Welcoming in the new year with friends and crafts is a time of year I look forward to. It is also a nice conclusion to the madness that is December. This year was no exception. A great group of friends came over bringing with them delicious food and their current craft project/s. We drank tea, snacked, crafted, joked, shared updates and generally had a great time together. 2016 was properly greeted, if you ask me.
2016 has been a significant year so far and it is only the end of February! Paul was gone almost the whole month of February. He took a long-planned trip to Australia. He and a friend had a great time exploring the mainland and Tasmania, with the trip culminating in scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Paul has been back for just a few days and is already plotting how and when he can go back to Tasmania. He didn't get his fill of all of the amazing hikes the island has to offer, so he wants a second chance.
While he was away, I held down the fort at home, taking care of the house and all of the animal family members. Another big thing happened while he was traveling,: I got a new job/promotion at my work! My day to day work life is a whole different thing now and is already challenging me in lots of great ways. All of the newness is tiring, so I took it easy this past weekend in order to be recharged for where I am headed at this very moment: COSTA RICA! I hope to have lots of photos and adventures to share when my sister Jessy and I get back.
Way back in December, I was treated to a series of birthday treats, celebrations and events. The weekend showed me once again how fortunate I am to have people in my life who set aside time to celebrate with me.
It started with yoga, baked goods and a sushi lunch with my mom.
It included dinner out with Jamie and Sylvia.
And, of course, a day of Paul-planned surprises. I awoke to flowers and a vegetarian eggs benedict, salad and twice baked potato.
After breakfast, Paul, Uli and I headed out to a dog park we had never been to before.
Uli loved it and it was fun for us humans to have some new paths to explore.
From there, we went to the Science Museum for an Omnitheater movie about whales. Its a fun place to visit and the lobby is full of interactive displays.
The musical stairs are always a day-brightener, too!
I may or may not have eaten a birthday lunch that was centered around guacamole. So. Good.
After a stop home to drop Uli off (he napped in the car during the museum and lunch) and to open some presents (I got a juicer!), we went out to dinner.
Nicollet Island Inn, our dinner location this time was a bit of old school classy. While we were sitting at dinner, a horsedrawn carriage went past the window!
As has become customary, we asked for someone to take a picture of us and expected it to look wonky as it has in year's past. This one wasn't too terrible!
Then, just last week, one of the birthday gifts I was given happened! Lately, I have been into giving and receiving gifts that are more focused on shared experiences. My mom honored that with an awesome jewelry making class that we took together.
We got to learn a lot of skills including how to solder. My mom was a little skeptical but she shouldn't have been. Her skills were great and her project turned out just how she wanted!
Sarah of Quench Jewelry Arts was a great teacher and kept out class moving along on pace, so we all finished the night with our own fidget/spinner rings. Mine is on the top and my mom's is on the bottom of this photo:
Oops! Had a few more posts from December that I didn't write up and publish. As I'm trying to get things wrapped up before I head off to lovely Costa Rica, I thought it a good time to get them on the blog!
By late December, we still hadn't seen much snow in Minneapolis. On the drive up to rural Wisconsin, it went from a day with no snowfall to a lovely, thick snowfall. The turning point in the weather seemed to match up with the potty and cheese break we usually take at the Burnett County Dairy Cooperative.
By the time we got near to my dad's house, all of the trees were flocked and stunningly beautiful.
We mostly enjoyed staying in by the fire, but ventured out to play with the kitties and go for walks, too.
Our Christmas season is usually comprised of 3-4 family events, so after our winter wonderland visit, we returned to the city to participate in the rest of the gatherings.
There were no shortage of gifts, but I liked that this year's haul included an emphasis on experiences over things.
Christmas fell close enough to my birthday this year that I took a little extra time off to make it a nice extended break. I got to put some of my gifts to use right away like this julienne peeler from my mom.
The capital of Wisconsin and friends Sara and Josh beckoned us over the border for a visit in October. When we set out in the car, Uli had no idea the dog party he was headed to!
After a lot of knitting time in the car and a stop for dinner en route, we arrived!
We enjoyed a little sightseeing, a show and some good meals together.
We were only in town from Friday to Sunday, but I already have a short list of favorites for Madison:
My favorite meal was brunch at Umami (I'm still dreaming about the potstickers I ate. I had to go buy a bottle of St. Germain to try and recreate their Pamplemousse cocktail).
Favorite dessert goes to MSCo Patisserie.
Favorite art shop goes to Hatch Art House.
Favorite local pottery from Toast Ceramics.
Props to the Willy Street Coop for providing what we needed to stock up for the drive home.
And, that dog party! This is 4/5 of the dog pack for the weekend. Sara and Josh have 3 dogs and were fostering another dog. You add Uli to the mix and it made for a lot of dog shenanigans and entertainment. Willow, the Black Lab, was kind enough to loan her crate to Uli for the weekend, so everyone got the rest they needed at night and this crew got their workout at the off leash park during the day. Can you tell which one of these dogs is used to having his picture taken by me?
