Dr Copa

From what I understand the groundhogs have predicted six more weeks of winter weather. Well, so far the winter weather here has been unusually mild, so if that is what we are going to continue to get for the next six weeks, I am all for it! If I recall correctly, it has only snowed once around here this winter season, and we’ve only had some freezing rain once as well, and that is the way I like it! My folks back in New England have not had it quite so lucky; every time I talk to them on the phone they are telling me how cold it is and how much snow they are getting. Again, fine with me; they can keep it there!

Last Friday the pest control serviceman came over to the house to check on all of the bug and rodent sticky traps, and to service the house. We set up a contract with his company that they will come out several times a year to do that. We had not been having a lot of trouble with bugs and rodents upstairs, but my sister-in-law, who lives in the downstairs apartment has been telling us that there are a lot of spiders down there, so we went ahead and signed up with the pest control company.

Well, wouldn’t you know, this morning she comes upstairs, carrying her little pug puppy, who had his front right paw firmly stuck inside one of the sticky glue mouse traps. My wife woke me up from my nap to help them hold the puppy still while my wife poured some corn oil into a bowl and the put the puppy’s paw into the oil. She massaged the paw for a couple of minutes, and before you knew what was happening that sticky trap came right off! So the puppy was none the worse for wear, and all is well with the world.

Whenever my sister-in-law goes away for a day or so we end up going into her apartment and bringing her puppy upstairs to run around and play with our dogs. Her puppy is not very well house-broken, so before we go down to get him we try to puppy-proof the house as best we can. We use baby gates across as many doorways as we can to keep the puppy confined to just the kitchen and dining/living room. There is a doggie door that all of the dogs can use to access the back yard, and it is a riot to watch the three dogs chase each other around the dining room table like it is a racetrack, and then they all run out through the doggie door and into the back yard.

I remember when we moved down here I challenged my wife’s decision to bring the pressure mount gates with us from New England, but now I’m glad she did. Using them as pet gates has kept a lot of our house free from puppy pee!

Most dogs like water.  I’ve got two that are cowards when it comes to water.  If I open the door to let my dog out in the morning and the deck just has moisture on it, they turn around and come right back in!  I think they have learned to have major holding capacity because they don’t go in the house, and they will wait for hours to wait for it to be dry before they will go outside.  Yet, I see tons of dogs walking outside in the rain, swimming in the lake; not mine!  I’m thinking about buying them rain coats and boots!

One of the things that I enjoy about travelling is going to the different local Restaurants and Coffee Shops to mingle with the people that actually live in the area. I am a “people watcher” and often enjoy just sitting somewhere and watching the people go by. That’s a good thing, too because there are some days when I just don’t have the ability to go out and be really active doing the “tourist” thing that so many people get roped into doing.

And in this economy, sometimes my wife and I might enjoy a staycation where we don’t travel very far at all. Instead we might spend a night or two in local Hotels, just to sneak away and have some relaxation time just to ourselves. What better way to enjoy some time in an indoor heated swimming pool, or relax in a suite that has a two-person spa to enjoy. With such a hectic life at home, with so many people coming and going and pets running around, a relationship can sometimes be swept aside and lost in the hustle and bustle. Come to think of it, we’re overdue for such a treat!