happy holidays

kim: merry christmas and happy new year.  i hope everyone has enjoyed some good times with family and friends.  it's a great time of year to reflect on your blessings (like other people in peanut's life, because i didn't get her anything for christmas).

the gift of dog:  $2974.04

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peanut:  i thought i heard something.  is that you, santa?

critical path

kim:  since we got all that snow, it's hard for peanut to navigate through the deep stuff.  but out of necessity, she's created a path to her potty stop at the back of the yard.

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peanut:  hey, i have an idea - you could get out your snowshoes and stomp down the snow everywhere for me.  or at least stomp out a bigger potty area for me.  i hate it when my wizzer gets in the snow.  brrr!

kennel

kim:  peanut spent the weekend with her coconut retriever friends bella and maggie while i was in madison at a bonspiel.  she learned what "kennel" meant, and followed her friends into their kennel for a photo shoot.  she had her own soft-sided kennel to stay in, which she did - for a while, anyway.  she used her "reasonably good problem-solving skills" to figure out how to unzip her kennel door and get out, which she did twice.

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peanut: three dogs in one kennel seems like fun!

happy thanksgiving

kim: happy thanksgiving, everyone! may you enjoy the company of family and friends and a good meal.

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peanut: i love birds with stuffing!

election day

kim: it's a beautiful day (in minnesota, anyway) to take your dog for a walk - right down to your polling place.

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peanut: vote for pro-canine candidates!

happy halloween

kim: happy halloween everyone! it's a very exciting night for peanut, because she has lots of occasion to bark when someone knocks at the door.

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peanut: trick-or-treat! hey, where are the biscits?

outtake

kim: peanut loves to play ball and frisbee. in either game, she can really get some good air.

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peanut: this was one of the outtakes; most of the time i get the ball on the one-hop!

r.i.p. slippers

kim: peanut had it in for these slippers from the get go.

first, she chewed the snap off. later, the back side of the snap, which left a hole behind the heel; i used an iron-on patch to fix it. a few more days later, she chewed off the patch. my response was to patch up the back with duct tape. of course, that only lasted a few days before she pulled it off, and ripped out the stuffing.

battles, kim. war, peanut.

cost of canine combat: $2753.42

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peanut: yes, sir! i disabled the infiltrators, sir!

papasan

kim: since the remodeling began, the papasan found its home in the basement. it's a perfect place for a little dog to stay in cooler climes in the summer, or to be right there when mom gets home (the house has a tuckunder garage).

papasans are also known as mamasans or bowl chairs. or dog hair collectors.

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peanut: i can play peek-a-boo in here.

mmm...bowl...when's dinn'r?

bananas

kim: some dogs really like carrots. however, peanut does not identify with a rabbit as much as a monkey.

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peanut: little dogs love bananas!

me and my shadow

kim: peanut had a photographic moment one night.

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peanut: what shadow? all i see is light.

dental hygiene

kim: every once in a while i try to brush peanut's teeth. i'm not sure how effective it is, as she tries to chew the toothbrush, and it's hard to really get any brushing done. she may need to get her teeth professionally cleaned one of these days.

so far, my bank account has been cleaned of $2543.40.

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peanut: mmm...beef flavored toothpaste. my favorite!

lost and found

kim: i was installing the light fixture in the stairwell (way high up), when i dropped one of the decorative threaded balls that goes on the end of the screws. rats. i heard it bounce down the bottom steps, then roll and roll and roll. i knew i'd be searching forever for it. and i did look for quite some time, before i happed to see something on top of peanut's ottoman. it was the ball!

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peanut: i thought you would be looking for this, so i gathered it up for you.

pontoon ride

kim: peanut is not particularly a water dog. the one time she jumped in a river, she came out faster than she went in. and if we walk near a pond or lake, she's happy to be on the shore. that's fine with me - less wet dog smell.

however, she managed to walk on the dock and jump into the pontoon we rented over the holiday weekend. she was a little nervous at first, but soon she seemed to enjoy it, and even got back into the pontoon the next day.

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peanut: that was fun. i'm ready to go again.

sticks

kim: peanut played "sticks" for the first time over the holiday weekend (sticks being fetch with a stick as opposed to a ball - we call that game "ball"). there weren't any appropriate balls around the cabin, so she found a stick and brought it over. i threw it, she retrieved it, and voila! the game of sticks was born.

danny and uncle chuck played sticks with her, too.

