or, 3rd time’s the charm, i suppose.

round about 3 months ago, at the end of the 1st quarter, my company went through a round of layoffs.  i thankfully survived, but unfortunately my sidekick did not.  which means that i’ve been running a one-woman show for quite a while now, and it’s really wearing.  the cross to bear on all of that was that for the last 6 weeks, we’ve had a study ongoing that required the vet (y.t., of course) to be in doing eye exams on the involved animals every damn day.  which is to say, that since it is now nearly 5pm and i think i can safely call today “off”, this is my first day off in 48 days.  i have officially gone insane and my productivity has been less than flawless, to say the least.

meanwhile, one of my bestest sister girls got me irrevocably hung up on facebook.  everyone and their cat can be entertained at one-sentence witticisms even when i don’t have anything grandiose to say.

combine these 2, and therein lies my total absence to blogging.  i’ve now had 3 people ask me if i was quitting altogether, so apparently, more than one someone occasionally reads this.  if there’s anything i can do to help someone procrastinate at work a bit, well, as the high queen of all slackerdom, i’m honor-bound  to provide whatever assistance i can.  i’ll be back-dating a handful of things that have been languishing in drafts for a good while (my month of adventures – new york!  horse racing!  arizona!  sailing!  the titanic (not the last 2 at once!) – if nothing else), and getting around to telling longer-format stories that just don’t fit on the character limit of FB.

here we go again!

having finished up at my horseback riding lesson, i hopped in the car this evening to see the phone all lit up like a christmas tree.  Chris had called repeatedly, and left 3 text messages.  right there up top, “call asap, dog injury!”

oh dear, here we go again with the craziness.

Xyla had settled in quite nicely in the 4 months she’d been an only child.  we’d figured out her little behavior quirks – i.e., trying to teach her not to do stuff was unrealistic, but managing her by confining her to the kitchen instead of letting her run amok in the whole house was working marvelously.  Chris kept teasing me that there was SO much room left at the foot of the couch, and Xyla kept clotheslining herself on the end of the leash with delirious eagerness every single time another dog walked by – clearly, it was time to make this a 2 kid household.  the whippet rescue people happened to have a few dogs immediately available, so it didn’t take the couple of months of searching that finding the first one did.  when the newbie arrived, on looks alone, he seemed a great idea: she’s a white-faced blond dog, and he’s a blond-faced white dog, what a matched set!  personality, though, took a bit longer.  for the first week, it was all stand-offish: he’s a huge tank of a whippet (which, ok, makes him a smallish tank, so he’s named Saxon), he has NO personal boundaries and will step all over you (dog or person), and he’s just HELLO I’M HERE!!  Xyla swiftly developed a frosty dignity.  all of a sudden, she was every inch the princess, looking down her long tapered nose at this barbarian invader.  i was seriously worried for a few days that we weren’t the right home for him.

also, he was crazy in his own way.  attempts to separate them while we weren’t around to supervise were an epic fail.  2 days after Saxon’s arrival, Chris and i left to run some errands, so i put the boy in the crate and the girl in her usual spot in the kitchen.  he chewed a bar off the new metal crate before forcing the door open and pooping on the entry rug to greet us home enthusiastically.  he’s tall and springy, and i was quite paranoid he’d be able to clear my short backyard fence, but obviously we had no further choice and it was off to the back with him, too.  the highlight was watching his 44Lb bulk ponderously snake through the small dog door that her 27Lb gazelle body negotiates with ease.

sometime around day 5 or 7 or so, the first whippet war broke out.

if you don’t know animals (and i’ve been contending for months now that there is a very decided difference between animal lovers and animal people), you would determine that i’m running some kind of michael vick ring within the walls of my fence.  there’s a lot of leaping and snarling and bared teeth, and it sounds utterly vicious.  the whole time, ears are up and tails are wagging; for all it appears to be a death match, it’s just a fun puppy game.

after that first whippet war, they were super friends.  after 6 weeks of battles, i need my backyard re-sodded.  there used to be a noticeable dead patch in the grass of a bit more than a meter in diameter just off of the patio, which has since been extended to be nearly half of the yard.  when it rains, i have mudpit central, and while her dainty little feet generally pick up a light smattering of detritus, his tank treads bring clods of grime into the house.

by far, though, his least delightful habit is his chewing.  it’s as though she’s the instigator, slyly sneaking into some minor trouble, and he follows up by showing her how much bigger and better the mischief can be done.  i’ve had to replace the baskets on my pantry shelves with smooth-fronted cabinet doors (which is to say, the smattering of dust on some of my wine bottles isn’t venerable aging of the booze, nope, it’s the remnants of a 5LB bag of flour that snowed all over the kitchen, along with the stock bags of salt and sugar), the edges of my sturdy english antique kitchen chairs are noticeably gnawed, i have to replace the insides of all the dog beds (the children share a love of zipper removal), and the lovely new kangaroo-leather nametag collars were devoured quick as any rawhide stick.  i made them nametag collars out of hardware store findings (which work, but rub their hair out where they’re joined, so that’s no good), and i’m trying to teach myself how to weave chainmail so they can have pretty colored titanium chew-proof collars.

