IslandTime - Carpe Mañana

So, there you have it. Cruze really IS a wonder dog. The stubbornnest, sheddingest, cuddliest, sleepiest, craziest, chewingest, poopingest, wondrous dog. 

In other news, this was our final photo of "the old car" aka "Casper" - we jump started it one last time and dropped it off at Good News Garage where we hope it help a family that needs a car. 

Jindo?

He probably gets his adorable, curly tail (so helpful in sweeping up whatever is on the floor) from a Jindo in his distant past (yup, Jindo; try Googling it). 

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel??

 

CtWD has extra-ordinary lapdog abilities thanks to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in his family tree. And last but not least…

 

Keeshond

We told you he was no ordinary dog – he is a Wonder Dog. If the double-coat of the Akita wasn’t enough, he’s loaded up with extra fur and shedding capacity from his Keeshond forebears. But, wait, there’s more…

 

Shed of Akita

 

With all the shedding (even in the Vermont winter!), we know that Cruze is no ordinary “shepherd/rottweiler mix.” And of course, we are all too aware of his many super powers – not just any dog could eat a whole chocolate cake and feel no ill effects. But we were surprised to learn that his double thick, white fur and remarkable stubbornness comes from his Akita side.  And that’s not all…

Ears of Rottweiler

 

With those floppy ears and cute, wrinkly forehead, it’s also no surprise that CtWD is one-sixth Rottweiler. His sensitivity, often hidden by his complete stubbornness, is also from his Rottweiler lineage.  Oh, but wait, there’s more...

Bite of German Shepherd

He gets his German Shepherd coloring and love of chewing from both his parents! Not a big surprise, CtWD is one-third German Shepherd. But one breed is not enough for CtWD … stay tuned.

Wonder Dog

Thanks to a generous donation from Cruze’s paternal grandmother, we have received a DNA profile of Cruze.  We are grateful to finally have confirmation that Cruze is in fact a … [insert drumroll here]

 

 

 

 

 

 

WONDER DOG

 

Cruze the Wonder Dog (“CtWD”) has bestowed his super powers on us for 18 months, but only now can we truly, and with awe, understand the uniqueness of his potential for Wonderdog-ness.

The details are so Wondrous, that this post is just the first in an 8 part series. Stay tuned.

I missed the bus tonight - totally my own fault - I left my wallet at my office and had to run back for it and thus missed the bus. I made a valiant effort to catch up to the bus at a later stop, but alas I found myself at an unfamiliar stop trying to get comfortable for a 30 minute wait. For reasons not totally clear to me, I looked up from my phone where I was trying to check the bus schedule, and saw my neighbor waiting to pull out into traffic in his truck. Running into a neighbor when you're 25 miles from home and have just missed the bus is just about the most random and amazing thing that could happen.

Thus, tonight, while I was walking the dog and reflecting upon my good fortune, I was thinking that autumn is a beautiful time to live in a small town in Vermont. It's so beautiful that if I can't live in my floating home in Seattle, then this is a great alternative. Except for maybe living on a South Pacific island.
So, if I can't be living on a floating home in Seattle or a tropical island in the Pacific, then small town New England is a great place to be. Except maybe living in Paris.

All of which got me to thinking about how many amazing places I've been and things I've done. Day to day my life feels pretty much just another working mom blah blah blah.

And if I weren't a working mom who has to get up early to walk the dog, I'd certainly make the time to post photos of all the amazing places that I've lived.

A few weeks ago, while sitting on the grass watching t-ball practice, feeling like I was wasting my time just sitting there, but not wanting to be a bad parent and leave the not-quite-5-year-old, I realized that I no longer did anything just for me. 

And so I decided that I would reserve one hour each week for me - not cooking for the family, not planting the vegetable garden, not watching pbskids. It sounded luxorious, the way I used to think of a bubble bath. But as I let the idea swirl around inside my brain, I thought that one hour really didn't sound very ambitious - maybe it should be 1 hour a day. Nice, but I realized that I'd be sleeping less, which would just make me more cranky.

Now it is 2 weeks and 6 days later and I am proud to say that I managed to get an hour to myself yesterday! I am quite sure this is mainly a result of the 3 day weekend, but at least I got it done. And based on the data I have collected in this pilot project, I shall revise my goal to 1 hour every three weeks.