Meet Gunner and Gracie

I never dreamed my next post would be about two new puppies in the house.  Truth be told, I wasn’t sure my heart was ready to love another dog again but, Al has never gone without a dog in his life, and well, it was definitely showing on him. So, when Gracie showed up on a local Facebook page we jumped at the opportunity. Then, a few days later the same person that found Gracie found two more dogs!  They were males.  We immediately told her we would take one. I had moments of excitement and moments of despair before we brought them home.  Who’s kidding.  I had these moments even after they were brought into our home.  They bring me so much joy, but at the same time, they bring up memories of Herc and Teenie, which I know is good, but it sure makes me miss them.

Gunner and Gracie acclimated very well to their new environment and to each other. Gracie is at least a month older than Gunner.  She is pretty docile. We can only estimate on their age but, Gunner appears much younger. He has since caught up to Gracies height though. But, some of his mannerisms still say he’s young.  His teeth are like razors and he mouths everything. He still has little accidents in the house, too. Outdoor walks on a leash are always interesting.  Gunner wants to smell every blade of grass, tries to eat rocks and, don’t let one of them find a stick, then they both try and steal it from each other! They do play wonderfully together.  I think that is so healthy for them to have each other. They, just this week, began sleeping through the night. Praise.  Both puppies did well at their first vet check up and Al even took Gracie for a ride to the Tractor Supply a few days ago. We are trying to keep them socialize as much as possible.  We sent off their DNA tests and are anxiously awaiting the results.  It could be any day now.  For now, the house is full of playpens, gates, toys and lots of fun moments!

As for the cats and labs….the cats have all warmed up to them.  Spot loves to go on walks with us.  We are very cautious though as they want to nip at him.  Bun and Honey are funny. They want to come up to us for attention but, as soon as the puppies start over, they turn and walk away.  They’re like, “Nevermind”. They have let them close on occasion and they’ve smelled each other. They just don’t seem to care much about them.  I think they are just not interested in puppy play.  They do watch us walk them from a distance.  As soon as we get close, they get up and leave.  It’s kind of comical.  We’ve been taking the puppies out the front door which puts them in eyesight of the labs and the cats.  We want them to get used to seeing each other and so, hopefully, everyone will get along.  So far it seems to be working.

In other news, we have completed the laboratory!  I have one more thing to add to it this weekend.  Then, hopefully I can do a reveal!  It turned out so good!  Bun and Honey both seem to like it.

In between puppy walks and puppy playtime we are feverishly working on the basement.  We ordered new furniture for the main floor as the current furniture will go to the basement. We ordered it back in October thinking we had plenty of time.  Well, time ran out and it’s being delivered in two weeks!  So, we are trying to at least get the walls up and the tile laid in our offices so most everything in the main room can go into their perspective rooms.  It’s stressful but, I’m secretly glad we are under pressure!  I want this basement finished more than anything!

Oh, I did managed to decorate for Spring!  I went a little light this year.  I decorated the main room and the hutch in the loft but, left the kitchen as is.  I’m happy with it!  I think it turned out wonderfully and it’s just enough. 

I also processed some red clover.  After about 6 weeks, you strain the flower out from the coconut oil and you have a collagen type facial cream.  It is also good for eczema and psoriasis.

Garden plans are in the works.  We had to come up with a new way of planting our seedlings.  There’s no more room in the basement so, we bought a portable greenhouse that will live in the outbuilding.  Eventually, we will have an actual greenhouse, just not this year! Garden will be smaller as well.  We are trying to work smarter, not harder.  There were some vegetables, etc.  that were just not getting consumed fast enough or even at all.  So, only planting the things we know we will eat. And, of course, we will have a pumpkin patch!

That’s it for now!  Next up, hopefully the DNA results of the puppies and much more!

Thanks for reading!

XO,

Elisa