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peanut: do i have to give you the stick first in order to play?

look ma, no arms

kim: peanut is a very long dog when stretched out end to end, even without her front legs.

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peanut: i'm pretending to be two-legged, like a people.

artistic canine

kim: sometimes peanut likes to make faces for the camera.

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peanut: this is my interpretation of "the scream."

some favorite things

kim: having a ball to play with is always a good time, but having four to play with is about the best thing ever - especially if they belong to your friend.

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peanut: the orange one is my favorite. except for the green one; i like that best. well, except for the blue one. and the red one.

portrait of a two year old

kim: peanut is two years old today. happy birthday, peanut!

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peanut: how old is two in people years?

the farm

kim: last weekend, peanut and i went to visit "the farm." peanut got to run free the entire time, and got introduced to camden and cats and bunnies (too bad they were locked up - peanut wanted to play with them so badly!) and peacocks and chickens and llamas and pygmy goats. sooo much fun for a dog!

peanut and camden immediately hit it off; they were inseparable. it was really cute - they kissed a lot and chased each other around for hours.

that night, peanut whined and looked out the window. i think she wished she were still at the farm.

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peanut: oh, i miss camden! i want to visit him again!

watch dog

kim: peanut likes to keep tabs on the goings on in the neighborhood. she's a good watch dog that way.

she's also a good watch dog in earnest because she does bark if someone comes to the door or pulls in the driveway, but doesn't bark at people walking by.

so far, i have invested $2442.21 in this watch dog.

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peanut: looks like bob and kathy got some dog biscits at the grocery store.

bed time

kim: at home (aka the lake house), peanut likes to sleep on the couch. at the river house, she likes to sleep in ani's bed. and ani sleeps under the people bed.

cost of running my own doggie b&b: $2395.63

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peanut: host beds are better than guest beds!

thunderstorm ears

kim: some dogs hate thunderstorms, some dogs are indifferent. peanut is somewhere in between. when bad weather strikes, she puts on her thunderstorm ears.

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peanut: i do not like thunder.

hop in

kim: there are lots of ways to tell your dog to get into the car. the words i use are "hop in."* once i give the command, peanut dutifully puts her front legs on the seat and waits there, allowing me to take off her leash. and then continues to wait until i help her in the car.

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peanut: i'm ready for my leg up.

*something got lost in the translation

sliding catch

kim: peanut made a sliding catch while playing ball. her leg needs to go in the wash.

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peanut: but i got it! good job me!

remember fetch?

kim: it's been a long time since we played fetch. wonder if peanut remembers how?

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peanut: i know just what to do!

quick as a flash

kim: no weekend with ani would be complete without me trying to get a picture of her. you have to be pretty quick, because once she sees the camera is out, she's gone!

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peanut: hey, where did ani go? i though we were going to pose together...

temptation

kim: ani is staying with us for a few days. she got traumatized when i got out the camera, and left without finishing her lunch. peanut immediately went over to the bowl to finish up, but i told her that it was ani's food. so peanut just stood at a distance and stared at the bowl.

peanut did a pretty good job, actually. she must have lasted 5-10 minutes before gobbling up the leftover kibbles.

$2352.51 is no longer left over in my savings.

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peanut: food shouldn't go to waste!

mistaken identity

kim: sometimes little dogs mistake pillows for chew toys. especially if they're soft and fuzzy and on the floor.

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peanut: oops. i thought caterpillow was for me.

dog tired

kim: being a little dog isn't always easy. in fact, it can be downright exhausting.

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peanut: zzzzzz

weekend guest

kim: peanut loves playing host, and was quite excited to have ani stay with us this weekend. ani seemed to be having a good time until i took her picture. it must have been the last straw, because then she went and hid under the bed.

$1947.74 is not longer under my mattress.

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peanut: i like having friends over!

weekend vacation

kim: while i was at the minnesota curling club playdowns (we came back as state champs, and get to go to nationals, yay), peanut got to spend time with friends. first, she spent a night with ani, then the rest of the weekend with bella and maggie.

she must have had a great time, because she slept a lot when she got home.

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peanut: oh, you're back already?