You know it was a good weekend when the ride home looks like this:
One year ago today, we picked Uli to join our family. Back then, he was tiny enough to fit into one of my hands. Now he overflows our laps and fills our house with happiness!
He is getting a bit big to be a lap dog, but we make it work.
In the last year, Paul and Uli have become nearly 24-7 buds. Since Paul largely works from home, they have daily routines and rhythms of their own. I am not privy to their Monday-Friday life because after kissing each of them goodbye at the front door each morning, I head off to work. On evenings and weekends, I get to join in the fun with visits to the dog park, training and play sessions. And, of course, the gleeful, butt wiggling greeting from Uli when I walk in the door each evening is a pretty awesome end to a workday.
As he transitions from puppy to dog, we are getting to know his quirks and characteristics. For example, he has developed a cute, pouty, bottom lip that emerges when he is wanting of some attention.
He loves to be a part of whatever is going on and doesn't want to miss out on anything. I think it causes him to be stubborn about naps. He often falls asleep while sitting up. He does that thing like a kid falling asleep in class, where he sinks lower and lower as his muscles relax and he nods off. He eventually and inevitably startles himself awake as he starts to fall over (he is doing it as I type this!). He recently figured out how to fall asleep while propped up against the couch, which sometimes saves him from jerking himself awake. Life is just too exciting to give into naps without a fight!
His life isn't all snuggles and naps. though. The life of a young, athletic dog involves a lot of exercise and an abundance of canine and human friends. We are regular visitors to the local dog parks and have found a good doggy daycare where he can play with other dogs indoors. The doggy daycare has been really helpful when it is brutally cold outside.
At the end of December, he officially turned a year old. To celebrate and help remember some highlights from the last year, Paul put together a video. It includes a vocal track of Paul singing Uli-related lyrics. (Paul warns you of the amateur but enthusiastic vocals.)
Over the last year, Uli has met so many people (family, friends and strangers), gone so many places (parks, houses, stores, cabins, cars, yards) and learned so very much. The intensity with which we approached socializing and training during the first months of his life is definitely paying off. I was concerned and a little overwhelmed by the job of teaching him and shaping him into the kind of dog people want to be around and welcome into their homes. It feels really great to see him demonstrate his confidence and understanding of how to function in the human world and the dog world. I would say that the evidence is showing us that he's an all-around happy and well-adjusted guy.
For posterity, here are the commands he knows so far:
come
sit
wait
lay down
get up
look
shake
roll over
stop
crate
pillow
go get it
bring it back
drop it
where is it (hide and seek)
spin/twirl
leave it
let's go
walk with me
ok
take it
get down
go potty
Skills we want him to learn in his second year of life:
how to balance something on his nose and/or head (mostly for my amusement)
how to "play" with Fanny better (they have an uneasy friendship at this point)
run alongside a bike with a walkydog (we have to wait until he is fully grown)
direction commands - left, right, slow down (to help with biking and loose leash walking)
carrying his own hiking pack (waiting until he is full grown to fit him with a pack)
ride in a canoe without tipping it (so he can go to the Boundary Water Canoe Area with Paul)
side (his "roll over" is a flip and he needs to learn how to just turn over onto his side)
We are so happy to have shared this last year with Uli and are very much looking forward to sharing future years and adventure with this fun-loving and smart doggy. One year ago today, we made a very good choice.
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Look for Uli to appear in a few other posts I have coming up over the next few weeks. I have a lot to share here as I have been making the most of the January slowdown by prepping photos and posts. The last quarter of 2015 included a lot of birthdays, short trips and finished projects!
I am quite certain that those who monitor weather statistics would agree with me that Minnesota was treated to an amazing summer and fall this year. The weather has been mild and the transition from one season to the next was gentle. I have been enjoying the unusual flexibility Mother Nature is allowing me when it comes to harvesting the last of my backyard garden and getting the chickens ready for the winter.
We also had time to go up to my dad's house to help (and benefit!) from his fall harvest. Our trip up to Wisconsin came with the very fun bonus of meeting his 2 new kittens!
I wasn't sure what to expect because these cats have a role that is quite different from our Fanny's life. These cuties are outdoor, farm cats who are expected to earn their keep by hunting mice and other pests. My dad named them Shakey and Fatty based on how they presented themselves when he first got them. I was super pleasantly surprised that they are as curious and affectionate as can be with outsized purr motors!
Uli got to meet them as well. Shakey was a lot more interested in playing with Uli than Fatty was.
It was an entertaining site, watching them try to figure out how to play together. Shakey's attempt at catching Uli were slapstick as she only jumped at him well after he had zoomed past her.
