Icicle Fortress

We're getting another snowstorm right now.  Apparently winter decided to hit New England all at once!

I went out today to shovel our back deck a bit.  I've been becoming a little bit concerned, as the snow level has risen, that Thane might soon become tempted to jump over the deck railing into the unfenced portion of our yard - he likes to stand on the seat and watch the world go by.

In the spring, I'll probably end up building some sort of little topper to go on the railing so that there's no way Thane could get over it...but today I came up with a (very temporary) solution.

Yes, it's true...our deck is now partially enclosed by an icicle fortress.  And yes, my family laughed at me.  :P

I only had enough icicles to do one side of the deck, but that's the part that is closest to the ground, so I was most concerned about Thane jumping off that side.

Hmm, I hope Thane doesn't eat them...

Personal Clouds

Dad, Timothy (my youngest brother) and I did some snow cleanup today.  It was a beautiful, sunshiney day, and I tried to get a couple shots of the sun shining through the powdery shovelfuls of snow.

As I was looking through the photos this evening, though, I thought that - with a little imagination - it looks kind of like Dad and Timothy were each battling their own personal little snowcloud that was hovering overhead.

Here's Dad, swatting at his snowcloud with a shovel.  It retaliates by snowing on him, but it's so little that it can't do too much or it will...

...go up in a puff of snow.  

And here's Timothy, hanging out on the roof with his snowcloud.  This one's aggressive - see the bigger chunks in there?

In fact, it looks like it's trying to develop into a mini blizzard, so Timothy grabs up the shovel and gives it a good whack!

Another snowcloud conquered!

The next one tried to jump out at him from the other side...good thing he's quick with the shovel!

Anyway.

More snow tomorrow!  

Happy shoveling, everyone!!  :P  

Buried

We got a LOT of snow last night...although I hear it's nothing compared to what Maine got (and is still getting).  

But still, I'm glad that I switched from a temporary, 3-foot-high wire fence to six-foot stockade fencing this past autumn, because this is all that I can see of the wire fence now:

We have enough adventures with Thane without him stepping over the fence and getting loose!!

Herding Dog Headaches

Walks with Thane are always interesting.  He's got the herding dog tendency to nip at ankles or to jump up and grab at my sleeves, especially if he's in a playful mood.  My dog trainer suggested a game to distract him from that behavior - I say, "Ready?" and grab a treat, then toss it on the ground and say, "Go find it!"  Eventually, if I'm consistent in catching the behavior early enough, the nipping habit should be broken.  

It is helping, but I don't always have treats on me - or sometimes I can't get to them.  Like today.

I was cutting between two groomed trails, walking over the no-man's land where you might sink into the snow an inch - or a foot.  I made it to within one step of the groomed trail when - you guessed it! - the ground suddenly dropped out from underneath me and I was in snow up to my knees. 

This normally wouldn't have been much of a problem - I'd just catch my balance and step up onto the trail.  But then Little Mr. Crazy decided that this was the best game EVER - and grabbed hold of my right coat sleeve for a rousing game of tug-of-war.

Needless to say, it's a teensy bit challenging to get your balance and step out of knee-deep snow when a 50-pound dog is attached to your sleeve, tugging for all he's worth!  And I couldn't get to my pocket to distract him with treats because I keep them in my right-hand coat pocket.

I'm glad no one chose that moment to pass by...although they'd have had a nice story to tell.

I was both laughing and kind of wishing for the rolled-up newspaper my Mom keeps suggesting I use on Thane.  I eventually managed to wrestle my way up onto the trail, detach Fang from my sleeve, and attempt to recover some of my lost dignity - but then I had to laugh again because the Goofball was so overcome with excitement that he got the zoomies and nearly fell in the hole in the snow where I'd been stuck.

Ah, Thane.

He's a good boy...but I can't wait until he's completely grown up!

Don't let anyone tell you that raising a puppy is all tail wags and soft little kisses!!

No matter how regal said pooch tries to appear!

Saturday

Mom pointed out that I forgot an important detail about the lotion in my Thursday post.

That detail?  

Thane LOVES the lotion...if I put it on, he'll try to lick my hands as if it's some sort of delicacy!

Weird dog.  :P  

In totally unrelated news, I've found a possible lead for getting Thane into a herding class!  

I've been warned to watch out, because the sheep will knock you over.

That is, if Thane doesn't knock me over first.

Thinking

I got to spend most of my time today at work in "my room" - aka, Personal Care, the section I'm in charge of maintaining (I work in a General Store).  Many senior staff members have a section; I started out as an assistant in Personal Care several years ago, then fully inherited it 2-3 years ago when the previous section manager moved away.

I enjoy spending time in my room, neatening, tagging product, rearranging...

And lately, I've spent a lot of time thinking as I've worked...looking around at all the product and wondering how I'll package my own soaps and lotions someday.

Reading the ingredients lists and thinking about how I need to do more research so I can decide what I'll put into my products.

Thinking about what scents I'll use.

And pondering the fact that before anything else, I need to figure out how to start/run a small business.  :P  

I did actually make some lotion a couple weeks ago.  It occurred to me today that I forgot to blog about it...but I suppose that's just as well, since it's given me a couple weeks to test it.

It consists solely of Mango Butter, Argan oil and Calendula oil.  

I chose those ingredients because the Mango Butter and Argan oil have a Comodogenic rating of 0, meaning they won't make you break out.  (Not sure about the Calendula oil, but if I recall correctly, I did read that it can be used on the face.)

So I've used this on my face after showering, and occasionally on my hands, which get pretty nasty on the knuckles in this cold weather.  

My opinion so far?  Well...I'm going to keep researching and trying other recipes.  This stuff would probably be great as a body butter, but I'd like for it be a bit less...well, buttery, lol.  It doesn't make me break out, but it does leave my skin feeling quite oily.  It works well on my face as long as I don't put too much on.  It's soft but solid, then melts into an oil when you rub your hands together.

But it was a fun experiment - SUPER exciting to get little glass jars and bottles of oils in the mail, and then actually mix up a real lotion!

I still have no idea what I'm doing, though...time to get seriously researching!!  

I hope everyone had a great Thursday...ta-ta for now!!

Impulse Purchase

I bought a llama today.

It all happened really fast...I saw him, and my heart just melted...and I knew he was coming home with me.  

He came with the name Jasper.  I think I'll keep the name...it fits him.

I'll have to watch out so that Thane doesn't try to chew on him, though.  Puppies and llamas probably don't mix very well.

Would you like to see a picture?

Yes?  

Okay, here you go!  Meet Jasper the llama:

Isn't he adorable?  :D