Power-less

It all started around 2:30 yesterday afternoon. The first flicker of the lights, then the deafening silence of a powerless home. The day had been filled with rain, sleet and high winds. Downed power lines were to be expected.

I had an appointment across town at 3:15, so I manually lifted the garage door, jumped in the Jeep and took off - slowly. The temp wasn't too bad and I wouldn't be gone long, so I felt ok leaving the boys at home. Plus, I needed to stop by the hardware store and get some survival gear. The drive out was wet - just rain. But the drive home was a TOTALLY different story. The sleet and snow had started - blizzard condition. It was piling up on the roads. 35 mph down the interstate, with only one lane really cleared. Fun.

The hardware store did not have much left for choices. I wasn't the only one without power that was forced out to buy survival gear. In fact, as of this morning's news, over 100,000 people across the state are without power. The pic above shows my investment - a propane heater and some battery-operated lights.

After having some dinner, the boys and I snuggled up on the floor near the heater. We napped off and on until about 10:30 pm, listening to 70's tunes on a local radio station. Around 10:00, I heard the scraping of shovels on the sidewalk outside. I was excited that I wouldn't have to wade through un-shoveled sidewalks for the last potty walk of the evening. As soon as the coast was clear, the boys and I set out for one final walk of the evening. When we got in , we just went to bed. It was warmer upstairs anyway, and our respective beds were certainly more comfortable than the floor.

Around 3 am, we were awoken by the flash of resuming power. Followed quickly by the soothing hum of the furnace!!! Yeah! So, we survived. It was a boring evening, but I actually appreciated the extra shut-eye after the long week of drama-filled work events.

Bad Blogger!!

It has been 18 days since my last blog. I can't even believe it has been that long! Me and the boys have been quite busy - so much so that I haven't had time to sit down and blog a bit.

I need to post some pictures of Bud's birthday, which we celebrated just a few days after Hoss'. Again, we had special treats and a new toy. And with the birthday has come new personality traits showing through. He is such a goofy boy! He certainly has grown into his sock monkey collar.

We've also been experimenting with staying home all day, without me coming home at lunch for a potty walk. They both have been doing WONDERFUL!!! No accidents at all! I don't plan on doing it every day, but with recent changes at work, my schedule has become less predictable, and a trip home at lunch may not always be possible. Today we did a lunch potty walk, then I stayed late at work a few extra hours. They seem okay so far. We'll see if I have a 2:30 am wake-up call tonight. Something about the extended hours without a potty break seems to make them need to go more frequently when I am home. Weird. It's like they have a quota for how many times they need to pee in a 24 hour period.

Since my last blog, the boys and I had another grey-get-together with Miss Daisy and her mommy at the Breakroom. In true Daisy fashion, she continued to stand over top Hoss each time he laid down on the floor. What an alpha-girl!!! She is sooo precious. I'm making her a necklace to wear in an upcoming wedding. We got to do a fitting that day, and now I need to make the final adjustments. Doggie bling.......

This warm weather has been so nice!!! Our walks over the last few days have been coatless!!! The boys love it! We even did a little jogging the other night, just to get the blood going. Unfortunately, the boys hadn't been down that path for a while due to snow coverage, so they were distracted, constantly checking their pee-mail and leaving replies!!!

Happy Birthday, Hoss!

Friday was Hoss' birthday - the big 8!! With Bud's birthday quickly following this week, I made one trip to the Brown Dog Bakery to get some birthday goodies for both days. Confined to the kitchen, I gave each of the boys a couple of different treats. Some were enjoyed more than others, but overall they were excited for the change. Along with the treats, I bought a few new stuffies. I only gave one out, and will give the other out on Bud's bday. They have both really enjoyed the new stuffie. Every time we come downstairs, Hoss attacks it, even if for only a split second before flopping over for a quick bout of shut-eye.

In other greyhound news:

- Bud is showing a lot more aggression over the last week or so. I've noticed that he will bark or growl at Hoss at bizarre times. Sometimes I think it is a possession issue - with me, with food, with toys. Usually I'm quick to follow with a No! and a stern glare. He backs down, then comes to me for an apology snuggle at first chance.

- Both of the boys have been a lot more affectionate with me lately! Lot's of leaning, on heads on the lap. Hoss likes to bury his head between my legs when I'm standing. It is really cute! Maybe they know it will get them scritches......I don't care. I like it anyway, and will give scritches if it means they keep it up!

- Hoss' ability to go lengths of time without needing to go out is starting to regress. Maybe he just takes advantage of my being home, but he has been awfully whiny lately. He even had an "oops" this weekend. He got himself riled up as we were getting ready to go out. He was doing mini-zoomies and raced down to the bottom landing where we exit at. As he got down into his Egyptian pose, I started to hear him pee! I told him to stop but he looked at me like he was confused. I was mad for a bit, but soon realized he probably didn't realize what he did. When we went out right after, he did his normal potty routine, so it must have been an oops that slipped out. Poor guy!