Ear Hat

With much watching & waiting – and the abuse of any squeaky toy we could find, we finally captured the Ear Hat on film.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I am proud to unveil the Ear Hat, the first time ever captured in pictures in the Hogue household!!

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Basil’s Ears

Basil’s ears are very communicative.

Sometimes they are Perky Ears. Oozing cuteness. These ears say, “I’m listening & I’m adorable.”

Curious Ears are very similar in look to the Perky Ears and are often used in combination with the Head Tilt to say, “Do you hear that?!” or “I would really like to figure out what is making that strange sound!”

We also have the Concentration Ears (also known as the Submissive Ears). These ears have only recently made an appearance and can most often be spotted during training lessons and as an expression of submission to her master. The Submissive Ears can also be noted when Basil is meeting other dogs or substantially larger beasts. During the initial meeting, ears are drawn back to show interest, humility & to aid in heightening her listening ability.

Concentration Ears should not be, but often are, confused with Annoyed Ears.

Annoyed ears are very similar in look to the Concentration Ears, but must be read in situational context. Assuming the ears you are reading are Concentration/Submissive when they are in fact Annoyed Ears can lead to quite an explosive situation. For which you will not be prepared. Here is a prime example of Annoyed Ears. They can easily be mistaken for Submissive since she is sitting – a command she preforms well. However, inspecting this picture further, we can see Basil is really wearing her Annoyed Ears because she is on leash & there is a hand in the background guiding her tooshie towards the ground. In this situation, her doggie instincts would be driving her to run, dig & frolic on the beach, but she is being posed for a picture instead. Annoyed Ears.

We are also covering the Hot Dog Ears. As the outside temperature continues to increase, these are becoming a more and more popular choice for Basil to wear. They express the attitude of “I’m done out here – let’s go inside & cool off.”

And last but not least, is the Ear Hat. This is a somewhat infrequent choice & even more elusive to capture in photos. Let me see if I can at least give you a mental picture: it is usually seen when Basil whips around because of an exciting sound she has heard and one ear lands flat on the top of her head. Once she has the ear hat on, Basil likes to wear her Ear Hat for as long as we continue to giggle & tell her what a cute girl she is.

Basil’s ears say it all.

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Go Ahead & Say It…

I know you are thinking it – I’ve neglected my blog. Well let me see if I can make it up to you. Let’s get started!

First – We got our wedding pictures! Here’s a couple of my faves:

Our friend Nate did such a great job!

Basil is growing like a weed – everyday I swear she is taller!! Earlier this week she had her “big girl” surgery (she got spayed) and she also had a gastroplexy to help prevent gastric torsion. Oh our baby is spoiled! She has been on two different pain pills since she came home. The vet said she woke up from the anesthesia with a wagging tail. Which is pretty much how she is all the time! The vet tech carried her out to us like you would hold a baby & as soon as she put Basi in my arms she opened her eyes & started wagging her tail again. Ha! It kinda made me a little emotional!! Basil has also been everywhere with us & meeting everyone along the way. She is going to be a well adjusted doggie when she’s grown up! We took her to the coast with us & up to see the Redwoods. She has also met some horsies that she was so excited to play with! And we took her to Lake Tahoe with us & got to experience snow for the first time – it was hilarious! She definitely did not know what to think of it!!

I’ve also been working to perfect my ice cream making skills! I got the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid for the wedding. And the weather is finally getting warm enough to use it! I made Strawberry ice cream a couple of weeks ago for our Cinco de Mayo party. It may have been beginner’s luck that it turned out so perfect!! Earlier this week I tried to make cookies ‘n cream…that did not go so well. I think I added the cookies too soon & the ice cream never solidified! I tried again this morning & it worked much better. But I am having to freeze the ice cream in two batches because it made so much! So I did half already & added the cookies in the last couple of minutes & am on break now because I had to pop the bucket back into the freezer!

Chad and I have realized how quickly the little bit of time we have left in NorCal is flying by! We are wanting to take advantage of as much as we can before we go. About a month ago I did something I’ve never done before, nor thought I was capable of doing! We participated in our first Duathalon!! Which is running/bike/run. Chad did the full 4mi/13mi/4mi and I did the Sprint which was 2/6.5/2. And….not to brag – but I came in third in my age division… haha! There were only 3 participants in my division too ;) But I did keep close to a 9:30 pace on the runs which was good for me – and I realized I definitely need to be riding my bike more – I think I could have shaved quite a bit of time off if I was better on Vega!!

Here I am finishing the first run & Chad finishing his second run. I was SO nervous on the way to the race & kept asking Chad to turn the car around, but it was SUCH a fun event! I felt like I was just running on adrenaline the whole time – I think I got a rush before each run & the bike section! Definitely looking forward to doing another with my husband!

Ok, obviously I’m having trouble getting the text & pictures lined up together. But I’m too frustrated/lazy to keep messing with it. But these are the highlights of the past couple of months. Of course, there has been tons of great food along the way too. But I’ve done a poor job of documenting the dinners we have had.

