room window. He decided to create an angled panel for this section and it works pretty well.

He had to trim down the hen house doors so they open underneath the support beam on the front of the run. It’s so much nicer being able to open these doors all the way without worrying about the edges catching the netting overhead!

He also added a small metal flashing to act as a gutter along the roof of the run. This keeps the large amount of water that comes off the run’s roof from flooding the chicken yard, which was a constant problem this summer. Now it drains right over the blocks I placed around the yard. This might be too much water for the plants in the blocks next summer, so I’ll have to watch it and decide if I need to set up a water barrel to collect the water and reuse it for the chickens or watering the garden.

We may eventually cover the panels with clear plastic roofing panels, like those used on greenhouses, to help reduce water pooling more but for now the upgrade is the perfect protection for our cluckers and blends in well with the panels we used for the sides of the yard.

And it’s been holding up to the snow very well, even when it gets a bit thick. Looks like another great job by the Hubs! It’s a good thing he found me so he has reasons to use all those mad skills he’s got. 😉

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Brinley Goes for a Ride

Published on August 8, 2016 by Jenna1 Comment

Hi! My name is Brinley and I’m taking over the blog today so Momma can catch up on her t0-do list after a busy week! I wanted to share a little story about my recent ride in the truck when Mom and I got stuck in something she called “construction traffic.” Because I’m a puppy I don’t like to sit still for very long so being in the truck for a long time isn’t very fun for me. I tried to be patient and just hang out, but that didn’t last long.

So I tried to be helpful by cleaning the crumbs out of mom’s cup holder. I thought I was doing a pretty good job, but she didn’t seem to appreciate my efforts.

So I tried being patient again. But like I said, that really isn’t my thing.

So I tried to take a nap on the center console. But I’m getting bigger now and don’t fit there very well anymore. I couldn’t get comfortable so I moved back over to my seat.

Next I tried giving mom puppy dog eyes to see if it would get us out of traffic any faster. She said I looked cute but it wouldn’t help with traffic.

After a while I was starting to have a serious case of cabin fever, so I really laid on the puppy dog eyes. Still no luck.

So I found a toy and invited Mom to play tug-o-war.

But she said she was too busy watching the other cars. How can you be too busy for tug-o-war?

So I tried to help her watch the other cars. But when they didn’t move I got bored again.

This is my impersonation of what Mom and the other drivers on the road felt like sitting in their vehicles on a bright sunny day.

I thought maybe if I didn’t look the traffic would go away… but that didn’t work either.

Then Mom started to whistle to the song on the radio.

I tried to ignore her, but I couldn’t because she was right next to me and I’m trained to listen to whistles!

She finally stopped, but then she wanted to take a selfie. Whatever that is….

I moved back over to my seat to relax and I thought she was trying to shade my eyes from the bright sun, but it turns out she was just taking more pictures!

Finally the other cars started to move and I was excited to see new scenery out the window.

Luckily, I could tell we were almost home by what I saw out the window!

But then we stopped AGAIN! It was so frustrating!

I was pretty darn tired from all this crazy traffic, but I tried my best to stay awake and keep Mom company. It was really hard!

I just wanted to rest my eyes from the bright sun for a moment, but apparently I was more tired than I thought and fell asleep.

At least I’m super cute when I sleep!

Mom told me later that this is why we stopped again. We had to wait for this GIGANTIC metal thing to get off the highway in front of us. It was bigger than Mom’s truck!

I woke up just as we pulled in the driveway and told Mom I didn’t want to be in traffic ever again. She said she couldn’t promise anything but gave me a scratch behind my ear before she let me out of the truck.

So that’s my story about my ride in the truck with traffic. I hope you liked it. Mom will be back later this week with new projects she and Dad have been working on, so watch for those. You never know when I might pop up in the pictures! 🙂

Purdy-ing Up the Chicken Yard

Published on June 8, 2016June 18, 2016 by Jenna8 Comments

Part of my plans for the yard this year included adding flowers around the new chicken yard. I placed cinderblocks around both sides of the yard so I’d have a built in row of planting spots and picked up a couple flats of lobelia at the nursery just for this area.

Tequila stood chicken watch while I planted. Things were looking so pretty that even the hubs commented on the new flowers and I was feeling pretty happy with the project. That is until those fluffy cluckers attacked said flowers and had picked them down to the base before I finished planting the other side! I quickly placed boards against the fence so the chickens couldn’t see or reach the plants anymore in a desperate attempt to save those that had been hacked.