any time you can state in all honesty, “i’m learning to weave chainmail for my dogs,” you know the Krazy! is at an all-time high.  but it’s utterly worth it:

he’s the sweetest big teddybear you ever met – permanently up for a big hug.  the 2 of them make an irresistible cuddle tag team, and the ease of napping on the couch is exponentially higher when you have whippets piled on both sides of you.  they have a blast playing together, and you just can’t get irritated with all that pure joy going on.  in a scary/awesome turn of events, they have been known on occasion to hunt beautifully as a pack at the dog park (though some people don’t appreciate my kids playing rough with theirs).  they’re such a smartly matched pair of sleek and beautiful dogs that they’ve literally stopped traffic in my neighborhood (as in, people have pulled over to ask what kind of gorgeous dogs they are).  they’re both settled into my house and my heart:  ya gotta love them, and i really do.

i called Chris right away tonight, of course, as much to ask if he was ok as to ask what happened to the dogs.  he’s the main exhibit of that animal people/lover philosophical discussion – he’s the latter while i’m the former – so i don’t assume practical parenting comes naturally to him.  he was definitely shaken up, but everything was resolved by the time i’d called.  turns out that while he was in the kitchen, he heard a whippet war break out upstairs, then rumble like thunder down the stairs.  there was an odd thump, and then it was quiet.  Chris found Saxon in a heap at the foot of the stairs, knocked out cold.  apparently, his swifter and wilier sister must have tripped him on the way down, and he hit his head on the floor.  after a few seconds, he’d gotten up, shook it off, and was fine.  he got a thorough neuro exam when i got home, and yes, all is well with the kids.  Xyla didn’t escape unscathed, she has a little fresh scratch just over one eyebrow.  these are, no euphemism, my kids – i came home to head trauma and a concussion, so it’s just like any other pair of 2 year olds, i’d guess.

except that at some point, i have to work on refinishing the kitchen chairs.

today, Xyla had probably her most excitement-filled day since she’s been living with me.

we got up early (ok, regular time, which is way early for a saturday!), packed a bag of snacks & supplies, and headed out to a dog park about an hour north of here to meet up with the whippet playdate club.  this dog park has several large fenced-in fields for various activities (e.g., a complete set of agility equipment), and we were in the one with the lure coursing set-up.  it was steadily drizzling all day, and just like her last meet up with the big pack she was completely overwhelmed by 20-something whippets crazily milling about:  the first hour or so was not particularly fun for her.  she was shivery until i put on her sweater (a super stretchy acryllic one that’s easily machine washable with no ill effects), and hovered uncertainly behind me at least as much as she trotted off on the fringes of the group, so it wasn’t shaping up to any kind of red-letter day on her part.

then they got ready to run the lure.

after free-for-all, get-your-ya-yas-out playtime, it was time to give everyone a chance to chase the lure one at a time.  several dogs – last year’s puppies grown up, and new rescues – went before us that were new to this game.  the instructions from the always-helpful rescue/playdate coordinator were the same for the newbies: release them aiming at the lure; you might have to run with them for a while until they get the idea, how to use the lead, etc.  a couple of the new kids were pretty well into it, one other ran for a while before turning around and sprinting back to mom at the start line.  all this time, we were outside the fence watching the other dogs run, and Xyla was moderately interested.  she’d prick ears and give a pointed stare towards the action at the start of each run, then go back to sniffing/exploring the rest of the world.  when it was our turn, someone lent us a very nice leather coursing slip-lead, and we got those same instructions.  the plastic baggie on a string whizzed off, i pulled the free end of the lead to loose the hound, and oh. my. god.  i thought i’d seen her run before, when she was playing chase with a buddy or sprinting off after her toy.  i was wrong.  i’d never seen her little legs tear that fast, and all of a sudden the quoted top speed of whippets being at around 40mph became fact instead of theory.  rescue lady chuckled and announced, “we’re going to have to start getting some of these rescues ILP numbers.”

after that one run, she understood to her bones what was going on in the field, and was in sheer torture each time that “bunny” zipped off without her behind it.  i almost got pulled over a couple of times when she’d try racing along the fence line to follow – 25lbs of determination suddenly stopping at the end of the leash hits your arm like a wee freight train.  we got to make a couple more runs later on:  the string broke in one, the bag was too far ahead in another so she just attacked the string, and the last one was as good as the first.  she’s most definately keen for it.  and she slept pretty well on the way home:

we got home, i got the mud bathed off her, got some last-minute supplies all set up, and headed back out again for the other fun dog-related excitement of the day.  since the doggy blanket was already conveniently in the front seat, this guy was good to go for his own ride back to my house:

Xyla doesn’t know quite what to make of him – he’s a lot bigger than she is – but hopefully, they’ll warm up to each other soon.  he’s made himself right at home on the couch with the chew toys, so now he just needs to figure out the dog door and he’s good to go.

oh yeah, and we need a name for him – feel free to suggest!

i’m working on acquiring a brother for Xyla – that situation updated in a couple of days.  in the meantime, i’ve got to get ready for him, and the current single medium-sized kennel just wasn’t going to work for two of them -  especially since i’ve been informed that this fraternal candidate is a moster-whippet at nearly 40lb.  fortunately, ebay is the font of all things at reasonable prices, so after measuring for fit i ordered a 2-bedroom condo.  of course, measuring and being aren’t the same thing, and though it was exactly as expected, i duly ended up with a huge-ass ugly jail in my bedroom:

classy, huh?  well, as per usual, i have my mom’s mad sewing skillz to thank for pulling me through the latest project attempt.  now the new crate is all cute and homey, covered in sage green lightweight cotton tweed:

thanks mom!  next project: naming the new guy!

i stepped out of the office just a bit early today since a)it was way too nice to be in that box anymore and b)i haven’t had my nails done since xmas.  they were only lightly busy in the salon, so i was able to pick out colors – a flashy turquoise for my toes and a serendipitously named pearl called “birthday babe” for my fingers – and have a seat in the pedicure lounge.  though i’m not a frequent customer, these ladies know me well, and asked if i wanted a design on my toes.  i responded in the affirmative, and she said, “oh, you come over here, see new nail design!”  expecting the usual binder’s pictures to just have been updated, i was instead led over to a table where a youngish man was working on a customer’s french manicure with all the intense focus of a teenager painting historically accurate details on a model airplane.  with a very deft hand, he was looping a half-dozen colors of paisley shapes into a swirl covering the lady’s index fingers.

when he got done, he headed over to the lounge and started my pedicure.

i was taken aback at first because generally the “nail art specialists” wander from table to table adding these small finishing details on top of the regular work everyone else has done.  and also, of course, it’s rather unusual to have a guy working in a nail salon.  i’ve had men paint my fingernails twice before in the past at other salons, but both of those times it was quite clear that these were younger relatives of the salon owners, filling in reluctantly on an understaffed day.  this guy, though, clearly knew what he was doing, and didn’t have any of the eye-rolling “omg i can’t believe i’m stuck here” attitude of those previous trapped teens.  on the contrary, not only did he do a completely serviceable pedicure, he also gave the best leg massage i’ve ever had at one of these places (for those of you that don’t get your nails done, it’s pretty standard for there to be a medium-weight massage up to the elbows with a manicure or up to the knees in a pedi).

apparently, though, i’m not as worldly nonchalant as i’d like to think i am.  the whole thing did make me a bit uncomfortable:  i had to close my eyes and relax to enjoy my lovely leg massage, i don’t think i could have looked long at his polite half smile without blushing.  it’s not solely that he was a guy – i get vaguely unsettled with any stranger crouching at my feet while i lounge up in the vinyl throne – but the unsettled feeling was by far more acute.  like the guy in pulp fiction said, there’s something quite intimate about a foot massage.

good lord, we must all be busy people!  plenty of my friends’ blogs have gone sparsely updated of late – mine most definitely included.  or perhaps we’re just all waiting for the lingering winter blahs to finally burn off?

well, i’m working on perking up over here.  the mass email went out last friday for the upcoming annual spring bbq (saturday the 21st, should you be in the greater dc area).  i’m hoping for a good turnout this year, since so many of my current work crew actually live in the area, as opposed to the last gig where everyone lived at least 45 minutes away.  now i just gotta plan out the actual menu and speculate as to whether or not the head suit will show…

meanwhile, we’re undergoing a moderate flurry of poochel-related purchases here lately.  the cute slim flower-studded leather tag collar i’d been using for Xyla was a bit snug on the last hole, imho.  inspired by some random forum posting that “hounds of course look best nearly naked,” i came across leashes by lyndale, a place that specializes in braided kangaroo leather show leads.  she also makes tag collars in whatever color you like, and will add fancy beads or personalization.  the custom collar (XYLA is in silver cube beads knotted into the back)  showed up in less than 3 days and was all kinds of reasonably priced, and yes, nearly naked hounds are ever so sleek looking:

while i was at it, i decided she needed a couple of new walking collars as well (i would feel more crazy, except my greyhound-afficionado buddies have an entire box full of fancy collars.  also, i have resisted the urge thusfar to splurge on hundred-something dollar lizard skin ones).  i went with a regal royal blue, and a super fun koi fish tapestry.  though i got her to make up the fish on green instead of black (so pretty, very flashy!), this order also showed up at my house lightning fast.  i am so spoiled by the magic of the internets.

and finally, Chris and i have really decided that with all the extra new room Xyla alone just does not take up the whole couch.  she does take up an equivalent share of the bed quite firmly for one so dainty, so i’m not sure how we’ll work that one out.  knowing full well that we’ll never get to sprawl out in my bed ever again, i’ve contacted whippet rescue to let them know that we’re on the lookout for Xy’s new big brother.

oh, goody.  welcome to march:

10″ and still going.  whee.  i’ll be heading in to work when the worst of it blows on by.