Last, but definitely not least – I need to say Happy Birthday to my BFF Jill. My life would not be the same without you! I am so thankful we met that summer at Kanakuk! I have been completely blessed by your humor, creativity, honesty & support & love! I love you!!

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Guster

This morning at dawn, Guster was found down in Basil’s crate, lying in a pool of his own blood…er…stuffing. He had obviously been mauled by a beast sometime during the night. His injuries were extensive – a large gaping flesh wound to the left flank. Internal and superficial, I had to start by cleaning up the blood stuffing he was laying in so that whatever did this to him would not be drawn back to the scene by his scent. I would need some time to fix him up. With that much of his innards exposed, I knew I was in for a long, messy surgery. I could only hope he would survive. He was after all, Basil’s best friend.

I started prepping the wound by cleaning up any loose feathers & simultaneously giving him a stuffing transfusion. I had to act fast because he had lost so much stuffing at the scene…I’m sure he would have bled out if he had laid there unnoticed much longer. And thank goodness his squeaker was still intact – not even dislodged a bit! There wasn’t much else I could do to repair the internal damage – only time could tell if he would make a full recovery. The wound needed to be closed.

Next I readied the sturdiest patch I could find: a piece of camo from one of Chad’s old uniforms. I gave Guster some local anesthesia before starting. He didn’t flinch too much as I expertly attached the patch to his wound with a running loop stitch. The stuffing quickly stopped pouring out of the wound & Guster perked up in time for a car ride this afternoon. He even managed to get some play time in this evening & he’s back in the battlefield crate tonight.

What a trooper!

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Basil

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentines weekend. We had a looooong weekend at the Hogue apartment – it was AWESOME! Chad was off  until Tuesday! It started Friday when my cute husband came home in his uniform (which is everyday!) but he had a dozen roses in his hands!! I love it when he does that :) We decided to do our Valentines celebration Friday night so we could still hang out with all our friends for Chinese New Year after church Sunday evening.

So here’s how Friday went down:

Like I said, it started with flowers… And a table set with wine & lemon water

And delicious food: mixed green salad w/feta, pears & candied walnuts & pomegranate vinaigrette, steak & a baked potato!

And for dessert there were poached apples & pears floating in a bed of vanilla ice cream! YUM!! It was a great finish to the meal – not to heavy, but the perfect sweetness.

So Saturday we went down close to the Bay to pick up an addition to our family… we got a PUPPY!! Her name is Basil & she is a blue Weimaraner, ~ 8 weeks old. She is absolutely beautiful, but absolutely a mess. I stepped in poop at 4:45 AM two nights ago. That kind of mess. She bites us & chews anything that she can get into her mouth! She is already proving to be more of a test of my patience than I ever thought she would & has brought out characteristics in Chad that make me love him even more & make me more excited to have kids with this man one day!

Basi-Boo is very smart & very stubborn. She grunts when she doesn’t like what you are asking her to do… like “go potty” when it’s 40 degrees outside & the ground is wet. Which is why I think she’s taken to pooping on the concrete. Sorry we jumped from a lovely discussion about delish Valentine’s food to dog poop. When I worked in the hospital I felt like I was on “poop patrol” – making sure the patients had actually had a BM in the last week. This is a different kind of “poop patrol.”

Sunday Chad & I worked in the 3-7 year old classroom at church & had 8 kids, all boys. Hehe. I definitely want to have all boys. I had so much fun. They loved Chad & I loved watching him interact with them. I think we are going to take war-paint & camo headbands next time! After Veritas we headed over to the 313 for Chinese New Year courtesy of Jen Ip. She cooked up quite a feast – minus the chicken feet :) We had lettuce wraps, noodle something, potstickers & all sorts of random Chinese favorites that I don’t remember the names. We also watched the season premiere of the Amazing Race – we like the cowboys from OK & the grandmother/granddaughter team.

Monday we headed off into the country for a little wine tasting with our friends Greg & Marina. And of course Basil already thinks she’s a real person & had to come too! We visited 3 wineries – one had picnic tables & a bocce ball court – we hung out there for quite a while – the weather was PERFECT! It’s so nice to have some relief from all the rain!

Yesterday was a super lazy day – we stayed in the apartment all day playing with Basil. I finally ventured out late in the afternoon for groceries. And we watched V for Vendetta – a pretty interesting movie.

So I need some advice from any dog owners – I can tell already crate training is going to be a real challenge with Basil. She took a nap in her “house” this afternoon & plays in there with the door open but as soon as it shuts she starts wimpering which leads to crying which leads to howling. And she usually does well as long as we stay in her line of sight but it’s the same crying & howling when she can’t see us. Do I just let her cry it out? What about crating at night? Should I move her crate to our bedroom then so she can still see us? Right now it’s in the living room where I spend most of my time during the day. I feel like a bad care-giver when she cries & usually don’t last more than 20-30 minutes before I quiet her down & set her free! HELP!!

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