But this was NOT the look I was going for. The hodge podge of boards constantly got knocked over and landed on the plants themselves which was just as damaging as the chickens pecking them. So what’s a chicken momma to do?

Well a crafty chicken momma makes protective curtains! I dug out some thick sail cloth material I had in my fabric stash and cut it to size to fit between each of the posts. A couple of simple slits along the top gave me a spot to use a zip tie to attach it to the panel and keep things taunt.

It’s not the fanciest option, but it looks and works better than the piled high boards. And it didn’t cost me a cent!

The curtains are just low enough that the chickens can still see out when standing on the ground and just high enough that Brinley can’t see in unless she stands on the blocks. She can still see through the door so that’s become her new viewing spot, which keeps her out of the plants as well.

I did have to replace a few of the plants, but now things are looking pretty good. I didn’t make a curtain for the small panel at the back, since those two blocks will hold grass that I’ll let grow just for the hens. They are temporarily blocked with two small boards, but once they establish I’ll take them down periodically so they can enjoy fresh greens.

I also got the walkway along the chicken yard cleared of the rock piles that had been there (hint, those are being used for another project that I’ll share soon). We’d like to put down pavers or some other permanent pathway from the deck to the gate, but that’s probably a project that will happen next season. For now having a clear established walkway functions just fine.

I’m sure the chickens don’t appreciate my crafty genius solution, but that’s ok. I plan to take the curtains down at the end of the season and let the cluckers have at the remains of the plants since they are annuals anyway. Then I’ll wash the fabric and store it away for next year.

I’d love to hear what you think of my little project to pretty up this utilitarian space in our yard, so leave a comment below!

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Welcome Home Brinley!

Published on May 11, 2016July 20, 2016 by JennaLeave a comment

This weekend we brought little Miss Brinley home! We flew down to Portland to pick her up and bring her back to Alaska and had a great few days away from work and projects to get to know her and bond before introducing her to her siblings. We were too busy playing and getting to meet her when we first met with her to get pictures but on the ride home she slept in my lap quite content to snuggle.

We stopped to pick up puppy food and dinner for us, so while her Daddy and Mimi went into the store I stayed outside to let her stretch and play in the sun with her new toy.

And she snuck in a few belly rubs too!

Once at Mimi’s house she investigated the basket of toys that belongs to her Aunt Honey. Honey didn’t seem much amused by this but didn’t voice any objections either.

After playing for a bit her Daddy shared his water with her for a quick drink and then everyone watched the animals on the TV for a few minutes.

All that playing made for one tired puppy, so she had to take a little nap.

And so did Daddy. Having a puppy sure wears you out!

Daddy took her out to go potty a few times overnight and by morning she had somehow moved into the bed rather than her kennel.

The next day was spent exploring Mimi’s garden. There was lots to see and explore including every inch of the area under the plants and the hose that made fun puddles on the patio!

Every so often we’d take a break to rest and just enjoy the view. But soon we’d be on the go again.

Eventually she needed a nap to recharge while us humans enjoyed some lunch.

After the nap she tried to play with Aunt Honey, but she wasn’t in the mood.

So we played with some of Honey’s toys instead. A family friend came over for dinner with their dog but she was older and didn’t want to play even though Brinley did her best to say she was friendly over and over again.

All that excitement sure wore her out so she slept pretty well that night.

SLEEPY

The last day included more exploring in the garden, a couple quick trips in the car and lots of snuggles from Mimi.

She loaded up in Aunt Honey’s carrier to make the trip to Alaska and was a hit with everyone who met her, from the ticket counter to security.

She was still very tired from the excitement of the day and fought to stay awake, even if that meant just letting her head hang on the opening so she could see what was going on in the terminal. She eventually fell sound asleep and slept for the majority of the flight home!

Since she’s been home she’s getting to know her siblings who were very excited to meet her. With a moving mass of 4 canines this is the best picture of the interactions I could get thus far! There have been a few moments of learning who’s alpha and who’s not, but it’s going well. Sometimes her brother and sister tire of her insistence to play but her new friend Paige – a friend’s dog we are watching – has been exceptionally patient and gentle with her so they have cuddled quite a bit.

Her kitty sister has met her briefly, but is in hiding until Paige leaves in a few days. I’m sure there will be a period of adjustment for both when that happens. For now, she’s coming to work with me during the week so she can have quick potty breaks and walks every two hours along with a romp at the park during lunch. There will surely be many more pictures taken in the coming days and weeks so stay tuned for those! 🙂