ETA: after snapping some pics and deciding to hold off on going in to work until i could actually see across my street, i went back to bed for an hour.  Chris is well-trained in parroting “love you too” in his sleep when prompted, but very occasionally, we have actual hilarous sleep-talking conversations.  today, i informed him that it was too snowy to head out.

“get dog,” he mumbles.  wha?

“dog take you to work.”  o rly?

“yeah.  sled.”  baby, do you have a sled stashed in your car somewhere?

“no,” he grumbles, like i’m a moron for not figuring it out, “cardboard.”

so, i should cut up the tv box to use as a sled so the dog can haul me in to work today?

“yeah, that’ll work.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.”

continuing yesterday’s cooking with mom theme

don’t think i’ve posted a recipe in about forever, but since Chris declared this last night to be “probably the best thing you’ve ever made for me” here we go.

one of mom’s fave restaurants is buca di beppo, a family-style italian chain.  mom being crazy talented (of course) came up with a simple recipe for her fave dish there, the chicken saltimbocca, which in this method ends up being a 2-pot, 30 minute no-biggie (as opposed to the hour+ epics Chris found on the net when doing a recipe search).  the required ingredients are chicken, lemons, butter, capers, and white wine.  all the other veggies here are +/- depending on your tastes or what you have laying around at the time.

pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves out until they are flattened to about a cm thick (quick alternate: use pre-cut chicken tenders, which are already nice and thin).  put some plain white flour admixed with a pinch of salt and pepper on a plate, and lightly dredge the chicken pieces on both sides.  heat olive oil on high and quickly sear the outside of the chicken – cook just long enough that the meat releases from the pan, no need to cook all the way through.  remove chicken and wipe pan clean.

melt a generous portion of butter on medium heat.  add diced/crushed fresh garlic, onions, and mushrooms.  when the onions are starting to carmelize, return the chicken to the pan, and add bell pepper, capers, and sliced (jarred or canned) artichoke pieces.  cut one half of a lemon into thin slices, lay them atop the chicken, cover, and simmer on med-low.

cook some angel hair, spaghetti, or fettuccini.  flip the chicken halfway through the pasta cook time.  the chicken will have developed a nicely browned (not charred!) surface where it was finishing cooking in the butter.

when the pasta is nearly done, turn up the heat on the chicken to med-hi, add a half glass of white wine, some coarsely chopped prosciutto, and a handful of baby spinach.  fold the wilting spinach into the rest of the mix and squeeze the other half of the lemon over it.

drain the pasta and serve the chicken on top of it, with the white wine you cooked it in.  we used voga pinot grigio, which Chris and i both like a lot.

enjoy, and if anyone makes this, let me know how it turns out!

today, i was finally a witness to some sneaky behavior on the part of the dog that Chris has suggested occurs for some time now.  when it’s just her & me, she sleeps wedged firmly up against me, right on top of the comforter.  when it’s him & me, she sleeps in her crate for a few hours, then selects the choicest free spot once we’re both safely asleep.  but apparently, when it’s just him & her, well, let’s just hypothesize that she enjoys his sauna-like warmth as much as i do.

just as i was waking up this am, i got a phone call from a girlfriend i hadn’t spoken to in a while.  i headed downstairs to chat for an hour or so, and returned to find this:

no, Chris hasn’t devloped a tumor, in fact.  let’s just see what that mysterious growth is, shall we?

sigh.  the last part of my house that wasn’t coated in wee blonde hairs is surely seeded with fuzzy love at this point.  and they were otherwise clean sheets, too.  dumping her out of the bed was useless, however, as she’s now decided that doing this when i’m home is ok (next step will of course be when i’m actually in the bed, but she’s not going there just yet).  while i was brushing my teeth, i glanced back toward the bed to witness her paw up one corner of the covers, ever so daintily, and then slip underneath alongside Chris in a boneless wave far more reminiscent of a ferret or serpent than a long-legged dog.  but just when i thought i could get irritated at the hair-generator ‘twixt my clean bed linens, i get this face:

sigh, again.  yes, you are the cutest poochel in the world.  yes, you can stay.