Lizzie's new litter of babies arrived early the morning of October 21st - 3 days earlier than I had predicted. But my daughter was prepared and had been awake for a few hours with the nervous mama. 3 males and 1 female - 2 black and 2 cream/tan - and all appear to be very healthy. This is Lizzie's 2nd litter - her first pups were purebred toy poodles - but this time a Pomeranian papa was selected. And we couldn't be more pleased with the outcome!
It's so nice to have babies in the house again! Of course we spend every minute looking forward...forward to their birth, now forward to their eyes open, next to them walking, then playing, then to them going on their way to new forever homes.
And they will be ready just in time for Christmas! They will be 8 weeks old on Dec. 16th. One is already spoken for, and we plan to keep the female. And I'm not convinced we will even need to advertise the other 2 - seems these little beauties already have lots of interest!
Puppies are a lot of work - or will be in a couple more weeks when mama starts needing our help to keep things cleaned up. But it's nice to have them around for a little while - for cuddling and enjoying their many antics - and the little bit of profit from selling them will give our college-age daughter (owner of the mother) some Christmas money.
This has been a gorgeous weekend - I really hate to see it come to an end. Partly because it has been so wonderful and partly because I need the time back to finish some things. Things I DID get done: 1. Bought new pants for work for the winter (overdue - last time I bought new winter pants was 5 years ago!) 2. Got the Zebra grass trimmed back and supported so it doesn't lay all over the flower beds 3. Got some yellow and orange marigolds potted up for the front porch flower bed. 4. Scrubbed and deep-cleaned the master bath 5. Picked up 400 lbs. of the ton of wood pellets we bought + asked 20 questions about our new pellet stove that was installed this week 6. Washed and line-dried bedsheets (mmm-love that smell!) 7. Did 9 loads of laundry (uggg!) 8. Moved all the out-of-season and other clothes from hanging in the spare closet, as well as storage boxes and everything else on the end where Larry & Josh installed a pipe to vent from underneath the house through the closet, the ceiling and then out an air vent on the roof. Then put everything back when it was done. 9. Installed the $1 white mini-blind I bought at a yard sale. 10. Started cleaning up the garden beds for winter. 11. Planted the ornamental peach tree my sister gave me 6 weeks ago. Things I wanted to, but didn't get done: 1. Create a bed for planting garlic and onions 2. Create a bed for planting tulip bulbs 3. Reorganize my seed stash and gather new seeds for next year. 4. Finish painting the buffet (will this one EVER get done?!) 5. 20 other things I'm too tired to type There is more good than bad, and I got to see my son and grandson today, and that's always good! Grandson found a toad that he played with for a bit - my daughter got a good shot of that.
The girls and I made our traditional visit to the annual fall Heritage Festival held in a small town about 6 miles away. As always we had a wonderful time, arriving early and making our way through the rows and rows of booths selling everything from home decor items to jewelry to handmade soaps to bird feeders made from old tires. The little ones, ages 7 and 3, had $5 each to spend as they chose - this time bracelets, rings and hair ribbons were the top choices. One daughter bought nothing more than a funnel cake, but brought home several ideas to add to her jewelry and ceramic artwork. The other daughter was on a quest to buy kitchen towels (the kind with a hanger sewn or crocheted so they can be hung from a drawer or cabinet handle) for the upcoming holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had no intentions of buying anything, but somehow came home with a calendar frame! It simply belongs in my kitchen - it honestly looks as though it was made for it!
This autumn tradition feeds the senses - the smell of roasting peanuts and bbq - the gorgeous fall colors of pumpkins, mums, pansies, gourds and more - the crisp clean smell of the air when we arrive and the bright, warm sunshine that quickly warms us.
Good news - we may just be able to stay warm this winter after all! I've been researching ways to heat our home that would be effective, green, and less costly than using propane. I found a ton of good information, but in the end we decided a pellet/grain stove was the right choice for us.
Meet the Baby Countryside by Magnum - ours will be plain jane - no gold or nickel trim, just a nice flat black. $200 less and I won't be frustrated by fingerprints and such!
Installation is set for October 8th, and hopefully we won't really need it for a few weeks beyond that. I'll post an update once we've had a chance to use it. I'm looking forward to the radiant heat and slightly wood-smoke smell...without all the mess of firewood + knowing this is over 90% efficient with low emissions and therefore low impact on the environment. Oh, and of course if wood pellets become scarce or costly, we can switch to corn, soybeans or other renewable biomass fuels.
Lizzie's new litter of babies arrived early the morning of October 21st - 3 days earlier than I had predicted. But my daughter was prepared and had been awake for a few hours with the nervous mama. 3 males and 1 female - 2 black and 2 cream/tan - and all appear to be very healthy. This is Lizzie's 2nd litter - her first pups were purebred toy poodles - but this time a Pomeranian papa was selected. And we couldn't be more pleased with the outcome!
