A Day in the Life

Today started off with the usual alarm going off at 5:15 AM. UGH! I hit the snooze button once but then Charlie and I rolled out of bed for morning chores. Our routine is for me to put on my old clothes (I try to get 3-4 days out of them?better in winter than in summer for this!) and head out to the garage.
I?ve been alternating which puppy to bring in for the night. Last night, Vera was inside. We played with her for about an hour on the floor and then she went out for her last ex-ing around 10:30 PM. Unfortunately, she didn?t make it through the night last night. There was some poop to clean up (solid thank goodness!).
We also keep Tilly, Anna, Clondike and Timmi inside at night. Tilly sleeps upstairs with us while Anna stays in a large ex-pen. Timmi and Clondike sleep in their crates with toys. Well, Timmi must have had an upset stomach because he also pooped and it wasn?t solid. Double UGH! Nothing worse than having to clean up loose doggy poop before your first cup of coffee. After all these years though, I?m not as sensitive to the smell anymore. Afterall, Charlie estimates that we remove about a ton of poop a year! Does that mean that we are full of $*%#?
We have an extra washer and dryer in the garage just for the doggy bedding. Lots of Clorox too! A few squirts of air freshener and life is better.
After that I headed out to let the dogs in the kennel out. They are always happy to see me and want to get out NOW! Everyone runs around sniffing, smiling at me and doing their cute doggy behavior. Clondike and Timmi have come out to the paddock but Clondike stays in the center with me and I feed him cookies during my clean up of the kennels. Scrape up any poop first and then wash down everything. I get to listen to the birds and watch the first rays of the sun come up. Life is good but I?m still wanting that first cup of coffee!
Meanwhile, Charlie is inside changing out the baby puppies. They are nearing 4 weeks of age, eating their gruel and pooping like champs. We have to change the bedding every other day now. It will be time to move them to shavings and dismantle the whelping box this weekend. Stella is still cleaning things up but that will stop soon. The babies are up and barking at each other. They love their meals and generally fall asleep in the flying saucer pan!
By 7 AM, it?s time to head to the house to get ready for work. I now have that cup of coffee, eat a bowl of cereal, take a shower and get out the door for work. Whew! I made it through another morning!
Yesterday was a full one and I was dead tired by the time I got home. One of the federal grant administrators came from Florida to discuss one of my projects. It?s a show and tell for him, but we also discussed future funding and brainstormed over how best to continue the program. It?s a great asset to the region?you can read about it at
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/sertc/ I then had to finish up some reports and actually worked through lunch rather than go to the gym. I miss my gym workout when I don?t go which was probably why I felt so tired last night. After letting the dogs out last evening, I flopped on the couch for an hour nap which is something that I seldom ever do during the week.
Tonight Charlie is doing the kennels and playing with the dogs as I have jiu-jitsu and aerobic dance class from 5:30 to 7:30. Two hours of working out should make up for yesterday?s miss. I asked Robin Moody last night if she ever felt tired and sore. She said that she thought that we both were getting old. I have to remember that maybe keeping up with the 20 somethings in my gym class stresses out the body a bit. When I wore a pedometer a couple of years ago to monitor my miles logged during a week, it was around 80 miles. I?m at least doing that or more now. Between the dogs and the gym, I get a workout every day! Timmi will get a metranidazole to counteract any upset stomach that he might have. I?m hoping for an uneventful evening, a good night?s sleep and no poop in the morning. Tomorrow the cycle starts all over again with an added extra of getting ready for the Beaufort shows. More on that tomorrow!