A Day Off, Kind of, Gibbs’ Booster

The Ridge

I heard Bill say “oh-oh” when he looked at the clock on Wednesday, June 16^th. It was only 4:30 and we heard a whimper from downstairs. That usually means Gibbs has to go out ‘stat’. So, Bill slipped into the bathroom, got dressed and took him out. Needless to say, we have agreed that he can come up into bed with us after he has his morning business taken care of.

Trying to get Gibbs used to walking better,
I tried the harness again

I think he is getting better with the whole ‘a bed is for resting’ thing but it takes him longer to settle when we are both up there than if it was just one of us. We all dozed until Bill had to get up just after 5:30 for his shower. I stayed in bed with Gibbs until 6:30 and I know he slept for sure. 😊 We came down in time to see Bill finish getting ready. Bill had turned the furnace on at 4:30 but when we realized that the new stoop was right in front of the vent, Bill got his jigsaw and cut out an area. Woops!

He has a habit of grabbing the leash so this helped

I wanted to go for my usual 2 mile walk and I know I could have, but instead, put the little red harness on Gibbs and took him for a walk down the lane and down North Line to the neighbours to our west. He isn’t good at walking, not for very long anyway. He likes to grab the leash and pull and walk with it in his mouth. I figure I need to get on that better and the harness, although still somewhat big on him, gives me a little more control with the leash connecting up on his back.

No single shadow here, Now we are two

There was a harness in a ‘doggie’ bag at Value Village that came with a little water dish I wanted. It is challenging to get them on, especially for my pea-sized brain! (trust me, some days it feels like that!) He sits pretty good while Mom tries this way and that way before figuring it out or giving up. We didn’t make it to their laneway because he kept stopping and sitting down. The look he gave me was ‘are we lost? We’ve never been here before’. When we turned back, he sure knew the way and turned into our lane.

Remember how the lamp looked when it was turned on?
Here it is in the daylight

When we came inside, I had my tea and he ran around until it was breakfast time for him. I needed to fill our inside container of his food from the big bag and also our fridge water container so did both of those while he inhaled his food. 😊 As always, within 10 minutes, he had to go out and at least piddle. We walked the corral route before coming back in. He isn’t always keen on coming up the steps and into the Suite so I put him on his rope leash for a few minutes until he’s ready.

So, who is this?
Surprise! It is Oakley, 14 week old
Labradoodle

I sat at my laptop and then checked my Norwex app on my phone. Wow! The purchases from my party had improved over night by 1/3! That is awesome and my sister, Donna, was gracious enough to offer to host a party. That gave me the hostess gift of a new small mop system – free! Soon enough, it was time to leave for the Durham Vet Clinic. Gibbs had his 14-week booster and rabies vaccine today and that was a fun experience. Well, the pre-visit was at least.

Kissin' cousins?
Their colouring is identical

As I pulled up, I noticed a young lady with a dog who looked EXACTLY like Gibbs but about 3” taller. I got out and put Gibbs down. Her dog, Oakley, was shy but not my guy, oh no. He ran over and eventually, she came to life and ran circles around him. They were both the same age; Oakley is a labradoodle. While they played a bit and acted up, another vehicle pulled up with a 6 yr. old Goldendoodle, so they were all a poodle mix. What a neat little group!

And then Gibbs met Louie
It was a poodle mix reunion!

Oakley and Gibbs, if not for size, could have been siblings. The vet was running late so the ‘kids’ had about 15 minutes together before they staggered in for their shots. Not sure what Louie was there for but they were all friendly and so were their owners. Dog owners, we love to tell our stories. 😊 They sure love Gibbs and she hates to give him up when she brings him out. I’m sure they’re like that will all of the little ones especially. Easier to cuddle.

They were so cute together

With Gibbs strapped in and windows half rolled down, I stopped at the post office for Bill to return a postage paid parcel. I knew I wouldn’t be long but of course there were 4 people ahead of me. Nothing is quick these days, these times but Gibbs settled down as he waited for Mama. Back home, he piddled but then we came in and he slept. The shot could make them lethargic and he sure was. He slept, deeply, for a couple of hours as if he’d run a marathon. It gave me some quiet time too.

I filled both watering cans from the hand pump
and watered the vegetables

Madame IP boiled some eggs for egg salad and for my lunches. Today, I had a wrap and yogourt, the tortilla being the only real no-no but it isn’t too bad in carbs. When Gibbs woke up before 4, we went for a walk around the corral so he could stretch his legs and he seemed to be quite boisterous, in no discomfort but he laid down a lot and wanted tummy rubs. That’s easy! I love his little tummy and total compliance when he’s like that.

Gibbs wanted to be outside but was just not himself on our first walk

He just wanted his tummy rubbed

I made a tea inside and he crashed under my chair again. After cleaning up dishes, I worked on today’s post. I’m finally caught up again but you know me, I like a single day’s post at a time. 😊 

Then he conked inside under my chair

In the mail today, I got a parcel that I believe was just sent from Hamilton yesterday. My girlfriend sells Pest Away, a natural homemade bug spray and it smells nice, is not sticky and works! Thank you, Brenda G!

Another look at the Evening Primrose today

This Yertle seemed to be shy

The corral garden isn't looking too bad once the
blooms appear

Bill got home around 4:45 and had our bladder filled with water from the Acreage. We weren’t as low as previous times but down to about 29 gallons, however accurate the gauge is. It was like Gibbs started to come to life and rang the bell often. I felt like a yo-yo, keeping up with him. He’d piddle each time so I couldn’t say he was just playing. At 6 or shortly after, we had coconut shrimp in Rosy and I’d made a garden salad as a side.

This one was making her way up the hill

It was good, we haven’t had the shrimp for a long time. Bill had ice cream for dessert but I didn’t need it. Being better at eating has to start somewhere! We did the dishes and I went online to view the BizyBee auction that closes tonight. I had a few things that I was bidding on and wanted to keep an eye. This was a good day. My Alta Fitbit seemed to have died on Tuesday morning and I thought it was a goner but today, it was obvious that the battery was completely dead. Yay!

Supper was good and a nice change of our normal meals
Good night!

Thank you for popping in! Your comments and your patience with my delays are always appreciated.