Fatty kept his distance likely wondering why his sibling wasn't more afraid of this newcomer.
They alternated play sessions with sniffing breaks and timeouts under the car where Uli couldn't get at Shakey.
The kittens slowed down our harvesting productivity quite a bit with their adorable antics.
Photo credit to Paul
I am glad my dad has some new buddies around and I certainly enjoyed having the opportunity to love them up. Powerful kitten purrs are good medicine.
We usually take a few walks when we visit and this time Fatty wanted to come with us!
He still didn't want Uli to get close to him, though.
Cat in the tree!
Uli had a grand time once again, running and playing on the acreage.
Unfortunately, we didn't bring any treats with us to reward his recall. As the weekend wore on, he got less and less responsive to us and more and more wide in his range around the woods. It got to the point where he wasn't coming back at all unless he wanted to. We let that happen to each of us once and then to the tie out he went. Thankfully, as soon as we got home and intermittently rewarded recall with treats, his consistent obedience returned. He didn't much enjoy his confinement, so hopefully he put together a little bit of cause and effect for future reference.
"I got up here but I don't know how to get down! Help!"
After the harvest, we loaded the car up to the brim with awesome veggies and cases of honeycrisp apples.
Since we got back, the dehydrator has been humming away drying apple chips, the oven has been busy roasting root veggies, potatoes and squash and our appetites have been satisfied.
I'd call myself a maker. More specifically: a knitter, an urban gardener, a food preserver, a cook, a baker, a reader, a photo taker, a budding sewist and an all-around dabbler. I enjoy using this space to record the things I see, make, eat, and do.
My husband and co-conspirator on the much linked to Mega Man hat. He is the house expert when it comes to all things with electrical cords/chargers and/or anything that requires configuring. When I first met Paul he was a smoker and a vegetarian. Now he is a non-smoker who enjoys making smoked meat in his BBQ. Paul recently dove headfirst into brewing beer and is quickly acquiring mad brewing skills. If you are really lucky, he will invite you to one of his Meat Meet Supper Club dinners or Beer Release parties.
Cast of Characters: Fanny
Fanny joined our family in 2008 and has been keeping our laps warm ever since then. When we met Fanny at a shelter in Boston, we thought she was a small, adult cat. We were wrong. She must have been less than a year old, because when we brought her home and fed her, she kept getting bigger and bigger and fluffier and fluffier. In addition to her stellar cuddling skills, Fanny’s claim to fame is that she is a polydactyl cat with a fused or “super” claw. We think she is super in every way.
Cast of Characters: Uli
Uli joined our family on Valentine's Day of 2015. We met him when he was just a few hours old and took him into our home at 7 weeks old. We are looking forward to many years of shared experiences and adventures with this inquisitive and energetic German Shorthaired Pointer pup.
Cast of Characters: Camilla Cordon Bleu
Camilla is our chicken with charm. She is usually the first one to come running to see if you have a treat for her. She is also the chicken most likely to be found perched somewhere she shouldn’t be or wandering off by herself to explore a new area first. Camilla is a Barred Rock, lays brown eggs and is the smallest bird in our flock.
Cast of Characters: Nellie Noodle Soup
Nellie is our bridge bird as she seems to hold the flock together. She usually roosts between Camilla and Petunia and can be found happily foraging alongside either one of them. The only thing that ruffles her feathers is finding herself alone. She is a Rhode Island Red and our biggest hen. Nellie is our first layer and lays brown eggs.
Cast of Characters: Petunia Pot Pie
Petunia is our crafty dodger. She is the hardest to catch and the last to be won over with treats. Her feathers are beautifully ornate which helps make up for her slightly bullyish attitude towards Camilla. She is an Ameraucana and and she lays light blue eggs for us.
In Memoriam: Tchazo
Tchazo, our Weimaraner, was born 3 days before Paul and I had our first date. During our first date, Paul and I egged each other on about getting dogs. Eight weeks later, Tchazo became a part of our lives. After almost 12 amazing years and countless adventures together, we said goodbye to Tchazo in 2014. Tchazo loved life, especially the parts that include eating, smelling, sunbathing, playing and cuddling on the bed. We will forever remember him and the lessons he taught us about joy.
In Memoriam: Jack
I adopted Jack at about the same time Paul bought Tchazo (see previous note about egging each other on), but since Tchazo was young and needed to stay with his mom for a few more weeks, Jack came into our house first. For a while, he HATED Tchazo but they eventually became 24-7 buddies. After nearly 11 years together, we had to put Jack down in March of 2013. Jack was a little crazy in the head, but we learned how to live with it. His favorite things included licking the floor, lying under the couch and gazing at me longingly. Jack was physically incapable of wagging his tail whilst being petted. I like to think it is because he was soaking up the love so intensely that it required his full concentration.
